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Google SEO Documentation Tracker

We monitor 35 Google Search Central pages — including Google's own documentation changelog — and flag when they change. When our detection fires but Google's changelog stays silent, that's an undisclosed change. You'll know first.

35
Pages tracked
11 Jul, 2:26 PM
Last scan
32
Changes this month
1
High-significance total
Running changelog

What's changed

VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Search Central Blog Tier 0 Verified 11 Jul 2026

Checked — no new entries since the last check.

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Search Ranking Status History Tier 0 Verified 11 Jul 2026

Checked — no new entries since the last check.

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Google's Documentation Updates Changelog Tier 0 Verified 11 Jul 2026

Checked — no new entries since the last check.

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Debug Drops in Search Traffic Tier D Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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MEDIUM Snippets Tier D Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 5% changed
Signals triggered
  • 5% of content changed (1 pt)
  • Heading (H1/H2) changed (2 pts)
−Order 50+ pencils, get free shipping.">
+Order 50+ pencils, get free shipping."> Best practices for "Read more" deep links in Google Search A "Read more" deep link is a link within a snippet that leads users to a specific section on that page.
+To increase the likelihood that "read more" deep links appear for your site in Google Search, follow these best practices: Make sure content is immediately visible on the page to a human (and not hidden behind an expandable section or tabbed interface, for example).
+Avoid using JavaScript to control the user's scroll position on page load (for example, don't force the user's scroll position to the top of the page).
+If you make history API calls or window.location.hash modifications on page load, make sure you don't remove the hash fragment from the URL, as this breaks deep linking behavior.
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Featured Snippets Tier D Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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HIGH Google Discover Tier D Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 40.3% changed Research article recommended
Signals triggered
  • 40.3% of content changed (2 pts)
  • Heading (H1/H2) changed (2 pts)
  • Keywords: "required" (1 pt)
−To increase the likelihood of your content appearing in Discover, we recommend the following: Use page titles that capture the essence of the content, but in a non-clickbait fashion.
−Include compelling, high-quality images in your content, especially large images that are more likely to generate visits from Discover.
−Large images need to be at least 1200 px wide and enabled by the max-image-preview:large setting, or by using AMP.
−Avoid using a site logo as your image.
−Avoid tactics to artificially inflate engagement by using misleading or exaggerated details in preview content (title, snippets, or images) to increase appeal, or by withholding crucial information required to understand what the content is about.
−Avoid tactics that manipulate appeal by catering to morbid curiosity, titillation, or outrage.
+To increase the likelihood of your content appearing in Discover, we recommend the following: Avoid clickbait and similar tactics to artificially inflate engagement by using misleading or exaggerated details in preview content (title, snippets, or images) to increase appeal, or by withholding crucial information required to understand what the content is about.
+Use page titles and headlines that capture the essence of the content.
+Avoid sensationalism tactics that manipulate appeal by catering to morbid curiosity, titillation, or outrage.
−To deliver a good user experience, Discover seeks to present content that's suitable for interest-based feeds, such as articles and videos, as well as filter out content that's not desired or that might confuse readers.
+Include compelling, high-quality images in your content that are relevant, especially large images that are more likely to generate visits from Discover.
+We recommend using images that meet the following specifications: At least 1200 px wide High resolution of more than 300,000 total pixels (for example, a 16:9 image that's 1280x720 pixels would have 921,600 total pixels and satisfies this specification) 16x9 aspect ratio Google tries to automatically crop the image for use in Discover.
+If you choose to crop your images yourself, be sure your images are well-cropped and positioned for landscape usage, and avoid automatically applying an aspect ratio.
+For example, if you crop a vertical image into 16x9 aspect ratio, be sure the important details are included in the cropped version that you specify in the og:image meta tag).
+Enabled by the max-image-preview:large setting, or by using AMP Use either schema.org markup or the og:image meta tag to specify a large image that's relevant and representative of the web page, as this can influence which image is chosen as the thumbnail in Discover.
+Learn more about how to specify your preferred image.
+Avoid using generic images (for example, your site logo) in the schema.org markup or og:image meta tag.
+For best results, avoid using text-heavy images in the schema.org markup or og:image meta tag.
+Provide an overall great page experience.
+For more advice, check out our help page on Understanding page experience in Google Search results.
+To deliver a good user experience, Discover seeks to present content that's suitable for interest-based feeds, such as articles and videos, as well as filter out content that's not wanted or that might confuse readers.
−The Follow feature and your website The Follow feature lets people follow a website and get the latest updates from that website in the Following tab within Discover in Chrome.
−Currently, the Follow button is a feature that's available to signed-in users in English in the US, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, Canada, and Australia that are using Chrome Android.
−It's also available to signed in users in English in the US that are using Chrome iOS.
−By default, the Follow feature uses RSS or Atom feeds on your website.
−If you don't have an RSS or Atom feed on your website, Google automatically generates a feed for your entire domain based on our view of your site.
−If you have one or more feeds on your website, you can optimize your Follow experience by explicitly telling Google which feed you want people to follow for a given page on your site.
−Optimize your web pages for the Follow feature
−To help Google understand which feed that you want people to follow for a given page, link your
−RSS or Atom feed in the <head> section of your hub and leaf pages:
−RSS
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://example.com/rssfeed">
−Atom
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://example.com/atom-feed">
−For example, this <link> element would be on the Google Search Central
−Blog landing page (the hub page), and on each individual blog post page (the leaf page).
−Hub page
−<html>
−<head>
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/amDG" />
−</head>
−<body>
−<h1>Google Search Central Blog</h1>
−</body>
−</html>
−Leaf page
−<html>
−<head>
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/amDG" />
−</head>
−<body>
−<h1>A new way to enable video key moments in Search</h1>
−</body>
−</html>
−Feed guidelines
−To make sure Google can find and understand your RSS or Atom feed, follow these guidelines:
−Don't block your feed with your robots.txt
−file.
−Make sure that your feed is up-to-date, like you would for sitemap files.
−The most important content for the Follow feature is your feed <title> element and your per item <link> elements.
−Make sure your feed includes these elements.
−Use a brief but descriptive title for your RSS feed, just like you would for a web page.
−Recommended: Google Search Central Blog Not recommended: RSS Feed or Central Blog You can host your feed somewhere other than your domain; Google supports this.
−If you redirect your feed, use a 3xx (redirects) HTTP status code so that Google can follow it.
−Specifying multiple feeds If you have multiple feeds on your website (for example, a news website with RSS feeds for the front page, business section, and technology), we recommend that you add a <link> element to a single feed that makes sense for that page.
−A single feed is easier to maintain, and is a better user experience when people are subscribing to your content.
