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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★★ Is Authorship Really an Important Ranking Factor for Your SEO?
During the opening conference and Q&A session he gave at PubCon 2023, Google's Gary Illyes once again confirmed several pieces of information already known by professionals. The first concerns Authors...
Gary Illyes Mar 06, 2023
★★★ Do third-party reviews from Facebook and Bing really boost your Google rankings?
On Twitter, a user asked Google's John Mueller whether integrating local reviews from sites like Facebook, Bing, Google or others on a website could have any impact on its rankings. Mueller responded ...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2023
★★★ Should You Really Update the lastmod Tag in Your XML Sitemap?
John Mueller, once again, answered a question about updating the lastmod tag in sitemap files. Our SEO king indicated that such an update only makes sense when there's a significant change. Furthermor...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2023
★★ Should You Stop Chasing Backlinks to Rank in 2024?
During his presentation at PubCon, Gary Illuyes also stated that links were not as important as SEOs believe. At least, they have lost weight over the past several years and will continue to lose weig...
Google Mar 06, 2023
★★ Should You Really Use ChatGPT to Rewrite or Translate Your SEO Content?
On Twitter, John Mueller engaged with several users about rewriting content via ChatGPT with the aim of modifying an article or facilitating its translation into another language. While he doesn't ope...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2023
★★★ Does poor JavaScript error handling really tank your Google rankings?
Instead of failing an entire page when a JavaScript request fails, it's recommended to implement graceful error handling that allows the rest of the useful content to display even if an individual ele...
Jamie Indigo Mar 02, 2023
★★ Does manually resubmitting corrected URLs in Search Console really speed up reindexing?
After fixing technical issues causing soft 404s, manually resubmitting URLs via Search Console allows you to specifically monitor their behavior and accelerate their return to normal indexation....
Jamie Indigo Mar 02, 2023
★★★ Do All Google Bots Actually Render Your Website's JavaScript?
Not all Google crawlers use the same rendering system, and some bots don't even render websites at all, according to John Mueller. He was responding to a user's question asking whether all crawlers us...
John Mueller Feb 28, 2023
★★ Can exporting your Search Console data actually revolutionize your SEO strategy?
Exporting Search Console data to spreadsheets allows you to add context to reports, enrich data with technical or commercial sources, and perform advanced analyses using statistical tools or data visu...
Daniel Waisberg Feb 28, 2023
★★★ Should Local Small Businesses Really Worry About Core Web Vitals Optimization?
John Mueller stated that in most cases, working on Core Web Vitals is not "vital" for local small businesses. He explains that these businesses typically don't have many pages and therefore, Google do...
John Mueller Feb 28, 2023
★★★ Can changing your HTML structure really impact your Google rankings?
Changing a page's HTML structure can affect how Google identifies and extracts the main content. Google will need to relearn the structure, which can temporarily impact your search rankings....
Gary Illyes Feb 23, 2023
★★★ Should you really verify a domain's history before SEO migration?
Before migrating to a new domain, you must verify its history using tools like archive.org. A domain with a problematic past (spam, inappropriate content) can affect SEO even after migration....
John Mueller Feb 23, 2023
★★★ Have EMD Domain Names Become a Liability for Your SEO?
John Mueller confesses: he's not really a fan of EMDs (Exact Match Domains) which, according to him, can potentially compromise a site's sustainability. In addition to appearing as a spammer in everyo...
John Mueller Feb 20, 2023
★★★ Can You Really Use a 301 Redirect Between Pages in Different Languages?
In a brief conversation posted on Mastodon, Gary Illyes from Google indicated that the 301 redirect (permanent redirect) was required when two URLs are almost identical. So far, nothing new. But where...
Gary Illyes Feb 20, 2023
★★★ Should You Use Product or LocalBusiness Structured Data for a Service-Based Website?
John Mueller answered a question about which structured data to implement on a website offering services whose prices may vary depending on the quote. Google's emblematic figure recommends not using s...
John Mueller Feb 20, 2023
★★ Does Google really analyze the DOM instead of raw HTML—and why does this matter for your rankings?
The Elements tab lets you search for content on the page and verify whether it's present or absent in the DOM, and where it's positioned. If content is missing from the rendered HTML in Search Console...
Google Feb 07, 2023
★★ Are DevTools really enough to debug your technical SEO problems?
Browser developer tools can be used together with Google Search Console tools to perform an initial analysis and debug various technical SEO problems before using more advanced tools....
Google Feb 07, 2023
★★★ Should you really ban lazy loading and infinite scroll to get indexed by Google?
For Googlebot to index content, it must be loaded without requiring user interaction such as scrolling. Developers must find an alternative to load this content in a way that is accessible to Googlebo...
Google Feb 07, 2023
★★★ Should You Really Always Use Absolute URLs in Your Canonical Tags?
Gary Illyes explained on LinkedIn that "canonical" tags on a website should contain absolute addresses (https://www..com/20230203-51450-quand-les-quality-raters-de-google-manifestent-pour-etre-mieux-p...
Gary Illyes Feb 06, 2023
★★★ Should You Still Calculate Keyword Density to Optimize Your SEO in 2024?
John Mueller explained once again in a webmaster hangout that Google's algorithm does not use a notion of "keyword density index" in content to assign a relevance score to a page for that query: "Keyw...
John Mueller Feb 06, 2023
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