What does Google say about SEO? /
This category compiles official Google statements regarding Google Discover and Google News, two critical content distribution platforms for publishers. Google Discover has emerged as a significant traffic source, operating on a personalized recommendation model without user queries. Official Google positions on these topics are vital for understanding content selection criteria, eligibility factors, and necessary technical optimizations. SEO professionals will find guidance on E-E-A-T quality requirements, technical specifications including structured data markup, AMP formats, and editorial policy compliance. Google News maintains strict inclusion standards, while Discover prioritizes engagement metrics and contextual relevance. Mastering these official guidelines enables publishers to optimize visibility within these feeds, maximize referral traffic, and align content strategies with recommendation algorithms. These declarations also illuminate algorithm updates specific to these platforms and evolving journalistic standards expected by Google. Understanding the nuances between these two services helps publishers differentiate their optimization approaches and capitalize on opportunities for increased content distribution beyond traditional search results.
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★★ Can you really block your site from Google Discover in certain countries?
Google Discover operates algorithmically and organically, and there is no manual method to block a Discover site in a specific country....
John Mueller Feb 21, 2020
★★ Do HTML5 semantic tags really impact Google rankings?
Google can understand the structure of a page without HTML5 tags. Using tags like <main> or <article> does not directly improve SEO ranking but promotes better overall readability....
John Mueller Feb 18, 2020
★★ Do Core Updates Really Affect Visibility on Google Discover?
Core algorithm updates can affect the visibility of sites on Google Discover, as indicated in the series of tweets about the main updates....
John Mueller Feb 07, 2020
★★★ What changes has Google made to Discover data in Search Console?
Google has altered the Discover report in Search Console to provide more recent data, similar to that of the search performance report. This allows for a more precise representation of the content tha...
John Mueller Jan 30, 2020
★★★ Do Blog Comments Carry as Much SEO Weight as Main Content?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that comments on a blog are of course read by the search engine, and that this text is part of the "main content", as if it were a continuation of the article, ...
John Mueller Dec 23, 2019
★★★ Do big images really enhance your visibility in Google Discover?
In Google Discover, visual content, such as large images, tends to attract user attention more effectively....
John Mueller Nov 15, 2019
★★★ How does Google News display excerpts from French press under the neighboring rights directive?
In France, due to new laws, for sites listed on a press list, no text excerpts are shown by default unless actively chosen....
John Mueller Oct 16, 2019
★★ How can you optimize for Google Discover without targeting keywords?
Achieving visibility in Google Discover is not about keyword optimization but about monitoring which topics resonate with users. A focus on relevancy and user engagement can lead to better performance...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2019
★★★ Does Google Discover really prioritize quality over click-through rates?
Google Discover is not solely based on click-through rates but on a combination of signals to encourage a diversity and quality of content that satisfies users....
John Mueller Oct 16, 2019
★★ Do you really need to register with Google News to appear on Discover?
Although Discover uses sources similar to Google News, there are no special criteria regarding meta tags or mandatory registration with Google News to appear on Discover. The content must be relevant ...
John Mueller Oct 16, 2019
★★ Are the Quality Rater Guidelines the key to surviving Google's health updates?
It's recommended to consult the Quality Rater Guidelines to understand how Google evaluates the quality of websites, particularly in the health sector, to adapt to algorithm updates....
John Mueller Oct 04, 2019
★★ Does Google Discover really operate without prior site validation?
Google Discover, unlike Google News, operates entirely organically, without any prior validation process for sites....
John Mueller Oct 03, 2019
★★★ Is the max-image-preview:large attribute really the key to showcasing large images on Discover?
Using the max-image-preview attribute with the value large can enable the display of large images on Google Discover, thus facilitating a better visual presentation....
Google Oct 02, 2019
★★★ Should You Include a Date in Your Web Page URLs for Better SEO?
Google's webmaster Twitter account explained that including a date in web page URLs does not pose any problems....
Google Sep 30, 2019
★★★ Can meta tags really control how snippets appear in Google News?
European news publishers can control the display of text and image snippets in France with meta tags, particularly as a result of European legislative changes....
John Mueller Sep 26, 2019
★★★ How does Google decide which version of duplicated content to display in search results?
When publishing articles on multiple domains, Google first indexes the different versions and then chooses one version to display in the search results. Using a canonical tag to designate a primary ve...
John Mueller Aug 22, 2019
★★★ Why aren’t your Google News impressions showing up in Search Console?
Impressions from Google News search are not counted in Search Console, unless they appear in standard search results as rich snippets....
John Mueller Aug 22, 2019
★★ How does Google really manage crawling for duplicate URLs pointing to different products?
Google is developing solutions to properly address identical URLs targeting different products, using unique meta-mechanisms for each item wherever possible....
Google Aug 09, 2019
★★ Can You Really Optimize for Discover Without Keywords?
Discover content is not limited to news sites. Blog articles and forums can also appear, but it's challenging to optimize for Discover since it doesn't rely on traditional keywords....
John Mueller Jul 12, 2019
★★ Is it really necessary to avoid reusing a URL to update a Google News article?
Reusing URLs for content updates may conflict with Google News guidelines, as it complicates the assignment of specific dates....
John Mueller Jul 11, 2019
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