−For example, if the article is about technology, specify the technology feed in the <link> element. <html> <head> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://example.com/technology/feed/" /> </head> <body> <h1>What's next for Technology in 2022</h1> </body> </html> Alternatively, you can add multiple feeds in order of your preference.
−For example, you might prefer that people follow the feed for the front page, then the business section, then technology, in that order.
−Google uses this information to understand more about how multiple feeds are used
−across your site.
−<html>
−<head>
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://example.com/feed/" />
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://example.com/business/feed/" />
−<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://example.com/technology/feed/" />
−</head>
−<body>
−<h1>What's next for Business and Technology in 2022</h1>
−</body>
−</html>
−Why Discover traffic might change over time
−Traffic from Discover is less predictable or dependable when compared to keyword-driven
−search visits.
+Why Discover traffic might change over time Traffic from Discover is less predictable or dependable when compared to keyword-driven search visits.
−If you notice changes to your website's performance after an update, the following pages may be useful to consider: Google Search's core updates and your website Helpful content FAQ However, it may be that there's nothing you need to do after an update.
+If you notice changes to your website's performance after an update, it may be useful to review our documentation on Google Search's core updates and your website.
+However, it may be that there's nothing you need to do after an update.
−The Discover performance report includes traffic from Chrome, and fully tracks a site’s Discover traffic across all surfaces where users interact with Discover.
−This includes impressions and clicks from the Following tab.
+The Discover performance report includes traffic from Chrome, and fully tracks a site's Discover traffic across all surfaces where users interact with Discover.
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LOW All Structured Data Features Tier D Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 2.9% changed
−Get started Entertainment FAQ A Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page contains a list of questions and answers pertaining to a particular topic.
−Get started Image metadata When you specify image metadata, Google Images can show more details about the image, such as who the creator is, how people can use an image, and credit information.
+Get started Entertainment Image metadata When you specify image metadata, Google Images can show more details about the image, such as who the creator is, how people can use an image, and credit information.
−Get started Organizations Practice problem Help students, teachers, and parents with education by adding structured data to your practice problems in math and science subjects.
−Get started Education and Science Product Information about a product, including price, availability, and review ratings.
+Get started Organizations Product Information about a product, including price, availability, and review ratings.
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Understanding Page Experience Tier D Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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LOW Qualify Outbound Links (rel attributes) Tier C Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 0.1% changed
−Read more about how to prevent user-generated spam your site and platform. rel="nofollow" Use the nofollow value when other values don't apply, and you'd rather Google not associate your site with, or crawl the linked page from, your site.
+Read more about how to prevent user-generated spam on your site and platform. rel="nofollow" Use the nofollow value when other values don't apply, and you'd rather Google not associate your site with, or crawl the linked page from, your site.
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MEDIUM JavaScript SEO Basics Tier C Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 6.9% changed
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  • 6.9% of content changed (1 pt)
  • Heading (H1/H2) changed (2 pts)
−Googlebot queues all pages for rendering, unless a robots meta tag or header tells Google not to index the page.
+Googlebot queues all pages with a 200 HTTP status code for rendering, unless a robots meta tag or header tells Google not to index the page.
+All pages with a 200 HTTP status code are sent to the rendering queue, no matter whether JavaScript is present on the page.
+If the HTTP status code is non-200 (for example, on error pages with 404 status code), rendering might be skipped.
+Set the canonical URL The rel="canonical" link tag helps Google find the canonical version of a page.
+You can use JavaScript to set the canonical URL, but keep in mind that you shouldn't use JavaScript to change the canonical URL to something else than the URL you specified as the canonical URL in the original HTML.
+The best way to set the canonical URL is to use HTML, but if you have to use JavaScript, make sure that you always set the canonical URL to the same value as the original HTML.
+If you can't set the canonical URL in the HTML, then you can use JavaScript to set the canonical URL and leave it out of the original HTML.
−When Google encounters noindex in the robots meta tag before running JavaScript, it doesn't render or index the page.
−If Google encounters the noindex tag, it skips rendering and JavaScript execution.
−Because Google skips your JavaScript in this case, there is no chance to remove the tag from the page.
−Using JavaScript to change or remove the robots meta tag might not work as expected.
−Google skips rendering and JavaScript execution if the robots meta tag initially contains noindex.
−If there is a possibility that you do want the page indexed, don't use a noindex tag in the original page code.
+When Google encounters the noindex tag, it may skip rendering and JavaScript
+execution, which means using JavaScript to change or remove the robots
+meta tag from noindex may not work as expected.
+If you do want the page indexed, don't use a noindex tag in the original page code.
−Design for accessibility Create pages for users, not just search engines.
−When you're designing your site, think about the needs of your users, including those who may not be using a JavaScript-capable browser (for example, people who use screen readers or less advanced mobile devices).
−One of the easiest ways to test your site's accessibility is to preview it in your browser with JavaScript turned off, or to view it in a text-only browser such as Lynx.
−Viewing a site as text-only can also help you identify other content which may be hard for Google to see, such as text embedded in images.
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Mobile Site & Mobile-First Indexing Tier C Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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LOW Canonicalization Tier C Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 0.8% changed
−If Google finds multiple pages that seem to be the same or the primary content very similar, it chooses the page that, based on the factors (or signals) the indexing process collected, is objectively the most complete and useful for search users, and marks it as canonical.
−The canonical page will be crawled most regularly; duplicates are crawled less frequently in order to reduce the crawling load on sites.
+If Google finds multiple pages that seem to be the same or the primary content very similar, it clusters them together.
+Google then chooses the page that, based on the factors (or signals) the indexing process collected, is objectively the most complete and useful for search users, and marks it as the canonical.
+The canonical page will be crawled most regularly; duplicates are crawled less frequently in order to reduce the crawling load on sites.
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Meta Tags Google Supports Tier C Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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LOW Robots Meta Tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag Tier C Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 0.5% changed
−To block indexing of non-HTML resources, such as PDF files, video files, or image files, use the
−X-Robots-Tag response header instead.
+Note: Google Search doesn't enforce placement of meta robots in the HTML head and
+will respect robots meta tags in the body section of an HTML document as well.
