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.
Quick SEO Quiz

Test your SEO knowledge in 3 questions

Less than 30 seconds. Find out how much you really know about Google search.

🕒 ~30s 🎯 3 questions 📚 SEO Google
Can We Still Trust Google's Statements About the Panda Filter?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that Google had changed its approach to the Panda filter and that what was true 5 years ago wasn't necessarily true today. It's worth noting that a year ago, John Muel...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
★★ Does Your Choice of Browser Actually Affect Your Google SEO Rankings?
John Mueller indicated during a hangout that to his knowledge, Google's relevance algorithm did not take into account the browser used by the user. Search results were supposedly the same on Chrome, F...
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★★ Does URL Architecture Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the URL structure (the fact that the hierarchy is shown in a page's address, as opposed to a site where all URLs would be at the root level, for example), has on...
John Mueller Aug 21, 2017
Does disavowing poor-quality backlinks really carry a negative impact?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that a disavowed site, therefore designated as providing low-quality links, was not negatively impacted subsequently by Google's algorithm. The links it provides are s...
Gary Illyes Aug 14, 2017
Are PBNs Really Detected and Penalized by Google?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that Google's algorithms detect PBNs without too much difficulty and, for those that slip under the radar, the "webspam team" loves diving into them......
John Mueller Aug 14, 2017
★★★ Does CSS File Size Really Impact Your SEO Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the size of a stylesheet (CSS) file does not impact the search engine's algorithm. It can be several tens of MB....
John Mueller Aug 14, 2017
Do Google's Quality Raters Really Influence Your Site's Rankings?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that quality raters were there primarily to evaluate and even help correct Google's algorithms, but that their purpose was not to assess the sites appearing in sear...
John Mueller Aug 07, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Place Optimized Text Below Your Footer to Boost SEO?
An internet user pointed out to Gary Illyes - with examples - that certain "SEO experts" were placing several sentences (clearly intended for Google optimization) below the footer of their pages and a...
Gary Illyes Aug 07, 2017
★★★ Do Sticky Footers Actually Harm Your Site's SEO Performance?
Gary Illyes responded on Twitter to a webmaster asking about "sticky footers" - the page footer that remains displayed on screen even when users scroll up or down through the content. In short, the fo...
Gary Illyes Jul 31, 2017
★★ Does Google Analytics Really Impact Your Website's Rankings?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that Google's relevance algorithm doesn't use any information from Google Analytics to measure the relevance of a page. Why would it anyway, since Chrome provides all ...
Gary Illyes Jul 10, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Use URL Parameters in Search Console?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that the indications provided by webmasters in the "URL Parameters" section of Search Console were directives followed by the search engine's algorithms, and that you ...
Gary Illyes Jun 26, 2017
★★ How Is Google Rolling Out Mobile First Indexing Site by Site?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google was considering launching the Mobile First index site by site, as soon as the algorithm determines that the site in question will be ready for it. Therefo...
John Mueller Jun 26, 2017
★★★ How Long Does It Really Take for Google to Process a Site Migration?
Gary Illyes explained at the SMX Advanced conference that processing a site migration (domain name change and/or URL structure change) by Google can take 3 months, depending on the site's size, and no...
Gary Illyes Jun 26, 2017
★★ Are Page Speed and HTTPS Really Minor Ranking Factors?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that the page load time criterion (Page Speed) was, like the HTTPS criterion, more of a "tie breaker", a criterion to separate 2 pages that would have a very (too) clo...
Gary Illyes Jun 19, 2017
★★ How Does Google Use Machine Learning to Assess Website Quality?
John Mueller explained in a hangout that machine learning algorithms were primarily used by Google to understand whether a site is generally of good or poor quality, but not in the context of a specif...
John Mueller Jun 19, 2017
★★★ Does Google Simply Ignore Spammy Links or Do They Trigger Penalties?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that if links were not recognized as "blatant attempts to manipulate" the search engine's algorithm, there was a strong chance they would be purely and simply ignored ...
Gary Illyes Jun 12, 2017
Does the Google Sandbox Really Exist or Is It Just an SEO Myth?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that Google has no mechanism that could be likened to a "sandbox". The concept of the "sandbox" has been in the air for over 10 years and would characterize a specific...
Gary Illyes May 29, 2017
★★ Is it true that no one at Google fully understands the algorithm anymore?
A persistent rumor that has been flourishing in numerous articles for several months claims that "no one at Google would understand the search engine's algorithm globally anymore, as it has become so ...
John Mueller May 22, 2017
Is HTTPS Really an Important Ranking Factor for SEO in 2024?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that Google has no intention of modifying the weight (currently low) given to whether a site is in HTTPS in the search engine's relevance algorithm. It remains importa...
Gary Illyes May 15, 2017
★★ Should You Really Optimize Your Site for RankBrain?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that RankBrain is not a relevance criterion in Google's algorithm and that there is no point in "optimizing your site for RankBrain." It is primarily a system (and th...
John Mueller May 15, 2017
🔔

Get real-time analysis of the latest Google SEO declarations

Be the first to know every time a new official Google statement drops — with full expert analysis.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.