What does Google say about SEO? /
The Content category compiles all official Google statements regarding textual content creation, optimization, and evaluation in the context of search engine optimization. It encompasses fundamental aspects such as editorial quality, E-E-A-T criteria (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), duplicate content issues, and thin content concerns. Google's positions on these topics are critical for understanding how algorithms assess the relevance and added value of web pages. This category also includes recommendations on structural elements like headings (H1, H2, Hn tags), meta descriptions, and semantic optimization. With the introduction of the Helpful Content system, Google has reinforced the importance of a user-first approach rather than a search engine-first methodology. SEO professionals will find here official guidance for creating content that meets algorithmic expectations while delivering genuine value to users, a balance that has become essential for achieving and maintaining strong rankings in search results. These declarations provide clarity on content strategies that align with Google's evolving quality standards and ranking factors.
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★★ 404 or noindex for deindexing: which method should you really prefer?
Using 404 or noindex to remove pages from the index produces the same final result. Noindex can be slightly faster, but the difference is negligible at the scale of a site. Choose the most practical m...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2020
★★ Can Google really detect timestamp manipulation on news sites?
Google detects timestamp manipulation by news sites that artificially refresh their content. Robust systems identify the true publication date. Undetected cases can be reported via Twitter with screen...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2020
★★★ Do structured data really enhance your ranking in Google?
Structured data helps Google understand the content of a page, but it does not guarantee better positions in the SERP as seen with Top Stories....
Google Sep 03, 2020
★★★ What makes Google refuse to index your pages even when you think the content is relevant?
If your URL is not indexed quickly, it is crucial to focus on creating quality content. Google does not guarantee the indexing of all pages, and indexing can be influenced by content quality and other...
Google Sep 03, 2020
★★ Why Did Google Remove Regex from Search Console Before Even Launching It?
A few weeks ago, the help documentation for the Search Console "Performance" report indicated that it was possible to use regex (regular expressions to filter data). Then John Mueller and Gary Illyes ...
John Mueller Aug 31, 2020
★★★ Do Links from Wikipedia Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller explained on Reddit that links from Wikipedia to your site have no impact on your visibility in Google. And even more so for links created artificially and/or automatically on the online ...
John Mueller Aug 31, 2020
★★★ Does migrating to a new domain really erase SEO penalties and bad signals?
Migrating to a new domain to evade low-quality content or spammy links does not work. Google continually evaluates content, and low-quality material remains poor regardless of where it’s moved. Some s...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★ Does a migration trigger a quality reevaluation by Google?
Google constantly reevaluates content quality, whether during a migration or not. A site migration does not trigger any special quality reevaluation. Google always assesses content in its current form...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Does a domain migration really lead to traffic loss?
A well-executed domain migration does not necessarily result in overall traffic loss. If you simply copy the entire URL structure and content to a new domain, traffic will decrease on the old one and ...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Should you really avoid changing everything at once during an SEO migration?
You shouldn't take advantage of a migration to simultaneously change multiple elements (URL structure, technology, content). Modifying all variables at the same time makes it impossible to identify th...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Merging two websites: Why doesn’t Google treat this like a standard migration?
Merging two websites into one is not a standard site migration. It involves creating a new site that combines two existing versions, which requires Google to re-crawl numerous pages. The outcome and p...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Should you really redirect all images during a site migration?
It is essential to implement 301 redirects for all images during a site migration. Visual content is very important for SEO. Since refreshing in the image index takes time, you should monitor the serv...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Should you really roll back after a site migration fails?
Before contemplating a rollback, it’s essential to diagnose the cause of the issue (missing redirects, crawl problems, technical errors). If after a month no improvement is observed, no explanation is...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Does a domain's purchase history truly hinder an SEO migration?
The history of a domain plays a limited role in a migration. If a purchased domain has been used for spam, it is essential to clean up existing issues, possibly use the disavow file, wait for Google t...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Does the Mobile First Index Really Apply Automatically to New Websites?
Google indicated in May 2019 that starting from July 1st of that same year, all new sites discovered by the search engine's crawlers would automatically be integrated into the Mobile First Index. John...
John Mueller Aug 24, 2020
★★★ Should You Really Optimize Keywords in URLs to Improve Your SEO?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that keywords present in the URL carry low weight in the search engine's algorithm....
John Mueller Aug 24, 2020
★★★ How Does Google Actually Determine the Canonical URL of Your Pages?
John Mueller provided on Twitter a list of criteria that Google takes into account to define what the canonical URL of a page is (and therefore its "canonicalization"): redirects, internal links, exte...
John Mueller Aug 24, 2020
★★★ Should You Index Automatically Translated Content Without Human Review?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that the official recommendation was not to index content that would be translated automatically (with software/algorithm like GPT-3) without subsequent human review. ...
Gary Illyes Aug 24, 2020
★★★ Do affiliate links really harm your website's SEO?
The presence of affiliate links on a site is not a sign of poor quality. Affiliate sites become problematic when they lack value-added content, for example, if they simply copy product feeds or genera...
John Mueller Aug 21, 2020
★★★ Does rel=canonical really protect your syndicated content from ranking theft?
When syndicating an article with rel=canonical, two outcomes are possible: either Google indexes both pages separately (risking the syndicator ranking better), or Google chooses a unique canonical. Th...
John Mueller Aug 21, 2020
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