+To block indexing of non-HTML resources, such as PDF files, video files, or image files, use the X-Robots-Tag response header instead.
−Set the maximum size of an image preview for this page in a search results.
+Set the maximum size of an image preview for this page in search results.
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LOW List of Google Crawlers Tier C Historical comparison Nov 2025 → Jul 2026 · 3.4% changed
−They always respect robots.txt rules for automatic crawls.
+They always respect robots.txt rules for automatic crawls.
+File size limits By default, Google's crawlers and fetchers only crawl the first 15MB of a file, and any content beyond this limit is ignored.
+However, individual projects may set different limits for their crawlers and fetchers, and also for different file types.
+For example, a Google crawler like Googlebot may have a smaller size limit (for example, 2MB), or specify a larger file size limit for a PDF than for HTML.
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LOW robots.txt Specification Tier C Historical comparison Nov 2025 → Jul 2026 · 1.1% changed
−Syntax Valid robots.txt lines consists of a field, a colon, and a value.
−Spaces are optional, but recommended to improve readability.
−Space at the beginning and at the end of the line is ignored.
−To include comments, precede your comment with the # character.
−Keep in mind that everything after the # character will be ignored.
+Syntax A valid robots.txt line consists of a field, a colon, and a value.
+Field names are case-insensitive (for example, User-agent and user-agent are treated the same).
+Spaces are optional, but recommended to improve readability.
+Space at the beginning and at the end of the line is ignored.
+To include comments, precede your comment with the # character.
+Keep in mind that everything after the # character will be ignored.
−The value of the user-agent line is case-insensitive. disallow The disallow rule specifies paths that must not be accessed by the crawlers identified by the user-agent line the disallow rule is grouped with.
+Both the user-agent field name and its value are case-insensitive. disallow The disallow rule specifies paths that must not be accessed by the crawlers identified by the user-agent line the disallow rule is grouped with.
−The value of the disallow rule is case-sensitive.
+The field name (disallow) is case-insensitive, but its value is case-sensitive.
−The value of the allow rule is case-sensitive.
+The field name (allow) is case-insensitive, but its value is case-sensitive.
−The value of the sitemap field is case-sensitive.
+The field name (sitemap) is case-insensitive, but its value is case-sensitive.
−You can specify multiple sitemap fields.
−The sitemap field isn't tied to any specific user agent and may be followed by all crawlers, provided it isn't disallowed for crawling.
+You can specify multiple sitemap fields, with no limit to the number of sitemaps you can include.
+The sitemap field isn't tied to any specific user agent and may be followed by all crawlers, provided it isn't disallowed for crawling.
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LOW Introduction to robots.txt Tier C Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 0.2% changed
−Warning: Don't use a robots.txt file as a means to hide your web pages (including PDFs and other text-based formats supported by Google) from Google search results.
+Warning: Don't use a robots.txt file as a means to hide your web pages (including PDFs and other text-based formats supported by Google) from Google Search results.
−If your web page is blocked with a robots.txt file, its URL can still appear in search results, but the search result will not have a description.
+If your web page is blocked with a robots.txt file, its URL can still appear in search results, but the search result won't have a description.
−Media file Use a robots.txt file to manage crawl traffic, and also to prevent image, video, and audio files from appearing in Google search results.
+Media file Use a robots.txt file to manage crawl traffic, and also to prevent image, video, and audio files from appearing in Google Search results.
−Resource file You can use a robots.txt file to block resource files such as unimportant image, script, or style files, if you think that pages loaded without these resources will not be significantly affected by the loss.
+Resource file You can use a robots.txt file to block resource files such as unimportant image, script, or style files, if you think that pages loaded without these resources won't be significantly affected by the loss.
−As a result, the URL address and, potentially, other publicly available information such as anchor text in links to the page can still appear in Google search results.
−To properly prevent your URL from appearing in Google search results, password-protect the files on your server, use the noindex meta tag or response header, or remove the page entirely.
+As a result, the URL address and, potentially, other publicly available information such as anchor text in links to the page can still appear in Google Search results.
+To properly prevent your URL from appearing in Google Search results, password-protect the files on your server, use the noindex meta tag or response header, or remove the page entirely.
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MEDIUM Preferred Sources Tier B Historical comparison Jan 2026 → Jul 2026 · 33.7% changed
Signals triggered
  • 33.7% of content changed (2 pts)
−When a user selects your site as a preferred source, your content is more likely to appear for them during relevant news queries in "Top Stories".
−Feature availability The preferred sources feature is available globally in English for queries that trigger the "Top Stories" feature.
+When a user selects your site as a preferred source, your content is more likely to appear in "Top Stories", highlighted with a "preferred" badge.
+In AI Mode and AI Overviews, your content can be highlighted with a "preferred" badge for users who have selected your site as a preferred source.
+Feature availability The preferred sources feature is available globally for the "Top Stories" feature in all languages where Google Search is available.
+Preferred sources can also appear in AI Mode and AI Overviews in all languages and locales where those features are available.
−How to help users find your site as a preferred source If your site appears in the source preferences tool, you can use the following methods to guide your readers to select your site as a preferred source: Add the deeplink to your social posts or promotions.
−Use the following URL format, which takes users directly to your site in the source preferences tool: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=Your_Website's_URL For example, if your site is https://example.com, use the following URL: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=example.com Include a button on your site alongside other social Call to Action (CTAs).
−You can download and use these button assets provided by Google or your own button.
−These methods are examples on how you can build your audience and help people find your site as a preferred source.
+How to help users find your site as a preferred source If your site appears in the source preferences tool (to check, enter your site in the tool's search box), you can use the following methods to guide your readers to select your site as a preferred source: These methods are examples on how you can build your audience and help people find your site as a preferred source.
+Add the deeplink to your social posts or promotions.
+Use the following URL format, which takes users directly to your site in the source preferences tool: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=Your_Website's_URL For example, if your site is https://example.com, use the following URL: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=example.com Add a button to your site alongside your other social CTAs.
+You may use your own design or download the button assets that Google provides for some languages.
+Button assets by language
+All listed languages
+Download (all_listed_languages)
+Danish
+Download (da)
+English
+Download (en)
+Estonian
+Download (et)
+Finnish
+Download (fi)
+French
+Download (fr)
+German
+Download (de)
+Hebrew
+Download (iw)
+Hindi
+Download (hi)
+Japanese
+Download (ja)
+Korean
+Download (ko)
+Portuguese (Brazil)
+Download (pt-br)
+Russian
+Download (ru)
+Spanish
+Download (es)
+Swedish
+Download (sv)
+Turkish
+Download (tr)
+Ukrainian
+Download (uk)
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE AI Features in Search Tier B Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

