What are Google Search Essentials?
Google Search Essentials are Google's published rules for appearing in search: technical needs, spam policies and best practices. They used to be called the Webmaster Guidelines.
Google Search Essentials is the set of guidelines Google publishes for website owners. It has three parts: technical requirements (Google must be able to find and read the page), spam policies (tactics that can get a site demoted or removed, such as cloaking, link schemes and keyword stuffing) and key best practices for helpful content. It replaced what were once called the Webmaster Guidelines or Quality Guidelines. Bing publishes its own similar guidelines.
Why it matters for your business: Staying within these rules protects your site from penalties. Any SEO work done for you should follow them.
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