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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★★ Do You Really Need Schema.org Markup to Get Rich Snippets in Google?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that, to display "rich snippets" in Google's SERPs (review stars, etc.), Schema.org structured data markup is not strictly required in principle. However, examples of...
John Mueller Nov 06, 2017
★★★ How Does Google Really Index Hidden Content in Tabs with Mobile First?
John Mueller confirmed during a hangout that content inside a tab would indeed be taken into account, within the Mobile First index framework, with the same weight as content visible by default. Howev...
John Mueller Oct 30, 2017
Should You Really Ignore Duplicate Content Like Google Suggests?
John Mueller indicated in a webmaster forum that the duplicate content issue should be reserved for "a rainy day, or when a new person joins the company or for the intern hired for the summer." Basica...
John Mueller Oct 30, 2017
★★★ Should You Delete Old Content from Your Website to Improve SEO?
Gary Illyes indicated at an SEO event that it was unfortunate, in his opinion, to delete content on news sites solely on the grounds that it was "old" and therefore "obsolete". According to Gary, old ...
Gary Illyes Oct 30, 2017
Should You Use Search Console's "Change of Address" Tool for HTTPS Migrations?
When migrating a site from HTTP to HTTPS, it is necessary to set up 301 redirects from the old address to the new one. Oddly enough, in Search Console, the "Change of Address" function does not accoun...
John Mueller Oct 23, 2017
★★★ Does Disabling Right Click and Text Selection Really Impact SEO or Is It Just a Myth?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that disabling right-click on a web page, as well as the ability to select text with the mouse, has no impact—positive or negative—on SEO, in addition to being comple...
John Mueller Oct 23, 2017
★★ Do ® and ™ Symbols Actually Impact Your Pages' Search Rankings?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that the search engine does not take into consideration symbols like ® or ™, stating in any case that these symbols do not provide any specific semantic character t...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ Why Do Sites Ranking Well in France Often Struggle in Other Countries?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that the situation, for a given site and an identical query, can be very different depending on the target country. For example, a site that ranks well for a keywor...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ Can an HTTPS Migration Really Be Achieved Without Losing SEO Traffic?
Gary Illyes and John Mueller confirmed on Twitter that a migration from HTTP to HTTPS does not imply a drop in website traffic after this action......
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ How Many Hreflang Tags Can You Really Add to a Page Without Getting Penalized?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that there is no theoretical limit to the number of Hreflang tags integrated into HTML code. And that if you have many sites, targeting many countries, using an XML S...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ Does Grammar Quality Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google's relevance algorithm does not consider the quality (or lack thereof) of grammar used in a web page's content. This will not affect the page's ranki...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Optimize EXIF Metadata in Your Images for Google SEO?
In 2014, Matt Cutts indicated in a video that Google "reserved the right" to read the metadata (EXIF) present in an image. Without saying more. We could therefore think that at that time, the search e...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2017
★★★ Is There Really a Top 3 of Google Ranking Criteria to Prioritize in SEO?
Two years ago, a Googler said that Google's algorithm primarily used 3 essential criteria: content, links, and RankBrain. Since then, John Mueller and Gary Illyes have repeatedly indicated that this r...
John Mueller Oct 02, 2017
★★★ Should You Choose a Dedicated Mobile Site (m.) or Responsive Design for Better SEO?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google's mobile search engine does not give better rankings to dedicated mobile sites (with URLs like m.yoursite.com) compared to responsive sites......
John Mueller Oct 02, 2017
★★★ Does Cart Abandonment Rate Actually Hurt Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the fact that an e-commerce site has a high shopping cart abandonment rate (abandoned pending orders) was not a relevance criterion in the algorithm......
John Mueller Oct 02, 2017
★★ Is Click-Through Rate (CTR) Really a Ranking Factor for SEO?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that if Google uses the click-through rate in SERPs (or pogosticking), it's primarily to evaluate and improve relevance algorithms, but not to assign a score to...
John Mueller Sep 25, 2017
★★ Is Responsive Design Really Enough to Successfully Navigate the Mobile First Transition?
Gary Illyes also explained at the same Brighton SEO conference that responsive design sites have little to worry about regarding the Mobile First project and that at this level, everything should go s...
Gary Illyes Sep 25, 2017
★★★ Can Adding a Chatbot Actually Improve Your Website's SEO Rankings?
John Mueller explained during the same hangout that adding a chatbot (an automated tool that responds to visitors' questions in real-time) does not improve a site's or web page's rankings on Google....
John Mueller Sep 25, 2017
★★ Is Reporting Spammy Sites to Google Still Worth Your Time?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google does not read all the "spam reports" that are sent to them, but that the search engine's anti-spam teams attempt to process those that seem most imp...
John Mueller Sep 25, 2017
★★★ How Does Google's Algorithm Adapt Its Ranking Criteria Based on Your Queries?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google's relevance algorithm doesn't use the same criteria with the same weight for all queries and that the calculations could change in their very essenc...
John Mueller Sep 25, 2017
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