On May 22, Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land shared the news that Matt Cutts is no longer the head of Webspam team at Google.
So Matt Cutts left Google, did he? Well… not exactly. Actually, he stays on leave, while other Google engineers and spokespeople step up as Google’s interactive faces with webmasters and search users.
According to Sullivan’s article, the new Head of Webspam Team at Google won’t be also a general spokesperson about listing issues like Cutts has been for years, because–
“It was never the case that the head of web spam should also be a general spokesperson on listing issues. That was just a natural synergy between Cutts being both knowledgeable about Google’s listing processes in general and his personal interest in taking that role.”
So, what happens of Matt Cutts’ long standing advice for webmasters while he was the Head of Webspam team?
That’s simple— the advice is here to stay.
There’s no reason why Cutts’ advice for webmasters, search users and SEOs should stop being useful just because he’s leaving his role at the Google Webspam team. Cutts’ advice has kept valid over the years and no matter how many changes in Google and in the SEO and Web Marketing fields have come with new discoveries and technologies, so we can safely assume we can continue to look up to Cutts’ advice for many years to come.
Below we make a summary of Matt Cutts’ advice for webmasters, SEOs and users he gave over the years.
Advice for webmasters
Webmaster’s integrity – Cutts’ main advice for webmasters is to maintain their own integrity when it comes to Web relationships. As Rusty Brick reported in 2013, Matt Cutts advised webmasters to NOT copy content from Wikipedia, verbatim, but to work out their own content on the basis of Wikipedia-based research.
Sometimes, all it takes to rank well in Google is an honest effort and a real drive to bring your users quality content.
On-topic, related content – In January this year, Sergio Aicardi published an article for the Content Marketing Institute titled “7 Key Pieces of Advice about Web Content Strategy from Matt Cutts“. The article is thorough and it sums up most of Cutts’ advice for webmasters interested in serving good content for their users (and get a better chance to rank in Google as well). From jargon to guest posting, Aircardi explains Cutts’ view of what on-topic, related content should look like in order to not appear spammy or manipulative.
Advice for SEOs
Natural links – Matt Cutts may be no longer at google, but over the years he has repeated ad nauseam that webmasters and SEO experts at companies should seek to acquire natural links that will help them build a reputation in Google. You can still buy links, but only in the case they don’t affect your placement in Google (aka, nofollow links).
In this post, Adam Thompson at RYP Marketing lists all 13 link building tips Matt Cutts left for the SEO community over the years.
If you still really want to push for links but stay under the ‘white hat’ umbrella, then Neil Patel’s link building advice at QuickSprout is your go-to guide.
Avoid gaming the system – Even though Matt Cutts has nothing against guest blogging for branding and recognition, he has spoken against guest blogging for SEO precisely for the reason it pollutes Google’s search rankings without adding real value for the user (often, it’s just blatant spam!) and because it’s blatant cheating (against webmasters and SEOs who put up with real efforts every single day).
Other ways to game the system include buying links that pass PageRank (NOT the toolbar PR that’s no longer updated, but Google’s main algorithm for ranking pages), stuffing and hiding keywords in the page, cloaking and sneaky redirects, etc. If you want your website to keep a good position in Google, avoid these tricks at all costs.
(Also, +1s on Google+ do NOT lead to higher rankings, so don’t delude yourself either!)
Advice for search users
Users’ needs come first – Matt Cutts always reminded webmasters and SEOs that users have priority for Google, whose aim is to serve helpful, interesting, entertaining results to users hungry for information, reference or even just fun products and services to enjoy.
Pick the most helpful results – Because you, as a user, come to Google to search for something, Google knows you will want to pick the most helpful results. Sometimes, the results you get on the first few pages in the SERPs are not what you’re looking for, however, so you are welcome to send Google feedback about the search results you get for your queries and their relevance for the scopes of your search.
So Matt Cutts left Google, did he? Well… not exactly. Actually, he stays on leave, while other Google engineers and spokespeople step up as Google’s interactive faces with webmasters and search users.
According to Sullivan’s article, the new Head of Webspam Team at Google won’t be also a general spokesperson about listing issues like Cutts has been for years, because–
“It was never the case that the head of web spam should also be a general spokesperson on listing issues. That was just a natural synergy between Cutts being both knowledgeable about Google’s listing processes in general and his personal interest in taking that role.”
So, what happens of Matt Cutts’ long standing advice for webmasters while he was the Head of Webspam team?
That’s simple— the advice is here to stay.
There’s no reason why Cutts’ advice for webmasters, search users and SEOs should stop being useful just because he’s leaving his role at the Google Webspam team. Cutts’ advice has kept valid over the years and no matter how many changes in Google and in the SEO and Web Marketing fields have come with new discoveries and technologies, so we can safely assume we can continue to look up to Cutts’ advice for many years to come.
Below we make a summary of Matt Cutts’ advice for webmasters, SEOs and users he gave over the years.
Advice for webmasters
Webmaster’s integrity – Cutts’ main advice for webmasters is to maintain their own integrity when it comes to Web relationships. As Rusty Brick reported in 2013, Matt Cutts advised webmasters to NOT copy content from Wikipedia, verbatim, but to work out their own content on the basis of Wikipedia-based research.
Sometimes, all it takes to rank well in Google is an honest effort and a real drive to bring your users quality content.
On-topic, related content – In January this year, Sergio Aicardi published an article for the Content Marketing Institute titled “7 Key Pieces of Advice about Web Content Strategy from Matt Cutts“. The article is thorough and it sums up most of Cutts’ advice for webmasters interested in serving good content for their users (and get a better chance to rank in Google as well). From jargon to guest posting, Aircardi explains Cutts’ view of what on-topic, related content should look like in order to not appear spammy or manipulative.
Advice for SEOs
Natural links – Matt Cutts may be no longer at google, but over the years he has repeated ad nauseam that webmasters and SEO experts at companies should seek to acquire natural links that will help them build a reputation in Google. You can still buy links, but only in the case they don’t affect your placement in Google (aka, nofollow links).
In this post, Adam Thompson at RYP Marketing lists all 13 link building tips Matt Cutts left for the SEO community over the years.
If you still really want to push for links but stay under the ‘white hat’ umbrella, then Neil Patel’s link building advice at QuickSprout is your go-to guide.
Avoid gaming the system – Even though Matt Cutts has nothing against guest blogging for branding and recognition, he has spoken against guest blogging for SEO precisely for the reason it pollutes Google’s search rankings without adding real value for the user (often, it’s just blatant spam!) and because it’s blatant cheating (against webmasters and SEOs who put up with real efforts every single day).
Other ways to game the system include buying links that pass PageRank (NOT the toolbar PR that’s no longer updated, but Google’s main algorithm for ranking pages), stuffing and hiding keywords in the page, cloaking and sneaky redirects, etc. If you want your website to keep a good position in Google, avoid these tricks at all costs.
(Also, +1s on Google+ do NOT lead to higher rankings, so don’t delude yourself either!)
Advice for search users
Users’ needs come first – Matt Cutts always reminded webmasters and SEOs that users have priority for Google, whose aim is to serve helpful, interesting, entertaining results to users hungry for information, reference or even just fun products and services to enjoy.
Pick the most helpful results – Because you, as a user, come to Google to search for something, Google knows you will want to pick the most helpful results. Sometimes, the results you get on the first few pages in the SERPs are not what you’re looking for, however, so you are welcome to send Google feedback about the search results you get for your queries and their relevance for the scopes of your search.
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