What does Google say about SEO? /
This category compiles all official Google statements regarding its ranking algorithms and their successive updates. Algorithms form the foundation of the search engine and determine website visibility in search results. Here you'll find Google communications about Core Updates, those major algorithm refreshes deployed several times yearly, alongside historical algorithms such as Panda (content quality), Penguin (link spam), Hummingbird (semantic understanding), and artificial intelligence innovations like RankBrain and BERT. SEO professionals will discover official positions on recent thematic updates including the Helpful Content Update, designed to reward genuinely useful content for users, and Spam Updates targeting manipulative practices. Understanding Google's official statements about these algorithms is crucial for anticipating ranking fluctuations, adapting SEO strategies to search engine evolution, and aligning practices with official recommendations rather than relying on speculation or misinformation. This resource helps practitioners distinguish between confirmed algorithmic factors and industry myths, enabling data-driven optimization decisions. Whether responding to sudden traffic changes or planning long-term SEO strategies, these official declarations provide the authoritative foundation needed for effective search engine optimization in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
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★★★ Will Google Finally Reduce the Weight of Business Names in Local Pack Rankings?
When an SEO professional complained that business names had too much weight in the algorithm that displays businesses in the "local pack," Danny Sullivan explained that the tool's development teams we...
Danny Sullivan Jul 27, 2020
★★ Does the FAQ schema work if the answers are hidden in an accordion?
For the FAQ schema, the content must be visible on the page. It is acceptable to display questions with expandable answers, but hiding the entire FAQ block would be problematic. The presence of visibl...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Should you still use disavow or has Google truly automated the ignoring of spam links?
Spam links from low-quality sites are likely already ignored by Google's algorithms. The disavow is an option if you are truly worried, but in most cases, it is not necessary....
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Do intrusive interstitials really have a measurable impact on your SEO?
There is no indicator in Search Console to measure the impact of intrusive interstitials. It is a light ranking factor used in the algorithm. The impact does not apply to the entire site but rather to...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Has PageRank really become a minor signal in Google's algorithm?
PageRank is just a small part of Google's overall algorithm. The evaluation of backlinks takes into account the context (surrounding text, anchor, quality of the source page, content of the source pag...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Should You Optimize Your Mobile Site for Landscape Mode in SEO?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that the fact that a website doesn't support "landscape" mode on mobile has no impact on the search engine algorithm and therefore no SEO impact......
John Mueller Jul 06, 2020
★★★ Is the DMCA or Web Spam Report the most effective method against content scraping?
To combat content scraping, the DMCA approach with Google (legal aspect) is recommended as a priority. The Web Spam Report can also be used, but primarily serves to train algorithms, not for immediate...
John Mueller Jun 26, 2020
★★ Why do link aggregators struggle to rank effectively?
Sites that primarily function as collections of links to other providers (for example, app or sports betting aggregators) may encounter ranking difficulties because Google’s algorithms may prefer to i...
John Mueller Jun 26, 2020
★★★ When it comes to duplicate content across two sites, does Google really impose penalties or not?
Google does not automatically penalize when a business operates two distinct websites with identical content (e.g., a main site + a site dedicated to a specific section). The two sites are treated ind...
John Mueller Jun 26, 2020
★★ Why does your SEO site swing between positive and penalized without apparent reason?
Google's algorithms do not always operate through gradual transitions but sometimes in steps: a site can fluctuate from one side to the other of a quality threshold during algorithm reevaluations. A s...
John Mueller Jun 26, 2020
★★★ Why is Google Discover more demanding than traditional search for showcasing your content?
Google Discover follows the Google News guidelines for eligibility. Since the content is shown to users who are not actively searching for it, the systems are more cautious. A decrease in visibility o...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2020
★★ Why does your traffic really drop after a publishing break?
A traffic drop after a few months of inactivity is generally not due to the frequency of publication, but to an algorithmic reassessment of the site's relevance. The consistency of publication is not ...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2020
★★ Why do your review snippets seem to disappear and then reappear every week?
Weekly or monthly activations/deactivations of review snippets suggest a technical issue or algorithmic hesitation. This is not normal behavior. It's essential to share the URLs in the forum or with t...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2020
★★★ Is Domain Authority Really Useless for Your SEO Strategy?
Google does not use a 'Domain Authority' metric in its ranking algorithm. It's a useful third-party metric for understanding a site, but not a Google ranking factor....
John Mueller Jun 23, 2020
★★★ Are YouTube Links Really Useless for Your SEO?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google's search engine does not use links from YouTube in its algorithm......
John Mueller Jun 22, 2020
★★★ How much human control does Google really have over your site's ranking?
Google scans sites to detect violations of its policies and guidelines. In these cases, a human may review the site and apply a manual action. Following a manual action, the affected pages or the enti...
Daniel Waisberg Jun 18, 2020
★★★ Should we really disregard spammy automated backlinks?
Google automatically ignores spammy links that are created en masse by scripts. Google's algorithms are used to seeing this type of manipulation (thousands of automatically generated links) and comple...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★ Why does a new website experience roller coaster rides in the SERPs for 12 months?
For a website that is a few months old (8 months to 1 year), it is normal to see significant fluctuations in rankings while Google's algorithms learn where to position the site. This adjustment period...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★★ Does Domain Age Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
Responding to a question on this topic, John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google does not rank "old sites" - those on domain names created long ago - any better these days. No changes to the trea...
John Mueller Jun 08, 2020
★★★ Why does Google refuse to show your FAQs in rich results despite perfect markup?
The display of FAQs in rich results is determined by the algorithm, not the webmaster. If the markup is correct and error-free in Search Console, no further action is possible. Content quality remains...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
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