If we do not use Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, we are unable to choose the right tactics and strategies to meet Google’s expectations while carrying Search Engine Optimization out.
The intellectual readers must have a question in their mind which asks, “What if I do not follow the webmaster Guidelines?”
In many cases, Google can permanently ban you from SERPs. I know you don’t want that.
Question Please
There are different ways to interpret the guidelines. So how can I know if I have understood it in the right way?
I completely agree that there are various ways to understand the guidelines, but as it rightly modified “Google does not give problems or confusions without offering its solutions.”
Google’s John Mueller & Garry Illyes are always available on Twitter to answer your queries.
Tip
Please review the Guidelines daily as Google keeps on updating them.
What Was The Most Recent Update To Google?
Google added a recent update that says, “You must code your site in the valid HTML & CSS. Also, the code must be validated in W3C.
What Are Various Google Webmaster Guidelines?
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are separated into the following:
-
Webmaster Guidelines
It is a set of guidelines for helping your site appear in Google Search.
-
General Guidelines
These guidelines make your site appear BEST in Google SERPs (search engine results pages).
-
Content Specific Guidelines
These guidelines specifically aim to have the best kind of the following:
- Content
- Images
- Videos
-
Quality 1200
By Quality guidelines, Google refers to the prohibited techniques that can make your page banned from SERPs.
What Is The Importance Of Keyword Relevance in Webmaster Guidelines?
According to SEO Executives of Kinex Media, “A site that is not discoverable represents a failed SEO campaign.” Failed SEO campaigns are usually the result of lousy keyword research. One of the best ways to know if you are using the right keywords or not is to check the website of your contenders. Here it would help if you focused on the following:
- What keywords are they ranking?
- And what kind of Page Titles & Meta Descriptions are you using?
What Are The Most Common Issues That Google May Face On Your Site?
-
Zero Keywords
You may have a site that does not have any keywords.
Its BAD if – You are ONLY using Branded Keywords
If you are only using the Branded Keywords, then Google will think that you have a site just for the money-making purpose, and your site does not offer any value to the users. With that kind of site, you are not going to be ranked.
Is There Any Solution For This?
The solution is quite simple. You need to perform two things here:
- Should conduct INTENSIVE KEYWORD RESEARCH.
- Also need to perform COMPETITOR ANALYSIS to find the sweet spot for optimization based on the target market.
No Links From Another Page
Google recommends that the pages on the site must have at least one link from another page. As we all know, Links are responsible for making the World Wide Web since they are the primary means of navigation. It can be done through the following:
- Navigation Menu
- Breadcrumbs
- Contextual Links
Also
Your links must be crawlable. If your links are crawlable, the visitors will certainly enjoy a great user experience.
It would help if you used generic words and not keyword phrases as your anchor texts.
-
Orphaned Pages In The Sitemap
If your site has orphaned pages everywhere & within the site, you’ll not suffer from any problem.
Is There Any Solution For This?
If you have more than one potential page on your website, make sure to link to them. If you notice that a page is not a part of your site, you should consider deleting it or indexing it.
-
No Sitempap.xml directive in Robots.txt
Inclusion of the Sitemap.xml directive is the best thing. If you don’t have it, the crawler may face an issue while crawling your site.
Can I Fix This Issue?
Yes, you can fix this issue. Include a directive declaring where your sitemap is located, such as:
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
Questions Please!
-
Should I Limit The Number Of Links To A Page To A Reasonable Number?
In the past, Google has been saying, “You must not use more than 100 links per page.”
One More Thing!
Google says, “It is better to provide valuable links to the user. You must not have set a quantity. If you do so, it can be harmful to your website’s reputation.
-
Can I Manage My Crawl Budget?
Yes, Surely. We ensure that Google is crawling our site efficiently and quickly by doing Crawl Budget Optimization. This process is considered more efficient as it enhances how Google crawls your site. You can optimize your crawl budget in two ways:
- Links on your site
- By having a Robots.txt
-
Can Googlebot Face Difficulty In Accessing Robots.Txt File?
Yes, of course, it can. If your robots.txt file involves:
Disallow: /
It means that this command is preventing the Google crawler from crawling your site from top to bottom.
Is There Any Solution For It?
Yes, you need to delete that line.
Any Other Advice?
Use it or Lose it!
Create a Useful & Information Rich Site
Final Comments!
These are some of the essential points concerned with Google’s guidelines. We should always endeavour to follow them. If we go contrary to that, then we’ll suffer. To make sure all the efforts we invest in SEO on our website are efficient, we should not miss out on any of these.
If any of the readers have any questions related to Google Webmaster guidelines, please let us know by email.
We shall try to answer them.