Actively compared against its archived historical content — no meaningful difference found.

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MEDIUM Optimizing for Generative AI Search Tier B Historical comparison May 2026 → Jul 2026 · 4.6% changed
Signals triggered
  • Heading (H1/H2) changed (2 pts)
+If you're considering third-party "AEO" or "GEO" advice or services, review our guidance on evaluating third-party SEO advice.
+In addition to the technical requirements for Search, a site must be included in Search generative AI features in Search Console to be eligible for display in generative AI features on Google Search.
−Here are a few things you can ignore for Google Search: LLMS.txt files and other "special" markup: You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown to appear in generative AI search.
+Here are a few things you can ignore for Google Search: LLMS.txt files and other "special" markup: You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown to appear in Google Search (including its generative AI capabilities), as Google Search itself doesn't use them.
+It's completely fine if you decide to create and maintain LLMS.txt files (or other similar files) for other services or systems that use these files.
+Doing so will neither harm nor help your site's visibility or rankings in Google Search, as Google Search ignores them.
+Measure visibility in generative AI features with Search Console To measure how your content is performing in generative AI features on Google Search and Discover, use the Generative AI performance report in Search Console.
+This can help you get an idea of how people are discovering your content through generative AI features on Google Search.
+Be wary of third-party tools that promise ranking success or claim to use "internal" Google metrics.
+No third-party tool has access to our internal ranking or AI systems.
+Use these tools if they help your workflow, but be sure to evaluate their advice against our official guidance.
+Monitor visibility in Search Console: Use the Generative AI performance report to see how your content is performing in generative AI features on Google Search.
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE How Google Search Works Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE SEO Starter Guide Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Reviews System Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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LOW Core Updates Tier A Historical comparison Aug 2025 → Jul 2026 · 3.4% changed
+However, you don't necessarily have to wait for a major core update to see the effect of your improvements.
+We're continually making updates to our search algorithms, including smaller core updates.
+These updates are not announced because they aren't widely noticeable, but they are another way that your content can see a rise in position (if you've made improvements).
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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Technical Requirements Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Crawling & Indexing Overview Tier B Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Core Web Vitals Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE How Google's Ranking Systems Work Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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VERIFIED — NO CHANGE Search Essentials Tier A Compared Jul 2025 → 11 Jul 2026

