Google is at it again! They are always changing things around, so it is important that we stay aware, especially when Google is telling us how they rank us in search.
Google Guidelines
Google has had a document for years called Google Webmaster Guidelines.This has been the go-to resource for website search engine optimization or SEO. But believe it or not, Webmaster Guidelines are now 20 years old and a lot has changed since then! Google has done a major overhaul of these guidelines and they’re now renamed Google Search Essentials.
Google Search Essentials
Your web pages, images, videos, or other publicly-available material that Google finds on the web will perform best in search if you follow their guidelines which have a new emphasis on creating content that serves people.
The document contains three main sections:
- Technical requirements -This outlines what’s necessary for Google to include something in its index.
- Spam policies – This details practices and factors that lead to down ranking or removing your content from search. This includes things like keyword stuffing.
- Key best practices -This goes over what you can do to improve your visibility in search.
The guidelines also have a section on SEO fundamentals which covers the basics of how Google search works.Throughout there is emphasis on how a real person perceives the content or the page experience.
We’ve talked before about Google’s recent “Helpful Content Update” to their search algorithm. That update also prioritizes helpful sites that are written by people, for people. Does your content fit that bill? It’s a good idea for all website owners to review the new guidelines to get insight into what Google is looking for in your content.
Links in this episode:
Google replaces its Webmaster Guidelines with Google Search Essentials
What creators should know about Google’s August 2022 helpful content update
