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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★★★ Can the Quality Rater Guidelines actually improve the rankings of medical sites?
Medical sites can benefit from consulting Google's Quality Rater Guidelines to align their content with quality expectations, although these raters do not directly affect rankings....
John Mueller Sep 26, 2019
★★★ Can publishing third-party content really harm your entire site in Google?
Webmasters who publish third-party content remain responsible for the overall quality of their site. Google may rank sites that contain a mix of inappropriate quality content less favorably....
John Mueller Sep 26, 2019
★★★ Why can't one tool replace the other: Search Console or Analytics?
Google Analytics provides data on how users interact with your site, whereas Google Search Console focuses on how your site appears in search results. Even if you already use Google Analytics, Search ...
Google Sep 23, 2019
★★★ Are Search Console performance reports truly essential for driving your SEO?
Search performance reports in Google Search Console are crucial for understanding how often your site appears in search results and how many clicks it receives. This information helps track traffic tr...
Google Sep 23, 2019
★★★ How can you effectively remove hacked pages from Google search results?
To remove hacked pages from search results, it is advisable to ensure they return a 404 code and to use the URL removal tool when these pages are still visible to users....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Does JavaScript still hinder Google's crawling without server-side rendering?
Fully JavaScript sites must ensure they use distinct URLs and standard links. Google is getting better at crawling these sites, but compatibility should be ensured for proper indexing....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Do schema subtypes really affect how rich snippets are displayed?
The schema types used for rich snippets affect their display. The listed parent types often include subtypes such as 'hotel' under 'organization'....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Should you still use nofollow to filter facet navigation crawl?
Nofollow tags continue to be used to indicate to search engines that certain pages or links are less important to crawl, especially for internal links in facet navigation....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Splitting or merging a site: why doesn’t Google transfer SEO value like it does with a simple move?
When a site is split into several new sites or several sites are combined, Google must reevaluate the whole, which is different from a simple domain transfer where redirects can effectively transfer a...
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Is it true that Google is restricting review rich snippets? Which sites are now excluded from the SERP?
Google has limited review rich snippets to certain specific types and does not display reviews of entities hosted on the same website of the reviewed entity....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Should you host your images on a CDN subdomain to optimize their indexing?
It is acceptable to use CDNs like Amazon S3 to host images used in sitemaps, but it is advised to employ a subdomain for more flexible URL management in case of a CDN change....
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Should you really keep your event pages online after the date?
Google recommends creating a persistent event page that serves as a landmark for all events to retain link value, rather than creating individual pages that disappear after the event, as this can lead...
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ How does Google actually determine the position displayed in the Search Console?
In the Search Console, Google takes into account the visible first position in real-time for search result rankings, counting the best ranking among the page’s appearances, including those from rich s...
John Mueller Sep 20, 2019
★★★ Do you really need to use JavaScript to redirect URLs with fragments (#)?
To change your URL structure, use JavaScript to create client-side redirects because server-side redirects do not work after the hash symbol, which is handled in the browser....
John Mueller Sep 17, 2019
★★★ Are hashbang URLs finally crawlable by Google without specific configuration?
Google can now render hashbang URLs directly, without requiring specific setup....
John Mueller Sep 17, 2019
★★★ Does Google Really Count All of Your Website's Backlinks?
John Mueller explained on the Web that "accurately counting links on the web is technically impossible, everyone makes different approximations and assumptions."...
John Mueller Sep 16, 2019
★★★ What structured data format should you prioritize to boost your chances of appearing in Google's rich results?
Google supports JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa for processing structured data on a web page....
John Mueller Sep 11, 2019
★★★ Where should you place JSON-LD in your HTML code: <head> or <body>?
JSON-LD, to be processed by Google, can be inserted in either the <head> or <body> element of a web page....
John Mueller Sep 11, 2019
★★★ Can Structured Data Errors Actually Trigger a Manual Penalty from Google?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that if the implementation of structured data tags generates parsing errors (particularly on Google's testing tool), this cannot lead to a manual action from the sear...
John Mueller Sep 09, 2019
★★★ How Does Google Actually Choose Which Canonical URL to Index When Multiple Versions Exist?
John Mueller, in a new video from his #AskGoogleWebmasters channel, explains how Google selects canonical URLs. Indeed, in many cases, the search engine identifies a page offering given content (or si...
John Mueller Sep 09, 2019
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