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MEDIUM Link Spam Policies Tier A Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 1.8% changed
Signals triggered
  • Heading (H1/H2) changed (2 pts)
−Spam policies for Google web search In the context of Google Search, spam refers to techniques used to deceive users or manipulate our Search systems into ranking content highly.
+Spam policies for Google web search In the context of Google Search, spam refers to techniques used to deceive users or manipulate our Search systems into featuring content prominently, such as attempting to manipulate Search systems into ranking content highly or attempting to manipulate generative AI responses in Google Search.
−To be eligible to appear in Google web search results (web pages, images, videos, news content or other material that Google finds from across the web), content shouldn't violate Google Search's overall policies or the spam policies listed on this page.
+To be eligible to appear in Google web search results, content (web pages, images, videos, news content or other material that Google finds from across the web) shouldn't violate Google Search's overall policies or the spam policies listed on this page.
−Malware and malicious practices Google checks to see whether websites host malware or unwanted software that negatively affects the user experience.
−Malware is any software or mobile application specifically designed to harm a computer, a mobile device, the software it's running, or its users.
+Malicious practices Malicious practices create a mismatch between user expectations and the actual outcome, leading to a negative and deceptive user experience, or compromised user security or privacy.
+The following are common examples of malicious practices: Malware is any software or mobile application specifically designed to harm a computer, a mobile device, the software it's running, or its users.
−Site owners should make sure they don't violate the Unwanted Software Policy and follow our guidelines.
+Site owners should make sure they don't violate the Unwanted Software Policy and follow our guidelines.
+Back button hijacking is when a site interferes with user browser navigation by manipulating the browser history or other functionalities, preventing them from using their back button to immediately get back to the page they came from.
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LOW E-E-A-T & Helpful Content Tier A Historical comparison Jul 2025 → Jul 2026 · 0.4% changed
−Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content Google's automated ranking systems are designed to present helpful, reliable information that's primarily created to benefit people, not to gain search engine rankings, in the top Search results.
−This page is designed to help creators evaluate if they're producing such content.
+Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content Google's automated ranking systems are designed to prioritize helpful, reliable information that's created to benefit people, and not content that's created to manipulate search engine rankings.
+This page is designed to help creators evaluate if they're producing such content.
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NOT YET CHECKED Guidance on Using Generative AI Content Tier B Last checked 11 Jul 2026

