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 non-Unicode fonts really harm your content's indexing?
For websites using non-Unicode fonts such as in Burmese, Google attempts to recognize this situation and map these fonts to their Unicode versions, enabling proper indexing of the content. Using Unico...
John Mueller Aug 02, 2017
★★★ Why does Google prefer your content to be bookmarked rather than found through search?
Google recommends creating content that users want to visit directly or bookmark, rather than relying solely on search results....
John Mueller Aug 02, 2017
★★ Does duplicate content really ruin your Google ranking?
Duplicate content does not necessarily indicate poor site quality, but sites that heavily reuse content without offering added value are often perceived as lower quality....
John Mueller Aug 02, 2017
★★★ Do Sticky Footers Actually Harm Your Site's SEO Performance?
Gary Illyes responded on Twitter to a webmaster asking about "sticky footers" - the page footer that remains displayed on screen even when users scroll up or down through the content. In short, the fo...
Gary Illyes Jul 31, 2017
★★★ Can You Use 301 Redirects in Hreflang Tags?
We asked John Mueller whether a URL in a hreflang tag could be subject to a 301 redirect. His answer was clear: URLs in hreflang tags must be canonical. This therefore rules out the use of such redire...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2017
★★★ What does Google really require to achieve a global ranking, and how can you meet these standards?
To aim for a global ranking on keywords, it is advised to target a worldwide audience with suitable descriptive terms. However, this requires high-quality content and increased user engagement to comp...
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★ Do social signals really influence SEO rankings?
Although 'likes' and shares on social media do not directly contribute to SEO rankings, content that is regularly shared and appreciated can indirectly enhance its performance due to a potential incre...
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★★ Is Changing an Article’s Date Enough to Reindex It as Fresh Content?
Simply altering the date of a publication without changing its content does not alter its consideration by Google; it is still seen as old. For a publication to be regarded as new, the content must al...
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★★ Does keyword density still impact your rankings?
Google asserts that keyword density has no weight in site rankings. What is crucial is the value and relevance of the content for users rather than the frequency of keywords....
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★ How should you handle canonicals for identical content in Angular applications?
For pages generated via Angular where the content is identical across multiple URLs, it is advisable to define a canonical URL so that Google knows which version of the page to index....
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★★ Should you really restore your content AFTER securing a hacked site?
In the event of a site hack, you must first secure the site before restoring the content. Once the site is secured, submit a review request to reintegrate the site into Google’s index....
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★★ Should you really structure your multilingual URLs to rank internationally?
Google advises using a URL structure that reflects the target language or market for multilingual sites. The correct use of hreflang tags ensures that users see the right version of the page....
Google Jul 20, 2017
★★★ Subdomains or subdirectories: which URL structure should you prefer for a multilingual site?
Google recommends using subdomains or subdirectories to separate content by language or country. The use of the hreflang tag allows you to indicate the relationship between different language versions...
Google Jul 20, 2017
★ Should You Nofollow Links to Legal Pages and Terms & Conditions?
John Mueller indicated during a hangout that links to pages such as "About", "Terms and Conditions" or "Legal Notices" can be set to dofollow. For our part, we recommend nofollow (especially for large...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Put a Canonical Tag on EVERY Page of Your Website?
John Mueller confirmed in a hangout that it was beneficial to implement a "canonical" tag on all canonical pages of a site pointing to themselves to avoid DUST (Duplicate URL, Same Text, more explanat...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★★ Can Googlebot Really Crawl Your Site If You Use Cookies?
This has been known for a long time, but John Mueller recently reminded us: Googlebot crawls a site using a stateless protocol, meaning it doesn't take cookies into account. It's therefore up to you t...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Avoid Automatic Redirects Based on Visitor IP Addresses?
We've said it often on our site, and John Mueller recently reiterated it on Twitter: don't redirect your visitors to one site or another automatically based on their IP address (and therefore their ge...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★ Does the Position of Internal Links Really Affect Their SEO Weight?
John Mueller reminded in a hangout that the position of an internal link on a web page doesn't matter in terms of indexation: top of page, footer, sidebar, etc. In all cases, the link will be detected...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★★ Does Geographic Hosting Location Still Impact Your Site's SEO Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the geographic location of a server no longer matters to Google. To establish the target country of a site, the search engine primarily relies on the domain exte...
John Mueller Jul 17, 2017
★★★ Do Google and Bing Actually Share the Same Search Index?
John Mueller reminded us on Twitter - but did it really need to be said given how obvious the information is? - that Google doesn't share an index with Bing (or any other competing search engine). Rea...
John Mueller Jul 10, 2017
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