Gary Illyes

★★★ Does content quality alone really guarantee a strong Google ranking?

Having a website well-ranked on Google, particularly at the top of search results, depends heavily on the quality of your pages' content. For example, large amounts of nonsensical text will produce po...

Feb 15, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google break down its search engine into exactly three distinct phases?

Google Search operates in three main steps: crawling (discovering URLs and exploring the internet), indexation (understanding the page content and its relationship with other pages, then storing this ...

Feb 15, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is indexation really the mechanism by which Google understands your pages?

Indexation is how Google understands what a page is about and its relationship with other pages on the Internet, while storing this information in a way that allows it to be searched efficiently....

Feb 15, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can page attributes really boost your visibility in Google search results?

There are different attributes you can add to your pages to increase your website's visibility in Google search results....

Feb 15, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ What are the three essential pillars that shape Google Search results?

Google Search operates on three main components that make up its functionality. These three building blocks are essential for grasping how Google processes and ranks web content in its search results....

Feb 14, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do you still need to worry about HTTPS for SEO in 2025?

Google removed information about HTTPS from its SEO Starter Guide because most websites now have HTTPS enabled by default during domain setup, with SSL/TLS certificates readily available for free....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Has mobile compatibility really become a non-issue for SEO?

Mobile compatibility is no longer a priority topic in the guide because it is automatically integrated into modern CMS templates. Beginners no longer need to worry about it....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does HTML structure really have minimal impact on Google rankings?

A page's HTML structure does not have a significant impact on rankings. Using headings, a title element, and paragraphs is important, but beyond that, detailed HTML structure matters little....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can you really trust modern CMSs to handle title tags automatically without any manual oversight?

Modern CMSs like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace automatically create the HTML title element correctly. Users don't need to check the HTML code to ensure the title is properly present....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do keywords in your domain name still matter for SEO in 2024?

The effect of keywords in your domain name or URL on rankings is so weak that it's probably not worth thinking about. It's better to focus on user perception rather than domain SEO optimization....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you remove the meta keywords tag from your website?

Google has never used the meta keywords tag for ranking and will never use it. This meta tag has no effect on Google Search....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do you really need Google Analytics or Google Ads to rank better in search?

Using any other Google product will not influence a site's ranking in Google Search. There is no SEO advantage to using Google services....

Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Double Slashes in Your URLs Hurting Your Google Indexing?

Gary Illyes stated that the presence of a double slash (or double forward slash) in a URL could cause usability issues, but more importantly, that it could disrupt certain indexing bots. Indeed, this ...

Dec 26, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How Can You Structure Your Site to Speed Up Indexing of Your News Content?

During the SEO Office Hours, Gary Illyes also explained that it was wise to use a hierarchical structure for large-scale sites in order to encourage Google to explore different sections quickly. Gary ...

Dec 26, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Googlebot really rejecting HTML pages larger than 15 MB from being crawled?

Google has a 15 megabyte request size limit for crawling web pages. This limit applies to individual HTML files and is large enough for the vast majority of websites....

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google separate Googlebot and Google-Other in its crawling activities?

Google created the Google-Other user-agent to isolate crawl traffic unrelated to search. Googlebot is now reserved exclusively for search-related traffic, while Google-Other is used for search and cer...

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Google-Extended really just a token and not an active crawler?

Google-Extended is not a crawler but a product token in robots.txt that allows sites to opt out from training AI models like Bard and Vertex AI. It will never appear in access logs because it is not a...

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Google really preparing a universal opt-out for AI training?

Google is working on control mechanisms allowing publishers to choose opt-in or opt-out from AI training. These solutions must be developed in collaboration with other AI companies and publishers, not...

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really check 4 billion robots.txt files every single day?

Google checks the robots.txt files of roughly 4 billion hostnames daily, and the total number of sites (including subdirectories) likely surpasses this number. Any control solution must factor in this...

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can you really trust AI-generated content for SEO?

With current technology, it is impossible to reduce AI model hallucinations to zero. AI-generated content always requires human verification and oversight, even for simple tasks....

Dec 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available