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 abandon dynamic rendering for SEO?
Dynamic rendering (full HTML via SSR for bots, CSR for users) works but adds complexity to configuration and maintenance. Google does not encourage it for new projects....
Martin Splitt May 04, 2023
★★ Do you really need to optimize image file names for SEO?
Descriptive file names for images are somewhat useful. For a few images, it's recommended, but if you have millions of images, you need to evaluate whether the benefit is worth the effort required....
Gary Illyes May 04, 2023
★★★ Does Google really render EVERY successfully crawled page with JavaScript?
All pages that are correctly crawled are rendered by Googlebot. Only pages that generate errors like 404s are not rendered. JavaScript rendering is part of the normal indexation process....
Martin Splitt May 04, 2023
★★ Should you really worry about the difference between 301 and 302 redirects anymore?
Google recognizes long-lasting 302 temporary redirects as permanent. While it's theoretically correct to use 301s, it's not critical because Google adapts as long as there is a redirect in place....
John Mueller May 04, 2023
★★★ Should You Still Optimize User Experience Now That Google Has Removed the Page Experience System?
A few days ago, Google updated its documentation by removing several ranking systems, including the page experience system. Although Google had already clarified in the past that this system was more ...
Google May 02, 2023
★★★ How many products per page should you display to optimize your e-commerce SEO?
On Mastodon, a user asked John Mueller what the ideal number of products per page was. The Google employee did not directly answer his interlocutor, suggesting instead that they conduct user tests to ...
John Mueller May 02, 2023
★★★ Is Your Declared Canonical Different From Google's? Here's How to Spot It Using the URL Inspection API
The URL Inspection API provides indexation information including the canonical URL declared by the user and the one selected by Google. This API can be used to check whether differences exist between ...
Daniel Waisberg Apr 26, 2023
★★★ Does the Search Console API Really Unlock 50 Times More Data Than the Standard Interface?
The Search Console API and Looker Studio connector deliver up to 50,000 samples of pages or queries, compared to just 1,000 samples visible through the user interface or spreadsheet export. This diffe...
Daniel Waisberg Apr 26, 2023
★★ Does the URL Inspection API finally reveal the true indexation status of your pages?
Analyzing indexation status via the URL Inspection API provides detailed information about the URL including whether it is indexed or not, the time of the last crawl by Google, the canonical URL selec...
Daniel Waisberg Apr 26, 2023
★★ Should you be monitoring your sitemaps through Google's dedicated API?
The Sitemaps API lets you retrieve information about sitemaps already submitted to Google Search, including processing status, last download date, and any existing warnings. It also allows you to subm...
Daniel Waisberg Apr 26, 2023
★★★ Does SafeSearch Really Filter Your Content on Google Discover?
In response to a tweet from @lilyraynyc, who was wondering whether sites with some adult content could be entirely excluded from Discover, the Google SearchLiaison account stated: "SafeSearch likely a...
Google Apr 25, 2023
★★★ Should You Block Your Site's Internal Search Result Pages?
On Reddit, John Mueller wrote "If you can't selectively choose which internal search result pages should be indexable, you should block them all. Use the disallow directive in the robots.txt file or n...
John Mueller Apr 25, 2023
★★★ Should You Be Worried About the New GoogleOther Crawler?
Gary Illyes announced on LinkedIn that a new crawler, GoogleOther, has been added to the list of crawlers that relieve Googlebot. According to him, it doesn't change much but it's interesting to know....
Gary Illyes Apr 25, 2023
★★★ Is using AI to generate SEO content spam or a legitimate opportunity?
Not all use of automation is spam. Automation has been used to generate useful content such as sports scores, weather forecasts and transcriptions. AI can help create excellent and useful content for ...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★★ Does Google really reward content quality regardless of how it's produced?
Google's ranking systems aim to reward original, high-quality content that demonstrates authority, expertise, and trustworthiness. Google focuses on content quality rather than how the content was pro...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★★ Why is Google making Experience a core ranking factor alongside Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness?
Google has added an E for Experience to the EAT criteria (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) in its quality rater guidelines. The criteria now become EEAT: Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Tr...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★★ Is automation really considered spam by Google when it's used to boost rankings?
Using automation, including AI, to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results constitutes a violation of Google's anti-spam policies....
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★★ Are Links from News Sites Really Worth More for SEO?
Following a discussion initiated by Patrick Stox from Ahrefs, John Mueller indicated that links from news sites are not treated differently from other links: "why would links from news sites be treate...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★ Why is Google publishing a specific guide on links for web designers?
Google has published a set of recommendations for links. If you're working with a web designer and want to ensure that the links on your site work well for search, this document is essential to share ...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
★★★ How can you leverage massive Search Console data exports to BigQuery to transform your SEO strategy?
Google Search Console now offers massive data exports to BigQuery. This feature gives you access to all available performance data for a property, except anonymized queries, and overcomes the daily ro...
John Mueller Apr 18, 2023
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