What does Google say about SEO? /
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping search engine optimization and Google's algorithms. This category compiles Google's official statements regarding AI usage in search, including machine learning technologies, large language models (LLMs), and new generative search experiences like SGE and AI Overview. SEO practitioners will find Google's positions on how AI-generated content (ChatGPT, Gemini, Bard) impacts website rankings and organic visibility. Google has clarified its guidelines concerning artificial intelligence for content creation, distinguishing acceptable practices from manipulative techniques that violate search quality standards. Understanding these official declarations is crucial for adapting SEO strategies to algorithmic evolutions, particularly with the increasing integration of machine learning into ranking systems. This category also covers the impact of AI-generated answers in SERPs, E-E-A-T quality criteria applied to AI-assisted content, and recommendations for maintaining organic search presence in the era of generative search. Essential insights include how Google evaluates content quality regardless of production method, focusing on helpfulness and user value rather than creation process. A must-follow resource for staying ahead in modern search engine optimization.
★★★ Should a technical SEO audit really go beyond crawlability and indexation?
A technical SEO audit must ensure that no technical issues prevent or interfere with site crawling or indexation. It should use checklists and guidelines, but requires experience to adapt these tools ...
Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025
★★ Why does your technical SEO audit fail without involving the dev team?
It is very useful to dialogue with people familiar with the site and its technology to verify if your assessment makes sense to them and to better understand the technical context....
Martin Splitt Nov 06, 2025
★★★ How Should You Adapt Your SEO Strategy for the AI-Generated Answers Era?
Interviewed by Marina Mogilko on search engine optimization in the context of AI-powered search (AI Mode and AI Overviews), Robby Stein (VP of Product at Google Search) explains that SEO for AI (AEO, ...
Google Nov 04, 2025
★★★ Can URL Case Sensitivity Really Impact Your Organic Rankings?
As John Mueller reminds us, case plays a role in canonicalization: Google may choose a different canonical version if URLs vary only by case. Case sensitivity also impacts the management of the robots...
John Mueller Nov 04, 2025
★★★ Is the meta keywords tag still worth anything for SEO in 2025?
Google has never used the meta keywords tag for SEO purposes. This tag has no effect on your ranking in Google search results....
Gary Illyes Nov 03, 2025
★★★ Does CSS really influence the SEO weight of your H1-H6 tags?
Google normalizes all header tags (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.). Through rendering, Google analyzes the CSS style applied to these tags to determine the relative importance of the H tags in relation to each ...
Gary Illyes Nov 03, 2025
★★ Should you really optimize each Google removal tool differently for SEO?
Google's various content removal tools must be optimized differently for specific keywords in order to attract the right type of traffic and help users find the right tool for their particular need....
Lizzi Sassman Nov 03, 2025
★★ Why does Google document only one single meta tag in its official SEO guide?
In Google's SEO starter guide, the meta description is the only meta tag that is truly documented and recommended. Other meta tags are not addressed because they generally have no effect on search eng...
Lizzi Sassman Nov 03, 2025
★★ Why does Google normalize your HTML even when it's broken?
Google normalizes HTML through a lexical analyzer because the Internet is generally broken at the HTML level. Even with malformed HTML, Google tries to make sense of the content by normalizing it duri...
Gary Illyes Nov 03, 2025
★★★ Should you really de-optimize certain pages to boost your SEO performance?
It's sometimes necessary to de-optimize certain pages to avoid attracting the wrong type of traffic. The objective is to have traffic that converts and accomplishes the desired action, not simply maxi...
Lizzi Sassman Nov 03, 2025
★★ How does Caffeine actually ingest Googlebot data into Google's search index?
Caffeine is Google's indexing system that ingests the protocol buffers produced by Googlebot. It collects signals, normalizes HTML, and adds the processed information to the search index....
Gary Illyes Nov 03, 2025
★★★ How Can You Permanently Remove Hacked Pages That Are Still Indexed by Google?
On Reddit, a user shared their misadventure. After being hacked and taking steps to fix the problem, hundreds of typical Japanese keyword hack pages are still indexed in Google, even though they no lo...
John Mueller Oct 28, 2025
★★ Should You Ditch WordPress for Hosted CMS Like Wix or Squarespace?
After advising to use Search Console to check for "hidden" pages, John Mueller suggested to his interlocutor to look into hosted solutions (like Wix, Squarespace) that don't require checking that all ...
John Mueller Oct 28, 2025
★★★ How Do User Behaviors Really Shape Google's AI Overviews?
Liz Reid detailed how user behaviors and content quality influence results in AI Overviews. She explains that user preferences (short videos, forums, in-depth content, etc.) directly guide the types o...
Google Oct 21, 2025
★★ Is Google Search Console API Really Slowing Down or Is This Normal?
John Mueller (Google) confirmed that there has been no change in the speed or update frequency of the Google Search Console API. For the past few weeks, users have been complaining about delays in dat...
John Mueller Oct 21, 2025
★★★ Why Does Google Search Console Show Poor LCP When Your Pages Seem Fast?
No, Google Search Console is not off the mark when it reports poor overall LCP while individual pages seem good. Barry Pollard explains that the difference comes from how GSC and CrUX measure Core Web...
Google Oct 07, 2025
★★★ How Long Does It Really Take for an Old Domain to Recover Its SEO Visibility?
A recovered domain can take time to regain good SEO visibility: this is the main point emphasized by John Mueller (Google) in a Reddit discussion. A site owner was concerned that their domain (previou...
John Mueller Sep 30, 2025
★★★ Why Did Your Search Console Impressions Drop Overnight?
Since Google removed the ability to display 100 results per page (&num=100), many sites have experienced a sudden drop in their impressions in Google Search Console and an automatic improvement in the...
John Mueller Sep 23, 2025
★★ Is Keyword Cannibalization Actually a Myth in SEO?
John Mueller stated that "keyword cannibalization" isn't really an SEO problem in itself, and that it's often a misleading label used to mask other real causes of poor page performance. Indeed, the te...
John Mueller Sep 23, 2025
★★★ Does Google Search Console Really Offer a Filter to Measure AI Overviews' Impact on Your Traffic?
No, Google Search Console has not added a dedicated filter for AI Overviews in the performance report, contrary to a widely circulated rumor on social media and certain forums. This rumor originated f...
John Mueller Sep 16, 2025
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