I read that it doesn`t matter to Google anymore

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  Tim Capper: You are limited to what you can create, but they work pretty well in light market competition:
  
  https://onlineownership.com/optimizing-free-google.../
  
  ONLINEOWNERSHIP.COMOptimizing your Google Business Website - Online OwnershipOptimizing your Google Business Website - Online Ownership
  
  
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  Tim Capper: Have not changed much at all - or do you mean a Free Google Site - not a business.site
  
  
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  Stockbridge Truslow: Google sites aren`t meant to rank (as web sites). In fact, I`m not sure I`ve ever seen one come up in search results. They are there to serve a completely different purpose.
  
  They are there for Local Businesses who do not have a full web site to create a more complete and comprehensive outline for people visiting their GMB profile in the local pack and on the map. There`s only so much room and so many things you can say in your business profile - but if you connect that to a web site in the profile, users can go there and get some more specific info. Your business profile may say that you offer plumbing services, but your Google Site can say exactly which services you offer and give descriptions.
  
  Sure... if you do it right - proper headings and keywords can be picked up and used to help rank your business listing in the map pack for more things. And using clear language with semantic triples and things that the NLP extractors can easily understand - then that information can help you rank more.
  
  Metaphorically, if your GMB Listing is your business card, then your Google site is an automated version of the person who answers the phone when someone calls one of the numbers on the card and then helps to qualify the customer and helps to direct their call.
  
  
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  Stockbridge Truslow: I might also say that if "SEO is a key pillar" for your customer`s business then one of two things are true...
  
  1) They mean that Local SEO is a key pillar. That`s totally different from web site / organic SEO. Make sure you understand the difference and can execute for them.
  
  or
  
  2) They mean that they WANT a full SEO program to be a key pillar, but they don`t have it yet. (They can`t since they don`t have a web site). If that`s the case - then a Google Site is NOT an answer here. It may be something that can help slightly until they have a budget to get a site for which SEO becomes a key pillar - but it`s not the proper vehicle to BE the thing that SEO is driving people to.
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Stockbridge Truslow Really awesome feedback, thanks a lot for it. Does this apply to the NEW Google Sites? I reckon the old ones were more of a GMB "gallery", but one can not consider the new ones as "proper websites"?
  
  How about Google saying that tags and meta, for example, are not relevant anymore and the only relevant thing is content? This leads me to think that if my customer`s website, built on the new Google Sites, is content heavy (and good) it should rank properly, no?
  
  Lastly, what makes Google Sites different to other sites using WordPress for example so that they don`t rank or show up in search results? Is this purposely made by Google?
  
  
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  Stockbridge Truslow: Meta Description has NEVER been relevant for ranking. In fact, I can`t think of ANY meta tag that is used for ranking. One might argue that the meta-title is - but it`s actually the tag that does it - not the meta that is there to help for sharing and other specific machine functions.
  
  To be honest, I haven`t looked at the back end of a Google site in a few years. I just know that they are very basic and do little more than create a basic brochure to go along with your business card.
  
  And, of course - there`s what Google says these are for - which is far more limiting and quite different from what I`m saying they are useful for. https://workspace.google.com/products/sites/
  
  They are saying it`s for team collaboration, event promotions, and things that have a specific audience like a human resources site for your employees. It says absolutely NOTHING about a site that`s good for generating new clients or leads.
  
  So, basically, Google is starting to move away from people using these sites even for what I`m suggesting. That means that, over time, the ability for these sites to do the things I`m talking about will diminish too.
  
  They don`t tend to rank because that`s not the purpose they are designed to serve.
  
  WORKSPACE.GOOGLE.COMGoogle Sites: Build & Host Business Websites | Google WorkspaceGoogle Sites: Build & Host Business Websites | Google Workspace
  
  
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  Michael Martinez: Search engine optimization isn`t about the bells and whistles one uses to create a Website. It`s about how one creates content that search engines can find, crawl, and index so that their users find and click through to visit it.
  
  I haven`t written a meta tag in years for my own content. They are completely optional, as are many other elements people consider to be requirements for SEO.
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Michael Martinez then you`re saying that the new Goole Sites could be as good as any other CMS for ranking on Google PROVIDED the content (and just the content) is good from an SEO level (keywords, etc)?
  
  
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  Michael Martinez: Yeray E. Falcón I`m saying "don`t be intimidated by the limits on resources you have to use." It`s good to work outside your comfort zone in SEO because there is NO one right way to do this stuff.
  
  When the formulas fail your needs or expectations, it`s time to learn that formulas are only a place to start - nothing more.
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Michael Martinez I guess my question to you is, and sorry if I`m being repetitive: can one rely on a website created using Google Sites (which doesn`t allow entering meta descriptions) for a website to rank on Google, provided the content written is SEO friendly?
  
  
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  Michael Martinez: Yeray E. Falcón I wouldn`t try to write "SEO friendly" content (that is, content that follows a formula) on a platform where I felt I lacked some of the tools I rely on.
  
  This is an opportunity for you to experiment with creating content that stands outside the formulaic SEO patterns.
  
  Think about the kinds of pages that people recommend to each other when someone is asking for a solution to a specific problem.
  
  Describe the problem well in terms that everyone understands.
  
  Describe the solution the client provides in sufficient detail that the page(s) make it clear they are the best resource.
  
  How would you do that if you were explaining what this client does to your closest friends and relatives while you were sitting at a dinner table, late in the evening, and everyone is relaxed and sharing their frustrations in life?
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Michael Martinez This is gold, thank you very much. Would you say that meta descriptions are important for SEO? It seems like a thing from the past at this point, no?
  
  
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  Michael Martinez: If it helps, you can put what you would normally write for a meta description in a block at the top of the article. Call it the article summary.
  
  Any Hx element on the page might be used by search engines as the title they display in their search results.
  
  A robust, truly useful page of content can be relevant to 1, 000 queries. No title tag or meta description written by a typical SEO specialist would ever satisfy so many queries.
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Michael Martinez Fantastic!
  
  
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  Jenni Brown: Google doesn`t want people to focus on SEO, and also it`s a half hearted option. Many things with Google are "do as I say, not as I do." If you just went with what Google thought was okay you`d have pretty low standards given that things like Google Analytics aren`t even screen reader friendly.
  
  
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  Bill Hartzer: The Google employees who built that "site builder" most likely know absolutely nothing about SEO.
  
  They just were told to build a site builder that allows you to create a viewable website where users can add text to it.
  
  What I`ve actually found over the years is that most Google employees (outside of those working on the organic algo) know nothing about SEO.
  
  
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  Buth Main: I do not use meta tags and many tags on my personal projects for 12-14 years. I do not optimize images, videos. There is no problem. My blog outranks many big sites. Because any search engine prefers content. Many SEOs prioritize minor things. Ah, Google rewrites meta tags titles and descriptions for years.
  
  
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  Yeray E. Falcón: Good info, thanks a lot!