Gary Illyes

★★★ How does Google adapt the weight of its ranking signals after their launch?

Before launching a ranking signal, Google conducts experiments to determine the appropriate weight. For HTTPS, Google adjusted the weight 4 to 5 times by gradually reducing it until it acted as a mere...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google truly validate its ranking signals before rolling them out?

To decide to launch a ranking signal, Google relies on experience data and human quality evaluations that reflect how users interact with search results. These metrics determine if a change should be ...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really differentiate between two types of ranking changes?

There are two main categories of ranking modifications: those that resolve persistent or major issues (like fake news), and lighter changes designed to subtly influence results without compromising ov...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why doesn’t Google care about speed spam?

Google assesses the feasibility of spam before implementing protections. For speed signals, manipulating metrics would necessitate substantial infrastructure investments, making this type of spam unli...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why can SEO metrics indicate regression while user experience improves?

In experiments aimed at addressing issues like fake news, metrics can paradoxically appear negative because users are more drawn to catchy yet less reliable content. Google then has to convince that t...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should we still focus so much on loading speed?

Google considers that speed should be a low-weight ranking signal, comparable to the HTTPS signal, primarily acting as a tie-breaker. The goal is not to sacrifice relevance for speed, as an empty page...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is HTTPS just a simple tiebreaker between equivalent sites?

Google specifically designed the HTTPS ranking signal to act as a tiebreaker, ensuring that the quality and relevance of search results are not compromised while giving a slight advantage to HTTPS sit...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that HTTPS is merely a 'tie-breaker' in Google rankings?

Google had to go back and adjust the weight of the HTTPS signal about 4 to 5 times, gradually decreasing it on the recommendation of the ranking managers, until it reached its current level where it a...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google really determine the weight of each ranking signal?

To determine the weight of a ranking signal, Google uses data from experiments and human evaluators (raters) that reflect how users interact with search results. These metrics help decide whether or n...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google sometimes measure the impact of an update with negative metrics?

There are two main categories of ranking changes: 1) changes to correct a persistent problem (like fake news), which may appear negative in initial metrics because users click more on clickbait conten...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is your site truly global or just multilingual?

The reality is that there aren't that many truly global sites compared to the entirety of the Internet. This has been explored by Google's country and language promotion/demotion team....

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really invest in speed optimization to combat spam?

Unlike traditional web spam, which can be created for free, spamming speed signals would require so much investment in equipment and infrastructure that it might not be feasible. This issue may thus b...

May 06, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does ranking really happen at the moment of serving?

The ranking of search results occurs during the serving phase, when Google receives a query and returns results from its index. It's at this time that relevance signals, content quality, and hundreds ...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google process a query in mere milliseconds?

The serving system processes queries in two directions: downward (parsing the request, routing to various indexes) and upward (retrieving results, ranking, assembling). This entire process takes place...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google display incomplete SERPs when some indexes don’t respond?

Google queries multiple indexes (web, images, videos, news, maps) simultaneously. If some indexes do not respond quickly enough, Google still displays the available web results without waiting for the...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are your SEO changes truly reflected instantly by Google?

For frequent queries in a geographical area, Google utilizes a caching system that returns cached results for several minutes. Users in the same region are generally routed to the same data center, wh...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really implement hreflang for languages with different alphabets?

It is recommended to use hreflang even between pages of completely different languages (German/Chinese, English/Japanese), as Google can identify similar concepts and make result exchanges. For exampl...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google automatically swap out results in the wrong language using hreflang?

Google uses a swapping mechanism: if a result in the wrong language would normally show up, Google automatically replaces it with the appropriate language version through hreflang annotations. This sy...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why do all alternatives to hreflang ultimately fail?

Any alternative solution to hreflang must work for all types of implementations: sites with URL parameters changing the language, completely different sites by country, various template systems. Propo...

Apr 13, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really adjust its algorithms against SEOs?

Google does not adjust its algorithms specifically against SEOs. The goal is to improve the quality of results. If a systemic issue is observed with the results, we look for a solution to enhance qual...

Mar 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available