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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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
★★ Does Domain Age Really Impact Google Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the age (seniority) of a domain name is not a relevance criterion for Google's algorithm (although this is a deeply rooted belief in the SEO community). It's pos...
John Mueller Apr 24, 2017
★★ Is Bounce Rate Really a Ranking Factor on Google?
Gary Illyes reaffirmed on Twitter for the 478th time that bounce rate is not taken into account by Google's algorithms, simply because "it's not a good relevance signal". And once again, we can only a...
Gary Illyes Apr 10, 2017
★★★ Are Google's SEO Penalties and Adsense Really Independent From Each Other?
The same Gary Illyes indicated, also on Twitter, that just like with the Adwords Team, there was no interaction between the Search Quality Team (the teams that inflict penalties on websites that attem...
Gary Illyes Apr 03, 2017
★★★ Do Social Signals Like Facebook Likes Actually Impact Google Rankings?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter for the 3,487th time that Google's algorithm does not take into account Facebook "Likes" (like the vast majority of social signals in general, for that matter). Some b...
Gary Illyes Apr 03, 2017
★★ How Have Google's Duplicate Content Detection Algorithms Really Evolved Over the Years?
Googler Paul Haahr, usually quite discreet but nevertheless highly relevant when he speaks, indicated that duplicate content detection algorithms at Google are constantly evolving, but have remained f...
Google Apr 03, 2017
What Does Google's Fred Update Really Reveal About Penalized Sites?
The same Gary Illyes indicated during the SMX West conference the Fred update of March 9th, arguing that this algorithm update was based on points present in Google's guidelines. But he didn't say whi...
Gary Illyes Mar 27, 2017
Is Google's Page Layout Algorithm Still Penalizing Your Site in 2024?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that the Page Layout algorithm, which has been updated several times in the past and aims to penalize pages with too many ads embedded in editorial content, somewhat l...
Gary Illyes Mar 20, 2017
★★★ Does Optimizing Keywords in URLs Really Matter for SEO?
John Mueller, once again, reminded us on Twitter that the presence of keywords in URLs is a weak ranking factor for the search engine's algorithm, especially since on mobile devices, we don't even see...
John Mueller Mar 13, 2017
★★ How Can You Effectively Optimize Your Images for Google Images in 2024?
John Mueller also reminded us this week of the various criteria taken into account by the Google Images algorithm: image file name, Alt attribute, Title attribute of a link pointing to the image, capt...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2017
Does Panda Really Analyze Your Entire Site Architecture or Just Content Quality?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that the Panda filter takes into account not only the quality of the content offered by a website, but also the entire site and therefore its architecture, without ...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2017
★★ Is PageRank Still a Key Ranking Factor in Google's Algorithm in 2024?
Gary Illyes reminded us on Twitter that, almost 20 years after Google's creation, the search engine still uses PageRank as a relevance criterion. Thankfully... 🙂 And he shared the link to the document...
Gary Illyes Feb 13, 2017
★★★ Is AMP Really a Google Ranking Factor for SEO?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that AMP was not a relevance criterion for Google and that the fact that a page is available in this format does not factor into the search engine's algorithm calcula...
John Mueller Jan 30, 2017
Should You Still Track Penguin Version Numbers to Adjust Your SEO Strategy?
On the other hand, still on the subject of Penguin, the same Gary Illyes, also on Twitter, indicated that there would no longer be numbered versions (the last one was 4.0 in August 2016). Moreover, ma...
Gary Illyes Jan 30, 2017
★★ How Is Google Now Rolling Out Its Algorithms Internationally?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that, increasingly, Google is trying to perform algorithm launches at a global level from the start and not in one country (often the United States) or one language (E...
Gary Illyes Jan 30, 2017
Will Google Really Warn Us Before Major Penguin Updates Hit?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that Google would make sure to be "transparent" regarding Penguin if major changes were to take place in the future on this algorithmic filter. It's difficult to know ...
Gary Illyes Jan 30, 2017
★★★ Can You Really Rank on Google by Copying Your Competitors' SEO Strategies?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that there is no universal recipe for ranking well on Google, due to the hundreds of criteria taken into account by the algorithm. Copying what a competitor site does...
John Mueller Dec 26, 2016
★★ Does Wikipedia Really Get Special Treatment in Google Rankings?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that Wikipedia does not benefit from any "preferential treatment" and that it is ranked by Google's algorithms like any other website......
Gary Illyes Dec 26, 2016
★★★ How Can You Actually Know for Sure If Your Site Is Penalized by Google?
Let's continue with penalties with an obvious point reminded by John Mueller in a hangout: only the owner of a site can know if it is penalized as part of a manual action (through Search Console in pa...
John Mueller Dec 19, 2016
★★★ Is Hummingbird Really an Anti-Spam Algorithm or Does It Serve an Entirely Different Purpose?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Hummingbird, launched in 2013, was not an algorithm specifically dedicated to fighting spam. This is clearly true, since Hummingbird (just like its legitimate su...
John Mueller Nov 21, 2016
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