Google Search Essentials: The New & Improved
Google Webmaster Guidelines

Since its inception in 2002, Google’s Webmaster Guidelines have been the go-to resource for the best SEO practices. However, in terms of websites and search engines a lot has changed over the years. The internet has undergone a massive makeover, and so have the habits of search engine users.

When it was initially launched, the Webmaster Guidelines was a page with a set of guidelines that offered site owners an overview of the best practices for building a website, which remained unchanged for a long time.

With continuous advances, new information is becoming readily available. This information can help individuals build user-friendly websites. Keeping this in mind, Google decided it was time for a change.

It was time to revamp the image of Google Webmaster Guidelines. They made changes not only to the guidelines but also renamed them as Google Search Essentials.

At the same time, this massive change in the name and the updations in the resource is a big deal for many SEOs. Webmasters, site owners, publishers, and anyone who manages a website need to review the new Google Search Essentials

Introducing the Revamped Version: Google Search Essentials

Google has done a full refresh of its old Webmaster Guidelines, simplifying them and removing the term “webmaster.” While “Webmaster Guidelines” is now an outdated term, users are gearing up to get accustomed to its identity. The aim behind the new name was to put something generic that is not focused on a particular term but rather offers creators on the internet options for their content in Google Search. The new name highlights the significance of the points covered on the pages. That’s how the new name came into existence: Google Search Essentials.

Google Search Essentials

The Google Search Essentials will now be focusing on the core elements of the web-based content, including web pages, images, videos, or other available material on the web.

• Technical requirements: The details Google needs to show in the search.
• Spam policies: All the patterns and tactics that can lead to lowering the ranking or being omitted from the search results.
• Key practices: Best practices that can assist in enhancing the number of times the site appears in search results.
  
  It does not cost any money to appear in the results in Google Search. However, it is equally important to understand that just because a web page meets all of these requirements does not assure that Google will crawl, index, or serve the content.

Reasons Behind the Changes

Outside of it being two decades old, a lot has changed in the world of the internet. The new guidelines are aimed at streamlining, simplifying, and updating protocols to ensure that people have clear guidance on how to build websites that serve people well. Google also notified that the goal with the new updates is to make the guide more useful and easier to understand, thereby assisting site owners to focus on things that matter.