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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★ Should You Use Google Tag Manager for SEO Testing?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that he does not recommend using the Google Tag Manager tool to perform SEO tests on a number of tags, as a recently published article suggested. But he didn't explai...
John Mueller Jan 08, 2018
★ Should You Really Mark All Guest Blogging Links as Nofollow?
John Mueller also indicated in a hangout that, in his opinion, all links from guest blogging practices should be nofollow, which wouldn't prevent users reading the articles from clicking on the links ...
John Mueller Dec 27, 2017
★★★ Should you really set all guest post links to nofollow?
For guest articles, we recommend adding the rel="nofollow" attribute to the links to prevent them from passing PageRank. Guest articles should not be used merely to insert links to your site....
John Mueller Dec 22, 2017
★★ How many articles should you display per category page for optimal SEO?
The number of articles to display per page in a list is left to the discretion of the webmaster. What matters is using titles and summaries to differentiate the content on category pages from that of ...
John Mueller Aug 24, 2017
★★ Should you really set noindex on sparsely populated category pages?
It is advised to carefully manage product category pages that have very few items by potentially setting them to noindex to avoid them resembling 404 pages, which would cause Google to consider them u...
John Mueller Aug 24, 2017
★★★ How does the canonical tag truly safeguard your syndicated content from duplicate content issues?
For syndicated content, always use the canonical tag pointing to the URL of the original article to avoid duplicate content issues....
Google Aug 23, 2017
★★★ Can your blog truly drag down your entire site on Google?
Excessively broad or low-quality blog content can influence Google's overall perception of your website's quality. Reviewing your articles for quality can be beneficial....
John Mueller Aug 22, 2017
★★★ Why does Google sometimes overlook the main image in your articles?
When including images in articles, Google can use images from the sidebar instead of the main image. Ensure that the images are well-positioned and clearly identifiable....
John Mueller Jun 29, 2017
★★★ Should All Sponsored Links Really Be NoFollow?
When publishing articles as part of large content campaigns, it is crucial to ensure that embedded links are not intended to manipulate search rankings. Google stresses the importance of using 'nofoll...
Google Jun 28, 2017
★★ Is it true that no one at Google fully understands the algorithm anymore?
A persistent rumor that has been flourishing in numerous articles for several months claims that "no one at Google would understand the search engine's algorithm globally anymore, as it has become so ...
John Mueller May 22, 2017
★★ Why are your articles disappearing from Google News despite frequent updates?
Articles can be removed or downgraded in Google News if they lack freshness or relevance compared to better sources. Articles that are frequently updated but are of low relevance can also affect the v...
Google Apr 20, 2017
★★★ Do nofollow links really pass zero PageRank?
Nofollow links do not pass any PageRank value to the target site. They are treated the same, whether they are in comments, body text, or social media....
Google Mar 16, 2017
★★ Does updating content without changing the date really improve ranking?
Simply changing the content of an article without altering its date does not ensure a ranking improvement. The change must add value and be relevant to users....
Google Mar 16, 2017
★★ Can a Brand New Page Really Rank for Highly Competitive Keywords?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that a newly created page can, despite its young age, rank well in Google's results, even for highly competitive queries. He takes as an example a page that would p...
John Mueller Mar 13, 2017
★★★ Does A/B testing on page titles pose issues for Google?
Changing titles for A/B testing is acceptable to Google, but it’s challenging to track which version is displayed in search results, especially since Google can also algorithmically rewrite titles....
John Mueller Mar 10, 2017
★★★ Do external links really influence your site's ranking?
External links can be beneficial for SEO if you cite relevant and authoritative sources. Conversely, if you link to low-quality or spam content just for the sake of link exchanges, it can negatively a...
Google Feb 23, 2017
★★★ Is word count really irrelevant for ranking on Google?
There is no word limit regarding ranking on Google. The relevance of the content to the user's query is more important than the word count. Concise but relevant content can rank just as well as a long...
Google Feb 23, 2017
★★★ Why should you require an official Google source before applying an SEO recommendation?
It is advised to request that the SEO optimizer supports their recommendations with documentation from Google, such as a help article or a video, to avoid unnecessary or harmful practices like link bu...
Maile Ohye Feb 14, 2017
★★ Can Google's Advertising Bots Actually Discover New Pages for Indexing?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google's robots used for Adwords and Adsense advertising (examples: Mediapartners-Google, Mediapartners, AdsBot-Google and AdsBot-Google-Mobile-Apps) are not use...
John Mueller Feb 13, 2017
★★★ Should you really worry about crawl budget, or is it just a myth?
Google explains that it has published an article on the concept of crawl budget to clarify some misconceptions. This budget refers to the resources that Google allocates to explore a site. For most si...
Google Jan 26, 2017
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