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.
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★★★ Does Hidden Content in Accordions and Tabs Really Carry the Same SEO Weight as Visible Content?
Gary Illyes also explained in the recent podcast in question that the fact that text is potentially visible (examples: in a tab, an accordion, in short hidden by default but made visible upon user act...
Gary Illyes Jun 27, 2022
★★ Should you connect Search Console to Data Studio to boost your SEO performance?
Google published a series of blog articles explaining how to connect Google Search Console to Google Data Studio. This connection allows you to create advanced visualizations such as bubble charts sho...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★ Is Google's Ecommerce Essentials series really changing how you approach technical SEO?
Google has launched a new video series called 'Ecommerce Essentials' that covers critical topics such as image optimization, JavaScript management, and mobile adaptation. Although targeting e-commerce...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★★ How can you survive a Google Core Update without losing all your traffic?
Google launched an algorithmic update called the May Core Update. These Core Updates affect the core of Google's systems and can lead to notable changes in Search and Discover. Some sites may experien...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★★ Should you really stop using Google's URL parameter management tool in Search Console?
Google has deprecated the URL parameter management tool in Search Console. Google's crawling systems have improved significantly, making this tool less critical. Google now recommends using the robots...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★ Will Google's new video report in Search Console be a game-changer for video SEO?
Google previewed a new video report in Search Console at Google I/O. Although no timeline has been announced yet, this report will enable website owners using videos to obtain detailed information abo...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★ How is Google really evolving its anti-spam tactics to stay ahead of manipulators?
Google released its annual Webspam report detailing the efforts deployed to prevent spam and malicious content from affecting search results. The report mentions the changes observed over the years in...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★ Are sitemap extension tags still worth your time and effort?
Google announced the discontinuation of several sitemap extension tags, notably image geolocation and video category, starting in August 2022. This does not affect the use of other sitemap data which ...
John Mueller Jun 23, 2022
★★★ Does Googlebot really fail to index content hidden behind user clicks?
Googlebot does not trigger user interactions like clicks. If content requires a click to load via an XHR request (a network request initiated by JavaScript), Google will probably not see that content....
Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Why does Google prefer hyphens over underscores in URLs—and what's the real impact on your rankings?
Google recommends using hyphens rather than underscores in URLs. Google's tokenizer uses certain parts of the URL to understand page content, and cannot easily segment at the underscore level because ...
Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022
★★ Are Core Web Vitals really enough to measure user experience?
Core Web Vitals offer a limited view of how a user experiences a page. There is no single metric that can cover the entirety of user experience, which is why multiple specific metrics have been define...
Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022
★★ Why won't Google give you precise criteria on certain UX aspects—and what should you do about it?
Google remains vague on certain UX aspects because they are difficult to define precisely. For example, navigation structure, titles, or readability levels cannot be specified exactly because they var...
Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022
★★ Does web accessibility directly impact your Google rankings?
Webmaster guidelines include accessibility as part of user experience, notably mentioning the importance of alt text for images and other standard accessibility practices....
Lizzi Sassman Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Do accordions really hurt your SEO, or is it just an old myth?
Since around 2014, Google has been able to see content within collapsible elements or accordions. Hiding content in this way has no negative effect on how the content is represented in search results....
Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022
★★ Are human-readable and consistent URLs really a ranking factor?
Google recommends making URLs human-readable and maintaining consistency in their structure. Brevity and ease of memorization are important for user experience....
Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Is page experience really enough to guarantee good UX for Google?
Page experience is a subset of user experience (UX). It includes technical elements such as Core Web Vitals, mobile compatibility, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitials, but does not cover all aspects of...
Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Should you really prioritize users over machines in SEO?
Webmaster guidelines recommend designing websites with users first in mind, then machines. The goal is to make the site work for the people who visit it....
Lizzi Sassman Jun 21, 2022
Is Lighthouse really missing poor quality anchor text on your site?
Google's Lighthouse tool uses a limited list of English phrases to detect non-descriptive link text like 'click here'. This detection doesn't work for other languages and remains very basic....
Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Has hidden content become just as important as visible content for Google?
Google used to consider content not visible on the page as less important than visible content, but that's no longer the case. Content simply needs to be present in the HTML or immediate JavaScript....
Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022
★★★ Does Google Really Use Bing's Index as a Backup Database?
Alright, here's a fun one to wrap up this section and start the week on an amusing note: a user asked John Mueller if Google used Bing's index when it couldn't find satisfactory results in its own ind...
John Mueller Jun 20, 2022
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