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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★★ Is it true that Google really ignores your tracking scripts during rendering?
Google ignores certain scripts during rendering if they are not necessary for displaying the page. Google Analytics and other common analytics scripts are automatically detected and skipped to speed u...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Could cleaning up your artificial backlinks really cause your Google rankings to plummet?
When cleaning up after a manual action related to artificial backlinks, the site may see a drop in rankings because it was previously ranked in an artificial situation. After correction, the ranking r...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Should You Really Implement Hreflang for International SEO?
Fabrice Canal (Bing) explained on Twitter that Microsoft's search engine pays relatively little attention to the content of the Hreflang tag, which is less important in any case than language detectio...
Google Sep 14, 2020
★★ Should you mimic competitors who rise after a core update?
After a drop due to a core update, it is relevant to analyze the pages that now rank better to identify trends (e.g., informational vs commercial content). This helps to understand what users are look...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Are guest posts considered a shady link scheme by Google?
Guest posts are acceptable if the author seeks to reach an audience (advertising, notoriety) and does not care about the nofollow. If the sole motivation is to obtain a dofollow link in exchange for t...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Is third-party JavaScript slowing down your site: Does Google really hold you accountable for ranking?
If a third-party JavaScript (e.g., advertising) significantly slows down a page, Google will measure this slowdown when evaluating speed for ranking, without making a distinction between site code or ...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Are Google’s manual penalties always visible in Search Console?
If a manual action has been taken by Google's Webspam team, it will almost always be visible in Search Console. There are a few rare edge cases where this would not be displayed, but for a normal site...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Do Google’s core updates truly follow a predictable schedule?
Core updates do not follow a precise timeline and are not limited to a single algorithm. They can include changes in how links are treated, and Google continuously processes new links, not just during...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Should you include or exclude Googlebot from your A/B tests without risking a penalty?
It is acceptable to include Googlebot in a temporary A/B test (e.g., menu change) or to exclude it by treating it as a special category (based on geolocation, language, capabilities). If separate URLs...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Can a blog on a subdomain really pass SEO authority to the main site?
For a blog on a subdomain (e.g., Shopify + WordPress) to pass authority to the main site, Google primarily relies on internal links and the fact that both are on the same root domain. Similar design o...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Is footer content really treated as standard content by Google?
Content placed in the footer is treated like normal content located at the bottom of the page, provided that it is legible and not hidden. Google performs a viewport expansion during rendering and det...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Should you really choose the 410 code over 404 for quick deindexing of a page?
The 410 (Gone) code removes pages from the index slightly faster than the 404, but in the long term, the difference is theoretical and negligible. For urgent removal, using the removal tool in Search ...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Should you really implement both Merchant Center feeds and product structured data?
It is recommended to use both the Merchant Center feed and the product structured data on the pages. The feed powers organic shopping results, while the structured data generates rich results in regul...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Do core updates really recalculate your scores continuously between deployments?
Unlike the old Panda or Penguin updates where scores were frozen until the next refresh, modern core updates see their scores regularly refreshed between two major deployments. Google can recalculate ...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Does Google Tag Manager affect your content to the point of impacting your SEO?
If the 'container tag' refers to Google Tag Manager, Google processes it during the page rendering. GTM can add, modify, or remove content via JavaScript. Using URL Inspection allows you to see the re...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Could your meta tags be hiding from Google without you even knowing?
Some third-party scripts inject tags (e.g. iframe) at the top of the <head>, which can lead Google to believe that the <head> is prematurely closed. Result: robots metatag, canonical, hreflang may be ...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Do internal links really play a role in Google ranking?
Creating internal links from old pages to new or relevant pages improves SEO. This helps Google crawl the site, understand which pages are important (the most linked), and better distribute internal a...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Is it really necessary to switch from Blogger to WordPress to boost your SEO?
Hosting a blog on Blogger with a custom domain is perfectly acceptable for SEO. There is no SEO advantage to migrating to WordPress. The Blogger infrastructure provides stability and automatic mainten...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★ Should you consider using Prerender for serving static HTML to Googlebot?
Using a service like Prerender to serve static HTML to Googlebot instead of letting Google render JavaScript can reduce technical risks during migrations or changes. It is not required, but it can sta...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
★★★ Do blog backlinks to product pages really convey authority?
Creating internal links from a blog (that naturally attracts backlinks) to the product or category pages of an e-commerce site is a recommended practice. The backlinks obtained by the blog help streng...
John Mueller Sep 14, 2020
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