Google guidelines for webmasters

In recent years, Google has provided many useful tools for improving websites. However, before using these or any other tools, you should first of all know Google’s guidelines for webmasters, as they are the basis for all measures. The guidelines contain many useful tips and also information about which measures are allowed and which can lead to penalties. These points should be taken very seriously, because if someone violates these guidelines, you can even be removed from the Google index.

The Google Index is the starting point

Once you have created a website and the page is in the Google index, the Google webmaster guidelines apply. So if you want to have your website permanently represented on Google, you should follow the guidelines. The Google Webmaster Guidelines essentially contain three important sections.

Part 1:

The first important subarea is the findability of the website and its complete subpages through the automated visits of Google Bots. During each visit, information about the website is stored and ejected as results in the organic search. The easier it is for Google to do this, the higher the probability for good results. Helpful here is a digital table of contents (Sitemap.xml), which can be submitted with the Google Webmaster Tools. 

Part 2

The second important point is the content of the corresponding website and its inclusion in search engine results. Google recognises the content faster and better through high-quality text. The more useful content Google recognises and indexes, the higher the probability for good results.

Part 3

The third important point is the users’ experience on the website and their behaviour. The better the visitor moves around the website and finds information, the better the so-called user experience and the probability for top results in the organic search. This includes not only the navigation and the menu, but many other additional factors.

In summary, one should say that a website should be optimised for its visitors and not for the search engines. After all, at Christmas you decorate a shop for the visitors and not for Father Christmas. When you create a website, you should think about the overall structure from the outset, because it is an essential component for good rankings in the major search engines. This includes clear demarcation of the individual categories and their contents including headlines.

Mobile devices

Due to the increasing number of mobile devices, there are still numerous technical aspects that should be considered. These include the loading speed and the presentation on mobile devices. These should be as optimal as possible and allow a perfect display.  With Accelerated Mobile Pages, other factors come into play that affect these AMPs in particular.

Anyone who violates Google’s guidelines for webmasters, e.g. by participating in a link exchange programme, using copied texts, incorporating hidden texts on the website or cloaking, may be punished by Google or even be removed from the index altogether. However, Google also offers the possibility to improve these websites and to submit a request for reinstatement.

Source: Google Guidelines for Webmasters