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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★★★ Does Optimizing Keywords in URLs Really Matter for SEO?
John Mueller, once again, reminded us on Twitter that the presence of keywords in URLs is a weak ranking factor for the search engine's algorithm, especially since on mobile devices, we don't even see...
John Mueller Mar 13, 2017
Are Quality Comments Really an Important Ranking Signal for Google?
Gary Illyes painfully attempts to provide information on Twitter with his "DYK" (Do You Know...) posts, which are unfortunately most of the time incomprehensible and totally useless. Latest example: "...
Gary Illyes Mar 13, 2017
★★★ Do Font Choices Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
The same John Mueller also explained in this hangout that Google does not take into account the type of font used in a website's pages. It is not a relevance criterion. The only limitation: if the tex...
John Mueller Mar 13, 2017
★★ How Can You Effectively Optimize Your Images for Google Images in 2024?
John Mueller also reminded us this week of the various criteria taken into account by the Google Images algorithm: image file name, Alt attribute, Title attribute of a link pointing to the image, capt...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2017
Does Panda Really Analyze Your Entire Site Architecture or Just Content Quality?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that the Panda filter takes into account not only the quality of the content offered by a website, but also the entire site and therefore its architecture, without ...
John Mueller Mar 06, 2017
★★ Should You Still Submit Your Site to Directories to Improve SEO?
John Mueller, always him, indicated on Twitter that submitting a site to directories (particularly SEO directories) "generally" doesn't help with search engine optimization and rankings. Duly noted......
John Mueller Mar 06, 2017
★★ Should You Really Avoid Participating in SEO Contests?
John Mueller indicated in a hangout that one should be wary of SEO contests and the links they could generate because these could prove harmful and contrary to the search engine's recommendations. An ...
John Mueller Feb 27, 2017
★★ Should You Really Link to Wikipedia or Authority Sites to Improve Your SEO?
The same John Mueller indicated on Twitter that creating an external link on a page to very high authority sites like Wikipedia, Le Monde or... Google 🙂 doesn't play a role in SEO. Our experience (and...
John Mueller Feb 27, 2017
★★★ What Does Maile Ohye's Departure After 12 Years at Google Mean for the SEO Community?
Googler Maile Ohye announced that she was leaving Google after 12 years of dedicated service as Developer Programs Tech Lead, marked by numerous hangouts, conferences, and videos (including her latest...
Google Feb 27, 2017
★★ Does Google Really Remove All URL Variants When You Submit a Removal Request in Search Console?
John Mueller also indicated that if you submit a URL removal request via Search Console, all versions of that address will be removed from the index: Http/Https, with and without "www". So it's worth ...
John Mueller Feb 27, 2017
How Long Does It Actually Take Google to Process a Spam Report?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that the time it takes for Google's Search Quality Team to process a "spam report" can vary, but as a general rule, it takes a few hours or a few days. However, the st...
Gary Illyes Feb 20, 2017
★★ Should You Use Google's URL Inspection Tool to Speed Up Page Indexing?
John Mueller provided an interesting insight during a hangout about how Google indexes web pages on a site. In fact, there are two possibilities for this: the "classic" method (Googlebot finds a link ...
John Mueller Feb 20, 2017
Do You Really Need to Wait 4 to 12 Months to See Your First SEO Results?
In her video "How to hire an SEO", Maile Ohye explains that it takes "4 to 12 months" for SEO actions to have an impact on a website ("In most cases, the SEO will need four months to a year to help yo...
Google Feb 20, 2017
★★ Should You Really Worry About Bounce Rate for SEO Optimization?
John Mueller also indicated in this hangout that there is no point in inhibiting the browser's "Back" button when displaying a website in an attempt to manipulate the bounce rate. According to John Mu...
John Mueller Feb 20, 2017
Why Does Google Refuse to Display Backlink Types in Search Console?
The "Links to your site" section of Search Console displays a large number of backlinks pointing to your site, but without specific mention of those that are dofollow, nofollow or disavowed, for examp...
Gary Illyes Feb 13, 2017
★★ Is PageRank Still a Key Ranking Factor in Google's Algorithm in 2024?
Gary Illyes reminded us on Twitter that, almost 20 years after Google's creation, the search engine still uses PageRank as a relevance criterion. Thankfully... 🙂 And he shared the link to the document...
Gary Illyes Feb 13, 2017
★★ Can Google's Advertising Bots Actually Discover New Pages for Indexing?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google's robots used for Adwords and Adsense advertising (examples: Mediapartners-Google, Mediapartners, AdsBot-Google and AdsBot-Google-Mobile-Apps) are not use...
John Mueller Feb 13, 2017
★★ Does URL Structure Really Matter for Google Rankings?
John Mueller also indicated on Twitter that the hierarchy within the different elements of a URL was not important to Google. In other words, an address can contain many directories (example: http://w...
John Mueller Feb 06, 2017
★★ Can You Still Trust the Site: Operator to Audit Your Page Indexation?
Gary Illyes indicated on Twitter that Google is not at all considering removing the "site:" query syntax, which allows you to obtain a sample of the pages that the search engine indexes for a given we...
Gary Illyes Feb 06, 2017
★★★ Is AMP Really a Google Ranking Factor for SEO?
John Mueller indicated on Twitter that AMP was not a relevance criterion for Google and that the fact that a page is available in this format does not factor into the search engine's algorithm calcula...
John Mueller Jan 30, 2017
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