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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Should you still rely on Google's cache date to verify page crawling?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that it's better not to pay too much attention to the date shown (last bot visit) when displaying the "Cached" version of a page (or using the "cache:" syntax for a U...
John Mueller Sep 18, 2017
★★★ Do HTML ID attributes have an impact on natural search rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the content of "id=" attributes in an HTML tag (example: <div id="content" class="content"...>) is not taken into account (in terms of text relevance analysis) b...
John Mueller Sep 18, 2017
★★★ Do you really need to optimize your XML sitemap loading speed?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that an XML Sitemap file doesn't need to load faster or slower, as long as a timeout doesn't occur, of course. But the loading time of this file isn't taken into acco...
John Mueller Sep 18, 2017
★★ Does Noindexing 50% of Your Pages Actually Hurt Your SEO Rankings?
A Googler (Aaseesh Marina) indicated on a forum that noindexing a large portion of a site's pages (for example 50%) had no negative impact on the other pages that were indexed....
Google Sep 11, 2017
★★★ How Does Google Actually Detect Duplicate Content During Indexing?
Gary Illyes provided some insights on Twitter about how Google handles duplicate content phenomena: it's done through page comparison (not based on keyword analysis), the analysis is performed during ...
Gary Illyes Sep 11, 2017
★★ Do Large Sites with More Pages Rank Better on Google?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google does not rank large sites (those with many pages) better "by default" compared to small sites......
John Mueller Sep 11, 2017
★★ Why Aren't Your Rich Snippets Showing Up in Search Results Despite Correct Technical Implementation?
Aaseesh Marina explained that the failure of rich snippet information (stars, prices, product availability...) to appear in SERPs could stem from a third reason (in addition to the two already known: ...
Google Sep 11, 2017
★★★ Does the Absence of Google's "Cached" Link Indicate Low-Quality Content?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that the fact that the "Cached" link does not appear in the SERPs for a page is not synonymous with low-quality content for the search engine. This may mean that the ...
John Mueller Sep 11, 2017
Can We Still Trust Google's Statements About the Panda Filter?
Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that Google had changed its approach to the Panda filter and that what was true 5 years ago wasn't necessarily true today. It's worth noting that a year ago, John Muel...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
Should You Build One Multi-Topic Website or Multiple Niche Sites for Better SEO?
John Mueller explained during a hangout that, in his opinion, it was better to create a single website, offering silos dedicated to specific topics, rather than numerous websites, each dealing with a ...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
★★★ Does the Meta Robots Noarchive Tag Actually Hurt Your Google Rankings?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that using the meta robots "noarchive" tag (which prevents the cached version of a page from being displayed in Google search results) has no negative impact on the r...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
★★★ Should You Really Remove All Hash (#) Links to Boost Your SEO?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google completely ignores links like <a href="#"> (often used, for example, to open pop-up windows) since they lead "nowhere" according to John......
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
★★ Should You Really Stop Trying to Understand Google's Algorithms to Do Better SEO?
When an internet user asked him a question about the "LSTM" algorithm (which we still haven't fully understood what it's about), John Mueller explained on Twitter that you should work on a website in ...
John Mueller Sep 04, 2017
★★ Does Your Choice of Browser Actually Affect Your Google SEO Rankings?
John Mueller indicated during a hangout that to his knowledge, Google's relevance algorithm did not take into account the browser used by the user. Search results were supposedly the same on Chrome, F...
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★★ What Does Google Do When Your Site Sends Conflicting Canonical Signals?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that when contradictory and/or conflicting signals are sent to Google regarding "canonical" tags (for example: an HTTPS URL containing a "canonical" tag pointing to t...
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★ Can You Really Contact Google for Personalized SEO Support on Your Website?
A few days after Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that he doesn't provide SEO support for specific sites privately, John Mueller said the opposite by approving a user asking if they could send him a p...
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★★ What Does the "Expired" Status in Search Console's URL Removal Tool Really Mean?
John Mueller explained what the "Expired" status means in Search Console and the "Remove URLs" tool. This status indicates that no specific action is needed to deindex the page, as it is covered by a ...
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★★ Does Googlebot Always Start Crawling from a Website's Homepage?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Googlebot generally crawls a site's homepage first, simply because it's the first page it finds. But that it's not mandatory....
John Mueller Aug 28, 2017
★★★ How Will the New Search Console Transform Your SEO Data Analysis?
Gary Illyes confirmed from Japan that the new version of Search Console will be arriving soon with an extended data period (beyond the current 90 days for search analysis in particular). But no furthe...
Gary Illyes Aug 28, 2017
★★★ How Does Google Actually Handle Invalid or Non-Standard HTML Attributes in Your Page Code?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that when Google "parses" (analyzes) the HTML code of a page, erroneous attributes (badly coded, non-existent, non-standard...) of a tag are generally ignored....
John Mueller Aug 21, 2017
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