What does Google say about SEO? /
This category compiles official Google statements regarding featured snippets, optimized excerpts, and rich search result features displayed on search engine results pages (SERP). Featured snippets, often referred to as position zero, represent a critical strategic opportunity for SEO professionals as they provide maximum visibility by appearing above traditional organic results. Here you'll find Google's communications about Knowledge Graph functionality, rich results implementation, passage ranking technology, and "People Also Ask" features. Understanding the selection criteria for featured snippets, preferred formats (paragraphs, lists, tables), and content structuring best practices is essential for maximizing your chances of capturing these premium positions. Google's official positions on these topics help SEO practitioners separate myths from facts, effectively optimize structured content, and understand how algorithms select and display these enhanced elements that fundamentally transform user experience and organic click-through rates. This resource provides valuable insights into SERP evolution and how to adapt your optimization strategies accordingly for maximum search visibility and traffic potential.
★★★ Are structured data really necessary to achieve rich results?
To benefit from rich results, you must implement structured data, which is HTML markup that provides Google with more information about your pages. This structured data is available for various types ...
Aurora Morales May 04, 2021
★★ Does Google really use different crawlers for its SEO testing tools?
The Mobile-Friendly Test systematically uses the mobile crawler by definition. The URL Inspection Tool uses the corresponding crawler (mobile or desktop) based on the site's mobile-first status. The R...
Martin Splitt Apr 26, 2021
★★ Should you be worried about 'other error' issues with images in the Search Console?
In the URL inspection tool, 'other error' issues for images or resources like tracking pixels are normal. Google Search does not directly extract images (that's Google Images' job) and does not need t...
Martin Splitt Apr 26, 2021
★★ Are breadcrumbs really beneficial for SEO, or are they just a UI gimmick?
Breadcrumbs have two SEO functions: helping crawl via internal linking (but not necessary if the site is already well-linked), and displaying structured navigation in search results through breadcrumb...
John Mueller Apr 16, 2021
★★ Should you really focus on optimizing entire pages instead of individual passages?
Passage ranking helps Google identify important parts of very long pages. However, it is essential to continue optimizing the entire page, not just individual sections. For SEO-optimized sites, it may...
John Mueller Apr 16, 2021
★★ How can you precisely control what appears (or doesn't) in your featured snippets?
To prevent certain paragraphs from appearing in search result snippets, use the data-nosnippet tag. For content that absolutely must not be indexed (legal reasons), block the JavaScript that loads thi...
John Mueller Mar 26, 2021
★★ Should You Remove Links That Are Only Present in the Initial HTML?
Google extracts URLs for crawling from both the initial HTML and the rendered HTML. Links that are only present in the initial HTML but absent from the rendered HTML may work, but consistency is prefe...
Martin Splitt Mar 24, 2021
★★★ Should You Really Use Noindex Rather Than Robots.txt to Deindex a Page?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that when you want to deindex a page that has been previously indexed by the search engine, you need to use the "noindex" meta robots tag and not the robots.txt file....
John Mueller Mar 15, 2021
★★ Why do your featured snippets disappear seemingly without a technical reason?
Featured snippets can fluctuate because teams are constantly refining the triggers to enhance relevance. It is not about a missing technical requirement, but rather about improving targeting and relev...
John Mueller Mar 12, 2021
★★ Do featured snippets and rich results really fluctuate randomly?
Featured snippets and rich results can fluctuate over time. Teams continually refine the triggering of these features. These are not technical changes but adjustments aimed at improving relevance and ...
John Mueller Mar 12, 2021
★★★ Should You Really Limit Your Title Tags to 70 Characters for SEO?
Gary Illyes indicated during the Search Central online event that having Title tags longer than the number of characters displayed in SERPs was a good practice, which brought a "plus" in SEO, because ...
Gary Illyes Mar 01, 2021
★★★ Will Core Web Vitals Really Revolutionize SERP Rankings?
Danny Sullivan explained on Twitter that Core Web Vitals, which will be launched next May, should not fundamentally change the game in the SERPs. He indicated that their impact will likely be very min...
Danny Sullivan Mar 01, 2021
★★★ Why do your structured data breadcrumbs not show up in the SERPs?
For structured data breadcrumbs to appear in search results, they must be visible on the page. Google checks three levels: technical validity of the markup, compliance with rules, and overall site qua...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Should you really report SERP bugs with generic queries to expect a response from Google?
When reporting display issues in the SERPs on the help forum, use examples of queries as generic as possible. Google engineers will prioritize problems affecting thousands of daily users rather than v...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Do Invisible Breadcrumbs Really Block Your Rich Results on Google?
For breadcrumbs to appear in search results, the structured markup must be valid, and the breadcrumbs must be visible on the page. The overall quality of the site affects the display of rich results....
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Why do your rich results vanish from the standard SERPs while still appearing in site searches?
To check if your rich results are being blocked by quality filters, perform a site search on your domain. If the rich results appear in the site: results but not in regular searches, it’s a sign that ...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Does the Mobile-Friendly Test truly reflect what Google sees of your page?
The Mobile-Friendly Test or the Rich Results Test allow you to check how Google actually sees your page. It is sometimes necessary to test several times because the tool may expire and fail to load im...
Kristina Azarenko Feb 25, 2021
★★ Is it true that passage ranking is independent of featured snippets?
Passage ranking refers to Google's capacity to dive into content and recognize that a page is relevant for something hidden at the bottom of the page. How Google displays it in the results is a comple...
John Mueller Feb 19, 2021
★★★ Does the textual content really influence image ranking in Google Images?
Good content on your pages is just as important as visual content for Google Images. The content of the page can be used to generate a text snippet for the image, and Google considers the quality of t...
John Mueller Feb 10, 2021
★★★ Do You Really Need to Pass All 3 Core Web Vitals to Get an SEO Boost?
John Mueller also explained in a webmaster hangout that, as part of the rollout of the "Page Experience / Core Web Vitals" project next May, all 3 KPIs (FID, CLS, LCP) will need to be met with positiv...
John Mueller Feb 01, 2021
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