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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🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★ Is it possible to mark a main page with FAQ schema, or is a dedicated page necessary?
It is technically possible to mark a main page with FAQ schema instead of a dedicated page, but the FAQ content must be visible on the page. Completely hiding FAQs is problematic; an accordion with vi...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Should you really choose a subdirectory over a subdomain for your microsite?
For a microsite related to the main content, Google recommends a subdirectory rather than a subdomain. The subdirectory simplifies technical maintenance (CMS, redirects, Search Console, sitemap) and s...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Could unmoderated comments trigger SafeSearch and penalize your entire site?
Google tries to isolate comments from main content, but if a site publishes unmoderated adult or spam comments, it can be globally treated by SafeSearch or penalized. The webmaster must moderate or no...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Should you really put empty user profile pages on no-index?
It is generally unnecessary to put no-index on underfilled user profile pages. Google automatically focuses on the important parts of the site. No-index is only useful if these pages are used for spam...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ How many internal links per page should you have to optimize your structure without hindering crawl efficiency?
There is no magic number of internal links per page. The key is to have a clear site structure that enables Google to understand the hierarchy and relationships between pages. A flat structure, where ...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Does the average position in Search Console really mislead you about your true visibility?
The average position in GSC does not always reflect true visibility. A page may display a position of 20-50 but seem to be on the first page due to multiple elements (OneBoxes, images, side panels). G...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Do intrusive interstitials really have a measurable impact on your SEO?
There is no indicator in Search Console to measure the impact of intrusive interstitials. It is a light ranking factor used in the algorithm. The impact does not apply to the entire site but rather to...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Do outgoing links to authoritative sites really boost your Google ranking?
Adding outgoing links to authoritative sites (Wikipedia, CNN, etc.) does not improve a page's ranking. Google does not consider that a site becomes better simply because it links to quality content. T...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Why does your favicon take months to get indexed on Google?
A favicon can take several months to appear in search results, particularly if the site uses subdomains for each language instead of being indexed at the root. Google recommends reporting persistent c...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★ Why does your site still receive 40% of desktop crawls after transitioning to mobile-first indexing?
Even after moving to mobile-first indexing, a site can receive 40% desktop crawls and 60% mobile. This depends on the type of content (e.g., Google Shopping, AdWords Landing Page Check may use the des...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Do YouTube two-click embeds really hurt video SEO?
YouTube video embeds with placeholder (two-click for privacy) do not inhibit indexing if the VideoObject schema is used. Google can thus recognize the video and display it in results even without seei...
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Is it really necessary to have a dedicated page for each video to rank on Google?
When Google detects a video on a page, it displays a thumbnail for that page. If multiple videos are on the same page, it becomes challenging for Google to determine which video is the most important....
John Mueller Jul 24, 2020
★★★ Should You Reject Backlinks from Pages Less Popular Than Yours?
According to John Mueller, receiving links from pages with lower popularity (whether you measure it with metrics like TF, CF, DA or others) than the page receiving the link does not pose a major probl...
John Mueller Jul 20, 2020
★★★ Should you really create your robots.txt from scratch or can you take inspiration from a competitor?
You shouldn't simply reuse someone else's robots.txt file assuming it will work for your site. Instead, think about the parts of your site that you really don't want crawled, and block only those....
John Mueller Jul 20, 2020
★★★ Can You Really Optimize Your Content for Google Discover?
In the new version of the help page about its Discover feature, Google explains that "there is no way to create content that explicitly aims to meet Discover's interests." In other words, you cannot o...
Google Jul 20, 2020
★★ Should you really block server configuration files in robots.txt?
Configuration files such as PHP.ini or .htaccess are not accessible from the outside by default. They are secured or located in a special place. If no one can access them, Googlebot cannot either. The...
John Mueller Jul 20, 2020
★★★ Should You Block 404 Error Pages in Your Robots.txt File?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that it would be a very bad idea to block pages that return 404 errors from search engine crawling, adding that Googlebot attempts to crawl billions of URLs that retu...
John Mueller Jul 20, 2020
★★ Should you ditch POST for crawlable APIs and switch everything to GET?
Google cannot cache POST requests, leading to greater crawl budget consumption. For rendering APIs, use GET requests. GraphQL can be employed to reduce the number of requests, but only in GET mode....
Martin Splitt Jul 14, 2020
★★★ Does crawl budget really only concern very large sites?
Crawl budget should only be a concern for sites with millions of URLs. For sites with fewer than one million pages, crawl budget is generally not an issue unless the server infrastructure is failing....
Martin Splitt Jul 14, 2020
★★★ Does the crawl budget truly impact the rendering phase of your JavaScript pages?
The crawl budget affects not only the initial crawl but also the rendering, as Google needs to fetch additional resources (CSS, JavaScript, API). A poor cache can force Google to continuously re-downl...
Martin Splitt Jul 14, 2020
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