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 Really Disavow Nofollow Links Pointing to Your Site?
A user asked John Mueller on Twitter the following question: should you disavow a URL that links to your site with nofollow? John Mueller responded that nofollow links transmit no signals, so disavowi...
John Mueller Nov 21, 2017
★★★ Why Do Featured Snippets Change So Frequently in Google Results?
Gary Illyes indicated at the Pubcon conference that the featured snippets currently displayed in the SERPs can vary significantly for the same query from one day to the next, because Google engineers ...
Gary Illyes Nov 21, 2017
★★ Do H1-H6 tags really influence Google rankings?
Title tags (e.g., H1, H2) help Google understand the structure and hierarchy of a page's content, which can potentially impact ranking....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★ Is Short Content Killing Your Site’s Organic Traffic?
If your content can be summarized in a simple fact, like a date, it might be displayed directly in search results, and users could skip visiting your site....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★★ Should you still use the disavow file for SEO?
According to John Mueller, the disavow file is primarily useful if you have a manual action due to problematic links that you cannot clean up. For sites without manual actions, Google generally attemp...
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★ Are Single-Information Contents Doomed to Disappear from SERPs?
Content that can be summarized to a single piece of information, such as a date, risks being displayed directly without users needing to visit the originating site....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★ Is Google really treating mobile and desktop the same way?
Google currently treats mobile and desktop sites similarly with regard to speed and crawling. This could change in the future with the mobile-first index....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★ Why might your SEO efforts take a year to affect your organic traffic?
Improving a site's UX or content can take up to a year to reflect in search rankings, and there's no guarantee that this will automatically lead to a better position....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★★ Can Google Translate really be used to create indexable multilingual content?
Google Translate should not be used to automatically generate indexable pages as it is considered low-quality automatically generated content....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★★ Is it a problem when JavaScript filters URLs?
Using JavaScript to filter URL parameters is not cloaking, but it makes debugging difficult. It is advisable to use standard faceted navigation techniques to avoid errors....
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★★ Are automatic translations penalized by Google?
Google sees automatically translated pages as autogenerated content, which is not recommended for indexing. It is better to create manual translations, even when using Google Translate as an assistanc...
John Mueller Nov 14, 2017
★★★ Does a Direct Link to an Image Boost the SEO of the Page Containing It?
A user asked John Mueller whether a link pointing directly to an image (to a file like http://www.site.com/image/image-name.jpg for example) gave more SEO weight to the page containing that image. The...
John Mueller Nov 13, 2017
★★★ Do JavaScript Links Really Pass as Much PageRank as HTML Links?
John Mueller reminded us on Twitter that the way a link is designed and presented on a web page doesn't matter: HTML or JavaScript, in particular. If Google can read it, it will be treated like all ot...
John Mueller Nov 13, 2017
★★ Why Are Structured Data Becoming Essential for SEO Success?
Gary Illyes indicated at the Pubcon conference that 2018 would be notably focused at Google on structured data (Schema.org markup) and that we should expect quite a few innovations in this area in the...
Gary Illyes Nov 13, 2017
★★ 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 Can You Get Google to Index a New Page Quickly?
John Mueller shared an interesting tip on Twitter: if you want to quickly submit a new page to Google or resubmit an updated version, don't hesitate to use the Search Console and its "Crawl > Fetch as...
John Mueller Nov 06, 2017
★★★ Should You Delete or Improve Low-Quality Content on Your Website?
John Mueller discussed in a recent hangout the approach to take when you have content considered low-quality on your site. According to him (and Gary Illyes as well, who often talks about it), the bes...
John Mueller Nov 06, 2017
★★★ How Can You Optimize Internal Link Anchors to Supercharge Your SEO?
John Mueller reminded us in a hangout that using descriptive anchors (link texts) is not only important for external backlinks. This is also critical for internal linking (crosslinking). When creating...
John Mueller Nov 06, 2017
★★★ Could short-term SEO strategies permanently harm your main site?
Adopting SEO techniques for temporary gains, like EMD sites, can be problematic in the long run and may potentially affect the main site....
John Mueller Nov 03, 2017
★★★ How can you successfully migrate to HTTPS without losing your Google rankings?
Ensure that content is properly redirected to HTTPS and that sitemaps are updated to avoid indexing issues....
John Mueller Nov 03, 2017
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