Speed is a Minor Ranking Factor Compared to Content Quality or Relevance
Improving site speed alone probably won’t change rankings or visibility for a website because it is a very small factor compared to the relevance and quality of a page’s content with regards to rankings.
Follow Quality Guidelines But Focus on UX
John recommends using the Webmaster Quality Guidelines as a guide for content quality, but suggests not focusing too much on what Google is doing from an algorithmic standpoint. Instead focus on making and optimizing sites that provide good user experiences.
Quality Rater Guidelines & EAT Don’t Directly Impact Rankings
EAT and the Quality Rater Guidelines show where Google is heading in the future for providing better content to users, but they don’t directly impact Google’s algorithms.
Treat Tag Pages Like Any Other Page & Only Noindex Low Quality Ones
John recommends treating tag pages like any other page on your site and to differentiate between useful tag pages and low quality tag pages by noindexing the low quality ones.
Homepages That Don’t Rank Well Might be Over-optimised
Instances where a homepage doesn’t rank well can sometimes be due to over-optimisation, with Google detecting keyword stuffing in the content.
Number of Noindexed Pages Has No Effect on Rankings or Site Quality
Having a lot of noindexed pages doesn’t affect rankings or how Google perceives a site’s quality. For example, many sites need to noindex private content that requires a user to log in to access.
When splitting a category page into two separate pages, John recommends redirecting the old URL to one of the new pages and then updating internal linking normally within your website’s structure. There is no specific markup which can tell Google that a page has been split into two separate pages.
Sites looking to recover after Google’s core algorithm update on August 1st should focus on making their pages more relevant for searchers. It takes time for Google to understand how individual pages and whole sites are relevant and the impact of changes that have been made.
Google May Consider Merging Information From Quality Rater & Webmaster Guidelines
John said that Google may consider merging information from the Quality Rater Guidelines with their Webmaster Guidelines in the future.
Google Will Only Use Structured Data For Trustworthy, High Quality Sites
Structured data needs to be correctly implemented from a technical perspective and needs to be applied to relevant content, but to display it in search Google also has to judge the site as high quality and trustworthy.