Not compared against historical content yet.

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NOT YET CHECKED Spam Updates Tier A Last checked 11 Jul 2026

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NOT YET CHECKED Structured Data General Guidelines Tier D Last checked 11 Jul 2026

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What we watch

Tracked pages

Tier 0 — Meta / Changelog
PageLast checked
Google's Documentation Updates Changelog
https://developers.google.com/search/updates
 11 Jul, 2:26 PM
Search Ranking Status History
https://status.search.google.com/products/rGHU1u87FJnkP6W2GwMi/history
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Search Central Blog
https://developers.google.com/search/blog
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Tier A — Core Ranking & Quality Signals
PageLast checked
Search Essentials
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Technical Requirements
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/technical
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Spam Policies
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
E-E-A-T & Helpful Content
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
How Google's Ranking Systems Work
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Core Updates
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-updates
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Spam Updates
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/spam-updates
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Reviews System
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/reviews-system
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
SEO Starter Guide
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
How Google Search Works
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Tier B — AI Search & Generative Content
PageLast checked
Optimizing for Generative AI Search
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Guidance on Using Generative AI Content
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/using-gen-ai-content
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
AI Features in Search
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Preferred Sources
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/preferred-sources
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Tier C — Technical & Crawling
PageLast checked
Crawling & Indexing Overview
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Introduction to robots.txt
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
robots.txt Specification
https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/robots-txt/robots-txt-spec
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
List of Google Crawlers
https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/overview-google-crawlers
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Robots Meta Tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Meta Tags Google Supports
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/special-tags
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Canonicalization
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/canonicalization
 11 Jul, 2:27 PM
Mobile Site & Mobile-First Indexing
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/mobile/mobile-sites-mobile-first-indexing
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
JavaScript SEO Basics
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/javascript/javascript-seo-basics
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Qualify Outbound Links (rel attributes)
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Tier D — Appearance & Structured Data
PageLast checked
Understanding Page Experience
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/page-experience
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Core Web Vitals
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Structured Data General Guidelines
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
All Structured Data Features
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/search-gallery
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Google Discover
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-discover
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Featured Snippets
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/featured-snippets
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Snippets
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
Debug Drops in Search Traffic
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/debugging-search-traffic-drops
 11 Jul, 2:28 PM
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