• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Service
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

traffic analysis tools

Home » Search Engine Optimization » Google Issues Search Engine Optimization Report Card

Google Issues Search Engine Optimization Report Card

Posted By Bill Hartzer on March 3, 2010at 11:29 am

Google has issued what they are calling an SEO Report Card, an effort to provide Google’s product teams with ideas on how they can improve their products’ pages using simple and accepted optimizations.

This is very interesting, because as you might recall, a while back on the Vizion Interactive Search Engine Optimization blog I wrote about how Google issued a Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, set up an example web site, and used a 302 Temporary Redirect. Matt Cutts from Google explained that Google had done this “on purpose”. And then later on they changed that redirect. Go figure.

google-seo-report-card

Anyhow, this Search Engine Optimization Report Card that Google is issuing now on themselves is written by one of the same Google employees, Brandon Falls, who originally wrote the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.

Let’s take a look at Google’s SEO Report card, the elements of their web properties that they have decided to publicly rate, and the rating that they have given them.

Title tag format and length
10%(10 / 100) Needs improvement

Description meta tag use
33%(33 / 100) Needs improvement

Google sitelink triggering for [google product]
44%(44 / 100) Not for grading

Appealing Google sitelinks
32%(14 / 44) Needs improvement

Clear main page result on Google for [google product]
89%(89 / 100) Excellent

Directory form, www.google.com/product(/)
59%(41 / 70) Not for grading

www.google.com/product
46%(19 / 41) Not for grading

www.google.com/product, add ‘/’, 301s
26%(5 / 19) Needs improvement

www.google.com/product/
54%(22 / 41) Not for grading

www.google.com/product/, remove ‘/’, 301s
68%(15 / 22) Satisfactory

Convert to subdomain form, product.google.com/, 301s
54%(22 / 41) Not for grading

Subdomain form, product.google.com/
41%(29 / 70) Not for grading

Convert to directory form, www.google.com/product(/), 301s
36%(10 / 29) Needs improvement

https:// in canonical 7%(7 / 100)
Not for grading

First off, I’m very happy that they are aware of the 301/302 redirecting issue and can handle it when we redirect our domain names or URLs from an old URL to a new URL using a 301 Permanent Redirect. Apparently, though, based on this SEO report card, Google themselves are not doing a very good job at setting up the redirects. Yahoo! Search still has a major issue with 301 Permanent Redirects, just take a look at the backlinks to my domain name, www.BillHartzer.com and you’ll see what I mean. I have several URLs redirecting with a 301 to various pages on BillHartzer.com and they still cannot deal with 301s properly after all of these years. That’s one reason why I’m glad that Bing is going to be powering Yahoo! Search soon. The sooner the better.

The title tags on Google’s web properties gets what I would call an F grade. Definitely a fail. Only 10 percent? You would think that one of the most important elements of a web page on Google.com would be optimized. But apparently not.

There are several items on the list that are indicated as “not for grading”. Why would Google purposely not grade these elements, like canonical tags and canonical issues, as well as subdomains? Perhaps Google does not want to “go into that” can of worms right now? And what about the directory area? Not for grading because again, it’s an issue that they don’t want to address right now for certain reasons? Does “not for grading” mean that there is some part of the current algorightm that they don’t want to talk about?

Filed Under: Search Engine Optimization

traffic analysis tools

Listen to "Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer" on Spreaker.

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, LLC, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management.

Recent Posts

  • Andrew Muller on Testing Google Ads Using Facebook Ads January 15, 2021
  • Mike Rhodes from Web Savvy On Google Ads January 8, 2021
  • How to Opt Out of Google Analytics December 16, 2020
  • Majestic Just Changed SEO and Linking Forever December 15, 2020
  • Yext Consumer Search Trend Predictions for 2020 December 8, 2020
  • SearchBox Launches SearchAI SmartSuggest, SearchAI Answers and SearchAI Personalization December 7, 2020
  • Google Poly is Shutting Down December 2, 2020
  • Domain Name Brokers Put FFF.com and HHH.com Domains Up for Sale December 1, 2020
  • Google Webmaster Tools Moves Twitter Account November 11, 2020
  • Email Deliverability, Setting Up DMARC, DKIM, and SPF on Your Domain October 29, 2020
  • The Bing Search Engine is Now Microsoft Bing October 6, 2020
  • Beck Power on Building Authority on Social Media and Repurposing Content October 2, 2020
  • Naira Perez on Paid Media, and an Intro to Social Paid Media, and Audiences September 17, 2020
  • Fake Birth Date Used on Google and Apple Accounts Is on Credit Report August 17, 2020
  • What is Bill Hartzer Disease? July 20, 2020
  • Web Host Agents Sending Fake Invoices for Website Hosting July 17, 2020
  • Duane Forrester On Search Intent and Internal Site Search July 9, 2020
  • Google Loses Blogspot.In Domain Name July 8, 2020
  • Peter Leshaw on In-House Digital Marketing and Dashboards for Reporting July 2, 2020
  • Mark Traphagen on Schema, Schema Tools, and On Page SEO Tools June 29, 2020

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (197)
  • Google (228)
  • Internet Marketing (24)
  • Internet Usage (84)
  • Link Building (52)
  • Local Search (38)
  • Marketing (176)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (1)
  • Podcast (8)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (47)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (156)
  • Search Engines (202)
  • Social Media (187)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (16)




Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2021 by Bill Hartzer and Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
Go to mobile version