Danny Sullivan’s recent presentation challenges the SEO community to reconsider their understanding of Google’s ranking mechanisms, attributing the confusion to Google’s own guidance and documentation.

Sullivan highlighted an instance where the publishing industry widely embraced the practice of adding author pages and bylines, under the assumption that Google’s algorithm prioritized such elements. However, Sullivan clarified that Google, according to his information, does not prioritize author pages.

Contrary to the misconception that Google doesn’t look for author pages, the central theme of Sullivan’s presentation was the need for better communication between Google’s guidance and how external entities interpret it.

Sullivan acknowledged the responsibility lies partly with content creators and expressed a commitment to improving this communication gap:

“The gap between what Google says to creators and what creators hear about being successful in Google Search needs to get better. That’s largely on us. It’s something we’ll be working on. People-first content remains the path to success, but we hopefully can find better ways to communicate this…”

Sullivan illustrated how some SEOs misinterpret Google’s documentation, taking it too literally when Google intends a broader interpretation. For instance, he cited guidance on assessing webpages, emphasizing that it’s about achieving a broad goal and not a specific directive for the ranking algorithm.

He explained that when Google advises evaluating content in a way that “makes you want to trust it,” it doesn’t mean the algorithm specifically looks for features like an author page. It’s a general guideline for content evaluation.

Sullivan then proposed a shift in perspective on how SEOs should approach Google’s documentation. He showcased a slide featuring a quote from Google’s documentation, pointing out sections that SEOs often misconstrue. The focus was on encouraging critical thinking and discouraging the extraction of recommendations that Google never intended.

Sullivan emphasized that some SEOs make definitive recommendations based on Google’s guidance, creating misconceptions such as “If you have an About page, you rank better!” He clarified that such oversimplified interpretations are inaccurate and don’t align with Google’s ranking methodology.

In conclusion, Sullivan encouraged SEOs to adopt a more critical mindset when evaluating advice and to distinguish between personal opinions and statements about Google’s actual practices.