It’s Time We All Accept This Truth: Google Ranks Webpages, Not Websites
In this article, Jeff Ferguson dives into a concept some will find hard to believe:
“Basically, ‘Google ranks webpages, not websites,’ means that Google treats every webpage that its robots crawl and index like its own little self-contained world of content, code, and links.
...Therefore, as far as ranking and indexing go, that webpage could live on any domain it likes, and Google would treat it the same way.
Why do some SEO pros hate this seemingly innocent phrase?
Because its existence breaks many concepts they hold dear – and because their business depends on people believing that these concepts of theirs exist.”
So... anyone frustrated with my stance that you should publish your newsletter to your domain, let’s just agree that it’s not hurting (and COULD BE HELPING) your SEO. Jeff gets into why subdomains vs subfolders isn’t really an issue, either.
Via our friends at theCLIKK
Related: Read more refreshing SEO news in Google Says Digital Public Relations Is Not Spammy Link Building via The Weekly PR.
Avoid an SEO Panic Attack by Making Sure to EAT
Recent changes to Google’s search algorithm aren’t something to fret over, according to Maria Minsker, especially if your content caters to readers’ needs.
EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Click through for some reassurance that if you’re following these principles in your SEO writing, you’re not likely to experience a drop in organic traffic.
How Important is Formatting to SEO?
In The problem with the ‘structured content’ mindset, Mordy Oberstein explains why he thinks prioritizing structure (the overuse of headers, tables, bullet and numbered lists, snackable paragraphs, and structured data) is dangerous.
“It’s the notion that good content is structured content. And that is just not true. How a piece of content is structured does play into content quality. Structure, however, is not content quality per se. It’s merely an element.
More than that, it’s not a universal element and this is where I really have a bone to pick with SEOs.”
He goes on to explain, with visual examples, why ranking for Google’s featured snippets doesn’t require a listicle article with perfect headers and that SEO tools aren’t yet able to measure actual readability. It’s enough to make you feel a little better about that really well-written article your software tells you doesn’t measure up.
It’s also more to ponder as we reconsider publishing fluff for the sake of publishing.
