Google revamps its SEO starter guide to focus on beginner users

Google today released the third edition of its SEO Starter Guide. This version is about half the size of the second version and is written primarily for his SEO beginners.

Google's SEO Starter Guide was originally released as a PDF version in 2008. The last update was in 2017.

What has changed? Google announced that the new version is a “pocket-sized SEO starter guide.” Google also said that the new version “focuses on topics that we think novice users and those just dipping their toes into SEO should focus on.” why”

What Google has removed:

• Glossary section: Instead, Google explained each term in context on the page.
• Structured data section: Google has removed this section. This is because this is “an advanced topic that beginners don't need to think about.” Additionally, Google says, “If you use a content management system (CMS) like Wix or Squarespace, you may want to try using a plugin. Don't worry about learning how to add code to your website. There is no need.
• Mobile friendly section: Google says it has decided this is no longer necessary because “most new sites and platforms are already mobile-friendly.”
• Site performance analysis section: Google removed this document to keep the focus on SEO for beginners, stating that this is a “next step” SEO job and a “more advanced topic.”

Google added:

Google has compressed a lot of content, including:

• “Do you use Google” section: Simplified into one section that focuses on how to easily check if your site is listed on Google and the first steps site owners should take if their site doesn't appear in Google search results. Masu.
• “Is SEO Necessary” Section: Google has a separate document, so they condensed it into two sentences and linked it to the full guide.
• Title link and snippet section: Google has significantly shortened this section in favor of a more comprehensive standalone document.
• Image section: For beginners, alternative text is more important guidance.
• Opt out of Google Search section: Google says, “While this is an important topic to mention, it's probably not the reason you read this guide.”
• link section: Google compressed this section without changing the message about them, emphasizing their useful aspects and why the links are useful for users and search engines.
• Promotion of the site: Google has also compressed this section when linking to Google for Creators, as there is a more detailed guide on this topic.
• Site structure section: This section is mostly unchanged, but Google has removed the following section:
  • Navigation section: Instead, we focused on linking important onsite URLs more aggressively.
  • 404 section: Google said, “We don't really care.” 404 Page and site owners should do whatever makes sense for their users. ”
  • Explicit setting of breadcrumbs: This has been removed by Google as it is a more advanced topic.

This will continue in the future. Google added that it hopes to never change this starter guide, but “will continue to make the documentation clearer and easier to understand in the coming months.”

why do we care? The Google SEO Starter Guide is something that many old and new SEOs have read at some point in their career. Now that it's updated, we encourage you to take a quick look through it to see what's changed.

If you want to see the older version, it's on the wayback machine and you can compare it to the new live version.