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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★★★ Should You Request Frequent Recrawls of Your Site to Improve Your SEO Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that if you request (for example via Search Console) that Googlebot recrawl a site, it will not negatively impact a site. And if the search engine's robots crawl a si...
John Mueller Nov 07, 2016
Should You Really Worry About Google's Announced Algorithm Changes Coming This Year?
John Mueller recently hinted during a hangout that Google could launch numerous new features on the search engine and its algorithm before the end of the year. But without any specifics. So, saying th...
John Mueller Nov 07, 2016
★★★ Why Does Google Prefer JSON-LD for Structured Data?
John Mueller indicated that the JSON-LD format was Google's favorite for implementing structured data markup. While it certainly accepts all other formats, he recommends JSON-LD....
John Mueller Oct 24, 2016
★★★ Do You Really Need a Dedicated XML Sitemap for Your AMP Pages?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that using the AMP standard on your site does not require creating a specific XML Sitemap for this format. A "classic" Sitemap is sufficient and Google will find the ...
John Mueller Oct 24, 2016
★★★ Does Google Really Penalize Sitewide Links and Blogrolls?
John Mueller indicated that "sitewide" backlinks (for example, links placed in the footers of all pages of a website, identically) or in blogrolls (to the right or left of the editorial area, in the f...
John Mueller Oct 24, 2016
Does Google Really Use a Global Authority Score to Rank Websites?
John Mueller also explained during a hangout that Google doesn't use a relevance criterion resembling a "global authority score for a website". Google may use global scores associated with a website, ...
John Mueller Oct 24, 2016
★★★ How Long Should You Really Keep a 301 Redirect Active?
John Mueller said it last year: a 301 redirect should be kept in place for at least a year, if not longer. In fact, the idea is primarily to measure traffic to the old URL. As soon as it becomes zero ...
John Mueller Oct 24, 2016
Does Penguin 4.0 Really Use Machine Learning?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that the Penguin 4.0 filter did not use machine learning algorithms. John Mueller, also on Twitter, stated that it did. Paul Haar, Google's ranking manager, concluded ...
John Mueller Oct 17, 2016
★★ Does Penguin Really Just Ignore Bad Links While Panda Actually Penalizes Weak Content?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that, while Penguin's purpose is to ignore low-quality links (without giving a negative score to the page receiving them), Panda works differently: it can demote a pag...
Gary Illyes Oct 17, 2016
★★ Do International Links Really Have Less SEO Value for Google?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the quality analysis of a link does not take into account whether the linking site is located in another country or offered in a different language than the dest...
John Mueller Oct 17, 2016
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