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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★★★ Are the rel='prev' and rel='next' tags still useful for handling pagination?
To manage pagination, use rel='prev' and rel='next' tags. Google will understand that these pages are connected and will treat them as a single article....
Google May 31, 2016
★★★ Could massive redirects to the homepage during a site merger be an SEO trap?
It is advisable to redirect old articles to the merged domain to maintain contextual continuity, but be cautious of massive redirects to the homepage that may be treated as soft 404s....
John Mueller May 06, 2016
★★★ Do unmarked influencer gifts really trigger manual penalties?
Manual penalties can be applied to websites that receive free products in exchange for articles with unmarked nofollow links, as these links may be viewed as a form of manipulation of search results....
John Mueller Apr 15, 2016
★★★ Is AMP still worth it beyond the news carousel?
Google currently showcases AMP pages primarily for news-type content in search results with an AMP carousel....
John Mueller Apr 05, 2016
★★★ Should you still invest in AMP for your mobile strategy?
AMPs can be used for all mobile pages, but Google currently only displays news-type pages in the AMP carousel of searches....
John Mueller Apr 05, 2016
★★★ Is the news sitemap really effective for speeding up indexing?
For news sites, using a news sitemap can help Google quickly recognize and index new articles....
Google Feb 29, 2016
★★★ Is it really necessary to adopt AMP to enhance your mobile SEO?
AMP is a priority for Google, especially for content articles such as news. However, it is currently not advised to completely replace a site with AMP pages. The impact of AMP on mobile SEO is still n...
John Mueller Jan 29, 2016
★★★ Does Google News really boost your ranking in web search?
Being indexed in Google News is not used as a ranking factor in web search....
John Mueller Jan 15, 2016
★★ Is it really enough to just add the date in WordPress content for Google to recognize an update?
To update an article in WordPress, simply adding the date in the content should be enough for Google to recognize the update date....
John Mueller Jan 12, 2016
★★ Are automated dofollow links to your own content finally permitted by Google?
It is acceptable to use dofollow links to your own blog articles, even if they are generated automatically, to help outline the structure of your site....
John Mueller Jan 12, 2016
★★★ Should you really enforce all your internal links as dofollow to rank?
Dofollow internal links, especially for related articles within the same site, help Google explore and understand the site structure....
John Mueller Jan 12, 2016
★★★ Should you remove the meta keywords tag from your pages?
For web search, Google does not use the meta keywords tag as a ranking signal. However, it might be used by Google News or for internal purposes by webmasters....
John Mueller Dec 29, 2015
★★★ Does adding unrelated content to a website really hurt its ranking?
Adding sections unrelated to the main theme of a site, such as mixing automotive products with unrelated articles, should not negatively affect the ranking for the initial theme, unless the quality is...
John Mueller Dec 15, 2015
★★ Do tags and categories really hurt SEO when misused?
Tags are used to categorize blog posts, making it easier for users to discover similar content, but they should not be manipulated to influence search engine rankings....
Google Dec 02, 2015
★★★ Should you still use rel=prev/next for SEO pagination?
For paginated pages, use rel prev and rel next tags to indicate to Google that these pages are part of a single article. This allows Google to crawl and treat these pages as a set, ensuring that the c...
Google Nov 27, 2015
★★★ Do internal search results pages create duplicate content?
Google does not consider internal search results pages as duplicate content because they generally present different content in different orders. Google prefers relevant original content in its rankin...
Google Nov 27, 2015
★★★ Does main content outweigh everything else on the page for Google rankings?
The main content of the page is prioritized for SEO ranking. Google assesses relevance to the user, so even if relevant content is found in the sidebar, the main article is generally favored for ranki...
Google Nov 27, 2015
★★★ First Click Free: Is There a Sneaky Way to Bypass Paywalls Without SEO Penalties?
The First Click Free feature allows users to access articles locked behind a paywall on their first click from a Google search without negatively affecting the SEO of paid sites....
Google Oct 01, 2015
★★★ Could Google show the wrong date for your articles in search results?
Google can choose to show the modification date of an article rather than its original publication date. If this choice is incorrect despite the schema.org markup, it's helpful to report examples to G...
John Mueller Sep 24, 2015
★★★ How does Google really identify the dates of your articles?
Google attempts to accurately detect article dates, whether it's the publication date or the last modified date. If a date is misinterpreted despite correct structured data, provide examples to Google...
John Mueller Sep 24, 2015
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