What does Google say about SEO? /
This category compiles all official Google statements regarding links and their role in search engine optimization. Backlinks have always been a cornerstone of Google's ranking algorithm, though guidelines continue to evolve. Here you'll find Google's positions on link building strategies, acceptable practices versus manipulative techniques, proper use of nofollow and dofollow attributes, and official guidance on private blog networks (PBN) and guest blogging approaches. SEO practitioners will discover authoritative recommendations on anchor text optimization, toxic link management through the disavow tool, and the significance of internal linking for site architecture. Google regularly communicates about backlink quality, emphasizing relevance and natural link profiles over sheer volume. Understanding these official declarations is crucial for developing compliant netlinking strategies, avoiding algorithmic or manual penalties, and effectively optimizing PageRank flow throughout your website. This documentation helps search marketers separate myths from facts regarding outbound links impact, various link types, and acquisition techniques endorsed by the search engine. Whether you're addressing linkspam concerns or building sustainable link equity, these official statements provide the authoritative foundation for modern link-based SEO strategies.
Quick SEO Quiz

Test your SEO knowledge in 5 questions

Less than a minute. Find out how much you really know about Google search.

🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ Should you really block the indexing of certain pages to improve your crawl?
For sites with crawl and indexing difficulties, it’s essential to limit the number of indexable pages. Using noindex on filter pages allows Google to focus on the truly important pages. Fewer links to...
John Mueller Dec 18, 2020
★★ Should you really update all backlinks after a domain migration?
After a domain migration, updating external links pointing to the old site helps Google with canonicalization. If Google hesitates between the old and new version, external links to one version help i...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Does redirecting your old pages to an archive really help preserve SEO?
To archive old pages that have accumulated backlinks, they can be redirected to an archive section. The redirect signals to Google to transfer the links to the new destination....
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ How can cleaning up your URL structure solve your ranking problems?
When multiple similar pages exist and the wrong ones rank, cleaning up the site structure helps Google to identify the right pages. This includes reducing internal links to unwanted pages and using re...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Can redirecting to an archive section really help preserve the SEO of old pages?
To archive old pages while preserving their SEO value, simply redirect the URLs to the site's archive section. This signals Google to transfer link signals to the new destinations....
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★ Do links from old press releases really drag down your backlink profile?
Press releases accumulate links over time, but these are very dated links from news archives. Even if the number of links seems high, these links are less useful as they have become very irrelevant....
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Do domain extensions (.com, .fr, .uk) really influence the value of backlinks?
Google does not assign different weights to links based on the extension (.com, .au, .uk). Differentiation is based on the type of link and its contextual importance: does it provide substantial infor...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★ Do links from old press releases really hold any SEO value?
Old press releases often accumulate links from archived news sites. While numerous, these links have limited utility as they originate from outdated content and are no longer relevant....
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Do domain extensions (.com, .fr, .uk) really influence the weight of backlinks?
Google does not differentiate link weight based on domain extensions (.au, .com, .uk). Instead, Google evaluates the type of link and its importance according to the context provided: some links bring...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ How does cleaning up your URL structure really enhance the ranking of your strategic pages?
When poor pages (tags similar to categories) rank better than good ones, cleaning up the structure helps: reducing internal links to these pages, using rel=canonical, or redirecting to the desired pag...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Should you block pages receiving backlinks with robots.txt?
If a page is blocked by robots.txt, Google does not know its content and cannot indirectly transfer external links to the main content of the site. It is important to avoid blocking important pages th...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ What impact can changing your site's design or content have on your rankings?
Any change on a site (adding or removing text, modifying internal linking, changing the layout with different headings) must be reflected in the rankings. Retaining the URLs makes migration easier as ...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Does blocking a folder via robots.txt kill the PageRank transfer to your strategic pages?
Completely blocking a folder with robots.txt prevents Google from knowing the content of the pages. If external links point to these blocked pages, Google cannot indirectly transfer those links to the...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ Does every change to content or design really affect SEO rankings?
Any change on a website (adding/removing text, modifying internal linking, changing layout affecting headers) must be reflected in rankings. Keeping the same URLs helps preserve signals, but Google mu...
John Mueller Dec 11, 2020
★★★ How does Google choose the canonical URL among more than 20 signals?
Google uses over 20 different signals to determine which page should be selected as the canonical URL in a cluster of duplicates. These signals include content, PageRank, HTTPS, sitemaps, and redirect...
Gary Illyes Dec 10, 2020
★★★ Does PageRank really function the way we think it does?
Google still uses the original PageRank algorithm since 1996-97, but it has been significantly enhanced: more robust and less costly to execute. PageRank is now an integer ranging from 0 to about 65,0...
Gary Illyes Dec 10, 2020
★★★ Can the canonical tag really be ignored by Google?
The link rel canonical tag is a strong signal to indicate to Google which URL should be canonical, as it represents an explicit specification from the author. However, it is part of a set of weighted ...
Gary Illyes Dec 10, 2020
★★★ Does client-side JavaScript really enhance your SEO strategy?
Google can perfectly index and rank sites using client-side JavaScript, but developers should only use it when absolutely necessary. For simple sites like blogs or marketing sites, server-side renderi...
Martin Splitt Dec 10, 2020
★★★ Is PageRank still influencing the selection of canonical URLs?
PageRank is still used by Google as one of the signals to determine which page should become canonical among a group of duplicate pages, even after all these years....
Gary Illyes Dec 10, 2020
★★★ Should you really give up buying quality links for your SEO?
You should not buy links, whether from link farms or even high-quality sources. A few high-quality links increase PageRank more effectively than many low-quality links....
Gary Illyes Dec 10, 2020
🔔

Get real-time analysis of the latest Google SEO declarations

Be the first to know every time a new official Google statement drops — with full expert analysis.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.