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.
Quick SEO Quiz

Test your SEO knowledge in 5 questions

Less than a minute. Find out how much you really know about Google search.

🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ Hreflang in HTML or XML Sitemap: Is There Really a Difference for Google?
For implementing hreflang, Google treats the <head> HTML tag and the declaration in an XML sitemap exactly the same. Both methods are equivalent, and the choice depends on the ease of implementation f...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2020
★★★ How long does Google really take to process an HTTPS migration?
Google typically processes HTTPS migrations in about a week on most sites, provided everything is configured correctly. The exact timing is not critical since users are redirected anyway....
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★★ Does HTTPS really boost rankings in Google Search?
Google Search gives a slight ranking boost to pages that properly use HTTPS. However, this ranking signal remains quite weak and is generally not visible separately from other ranking factors....
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★★ Should you really keep HTTP to HTTPS redirections forever?
HTTP to HTTPS redirections should ideally remain in place forever. Once a site has migrated to HTTPS, there is no reason not to maintain these redirections permanently....
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★★ What triggers the same signals as a complete site move when migrating to HTTPS?
Moving from HTTP to HTTPS requires redirecting all users to the HTTPS version via server-side 301 redirects. Google considers this a site migration with a change of URL....
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★ Do free SSL certificates harm your Google rankings?
Any SSL certificate supported by modern browsers like Chrome is suitable for Google Search. Free certificates, especially those provided by Let's Encrypt, are perfectly appropriate for an HTTPS migrat...
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★ Why does HTTPS restrict access to critical SEO features?
HTTPS is a necessary condition to use many features of modern browsers, including geolocation, autofill, camera access, progressive web apps, and push notifications....
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★★ Should you really be worried about an HTTPS migration impacting your SEO rankings?
Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS generally does not negatively affect a site’s ranking. It is still the same website integrated in the same way into the web, and the HTTPS boost is too weak to be visible ...
John Mueller Sep 01, 2020
★★★ Should You Include Category Pages in Your XML Sitemap?
In response to a tweet asking whether category page URLs - article or product listing pages - should be included in the XML Sitemap, Fabrice Canel (Bing) answered yes, this file should include all URL...
Google Aug 31, 2020
★★★ Do Links from Wikipedia Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller explained on Reddit that links from Wikipedia to your site have no impact on your visibility in Google. And even more so for links created artificially and/or automatically on the online ...
John Mueller Aug 31, 2020
★★★ Why Are 15% of Google Searches Completely New Every Single Day?
In 2007, Google indicated that 25% of the queries it processed each day were completely new and had never been typed into the search engine before. Then this figure dropped to 15% in 2013, as still an...
Danny Sullivan Aug 31, 2020
★★ Why Did Google Remove Regex from Search Console Before Even Launching It?
A few weeks ago, the help documentation for the Search Console "Performance" report indicated that it was possible to use regex (regular expressions to filter data). Then John Mueller and Gary Illyes ...
John Mueller Aug 31, 2020
★★★ Should you really avoid changing everything at once during an SEO migration?
You shouldn't take advantage of a migration to simultaneously change multiple elements (URL structure, technology, content). Modifying all variables at the same time makes it impossible to identify th...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★ Does a migration trigger a quality reevaluation by Google?
Google constantly reevaluates content quality, whether during a migration or not. A site migration does not trigger any special quality reevaluation. Google always assesses content in its current form...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ How does Google really transfer signals during a domain migration?
When Google crawls the old site and detects the redirects, it checks that the new site is a one-to-one copy of the old one. If that's the case, signals from the old domain are transferred to the new d...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Does a domain migration really lead to traffic loss?
A well-executed domain migration does not necessarily result in overall traffic loss. If you simply copy the entire URL structure and content to a new domain, traffic will decrease on the old one and ...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★ Should you really leave the robots.txt file unchanged during an SEO migration?
Do not change the configuration of the robots.txt file during a migration. If certain URLs were blocked by robots.txt for good reasons before the migration, they must remain blocked after the migratio...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Should you really use Google Search Console's address change tool during a migration?
The address change tool in Search Console explicitly tells Google that a migration is intentional and not temporary or accidental. This additional signal allows Google to reprioritize the crawl, make ...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Merging two websites: Why doesn’t Google treat this like a standard migration?
Merging two websites into one is not a standard site migration. It involves creating a new site that combines two existing versions, which requires Google to re-crawl numerous pages. The outcome and p...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
★★★ Should you really redirect all images during a site migration?
It is essential to implement 301 redirects for all images during a site migration. Visual content is very important for SEO. Since refreshing in the image index takes time, you should monitor the serv...
Martin Splitt Aug 27, 2020
🔔

Get real-time analysis of the latest Google SEO declarations

Be the first to know every time a new official Google statement drops — with full expert analysis.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.