Google’s Search Relations Team’s
Take On Web3’s Impact On SEO

On the May 30, 2023, episode of the “Search Off The Record” podcast, John Mueller, Gary Illyes, and Martin Splitt, who are part of Google’s Search Relations team, discussed the question, ‘How would Web3 affect SEO’?

The team acknowledged that even though Web3 is in its development phase, it will bring many changes to the SEO structure. They discussed new technologies and challenges that will emerge and how they will affect SEO.

The Influence Of Web3 On SEO

On the podcast, Muller said that some Web3 TLDs (Top Level Domains) might be unrecognisable by Google’s algorithm. Those sites with decentralised domains can’t be found by the crawler and hence, can not be indexed.

Muller did not go into much detail about the situation, however, his conversation highlighted the issues with Web3’s new model.

Muller further said that even if a plugin might be installed to work with the specific domain name, it would not be recognised by Google. These new TLDs are just useless.

Image Source: Episode transcript

How Web3 Can Change The Internet?

Web3 is the next stage in the Internet’s evolution. It offers a decentralised, user-focused approach which enhances privacy and security.

Web3 aims to replace the traditional centralised model of the internet with a user-centric decentralised model. With the integration of blockchain technology and peer-to-peer networks, web3 aims to provide a secure user experience and data privacy.

How Can Web3 Be Potentially Used?

1. Blockchain-Based Domains

Web3 can introduce blockchain-based domains that are non-traditional domain names that are created and stored on decentralised and unregulated internet. These blockchain-based domains such as .eth (Ethereum) are owned and regulated by the users without centralised domain registrars.

2. Decentralised Applications (dApps)

Decentralised Applications (dApps) use blockchain technology to operate on peer-to-peer networks. This facilitates increased user transparency and security and discourages single-authority interference. For example, in a decentralised social media network, once a message is posted, it can not be changed or deleted by other users or even the platform’s creators.

3. Emphasis On Privacy

With the help of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, Web3 can enhance digital identity and privacy. By ensuring data protection and online privacy, Web3 carves a way forward for a user-centric approach to the internet.

What’s the Key Takeaway?

Web3 is currently in its early stages and still evolving, and it is set to bring a lot of changes to the current SEO system. With the many advantages that web3 is set to bring, various drawbacks need to be explored. On the podcast, the team discussed the topic professionally but did not go into enough detail. SEO professionals have to adjust to the new methods to optimise their strategies with web3.