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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★★★ What causes a sudden drop in crawl requests that could indicate a robots.txt issue or response time problem?
If you notice a significant drop in the total number of crawl requests, ensure that no one has added a new robots.txt file to your site, or that your site is not responding slowly to Googlebot....
Daniel Waisberg Mar 03, 2021
★★ Why does Google reserve the Crawl Stats report exclusively for domain properties?
The Crawl Stats report in Search Console is only available for domain-level properties. It is not available for properties that include a URL prefix....
Daniel Waisberg Mar 03, 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
★★★ Does URL Structure Really Impact Google Rankings?
John Mueller provided two examples on Twitter of websites where URL page structure can be important: on one hand, international sites with a directory (example: /fr/, /de/, etc.) on a generic extensio...
John Mueller Mar 01, 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
★★★ Do mailto: and tel: links actually affect your site's internal PageRank?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google does not read or follow links of type "mailto:" or "tel:" (email addresses and phone numbers)....
John Mueller Mar 01, 2021
★★★ Is it true that word count doesn't matter for ranking on Google?
The word count on a page is neither a quality factor nor a ranking factor. Blindly adding text does not make a page better. What’s important is providing the necessary information for users and Google...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Is the number of words really a ranking factor for Google?
The number of words on a page is neither a quality factor nor a ranking factor. Blindly adding text does not make a page better. Just like a customer brochure, sometimes a short text suffices, sometim...
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
★★ Is it true that the length of the title really impacts Google rankings?
There is no perfect title length (e.g. 72 characters). Google uses the full content of the title for ranking, even if everything isn't displayed with ellipses. Google sometimes shows titles across 2-3...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Does internal linking truly overshadow the sitemap in signaling your strategic pages to Google?
To indicate to Google which pages are the most important, use internal linking instead of the sitemap. Pages linked from the homepage are considered more important than those situated 5-6 levels deep....
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Can you really target different countries on the same domain without using subdomains?
For generic domains (gTLDs), you can apply different country targeting for the homepage and for subdirectories in Search Console. The most specific parameter will be used. This does not work with coun...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Does font size really influence Google rankings?
Font size (14px vs 12px) does not affect rankings. The important factor is mobile compatibility, which remains a ranking factor. The rest falls under user experience....
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Can Core Web Vitals Really Boost Your Ranking Without Relevant Content?
Core Web Vitals do not guarantee a better ranking if relevance is insufficient. A very fast site without relevant content will not rank well. Relevance remains far the most important factor, while Cor...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Why does Google keep crawling 404 URLs that are years old?
Google may continue attempting to crawl URLs that existed 7-8 years ago, even if they have returned 404 or 410 for a long time. These URLs are kept in a low-priority queue and are occasionally retried...
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
★★ Does CSS font size really impact your positions on Google?
The variation in font size (14px vs 12px) on a page does not affect ranking. The only important consideration is mobile compatibility, which remains a ranking factor. The rest pertains to user experie...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Is it true that Google can't always show the right local version of your site?
It is impossible to guarantee that Google will always display the correct language/geographic version of a site in search results. It is recommended to implement a detection banner to redirect users a...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★★ Does traffic volume really influence your Core Web Vitals?
For Core Web Vitals, a site's traffic volume is not important as long as Google has enough data from the Chrome User Experience Report. There is no difference between millions or thousands of visitors...
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
★★ Should you really use hreflang when targeting multiple countries with the same language?
For equivalent content in the same language but targeting different countries, the use of hreflang is recommended alongside geographic targeting in Search Console....
John Mueller Feb 26, 2021
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