Google Consolidates A/B Testing SEO Impact In Search Help Documentation

Sep 13, 2022 - 7:41 am 0 by

Google Site Testing

Just like with Google's consolidation of preventing spam on your site, Google did the same with its blog post on how to minimize A/B testing impact in Google Search. Google has repurposed that old blog post into an official help document in the Google Search developer docs.

Last week, it appears Google added a new help document named Minimize A/B testing impact in Google Search. If you look closely, it is pretty much the same advice and structure of the blog post from a decade a ago named Website testing and Google search. I spotted this via Rich Tatum on Twitter.

Google has been working more on its Google Search Central documentation and they also added a new top level hierarchy named "SEO fundamentals" to keep things more organized.

In any event, this A/B Testing SEO Impact document is broken down as follows:

  • A/B Testing Overview
  • Multivariant Testing Overview
  • Best Practices When Testing
  • Don't Cloak
  • Use rel canonical links
  • Use 302 redirects, not 301 redirects
  • Run the experiment only as long as necessary and not longer
  • and more links

So if you do a lot of testing on your site and it has been some time since you read Google's doc on this, here is an updated version.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search News

The Industry Mourns The Loss Of Jill Whalen - Content SEO Hero & Legend

Jun 22, 2025 - 1:20 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 20, 2025

Jun 20, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Volatility, AI Mode in Search Console, Audio Overviews and ChatGPT Search Quality

Jun 20, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Larger & Longer Issues Can Take Longer To Reverse In Google Search

Jun 20, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Troubleshooting On Blocking Content From AI Mode & AI Overviews

Jun 20, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Video Search Tests Speaker Icon With Language Label

Jun 20, 2025 - 7:31 am
Previous Story: Google Review Guidelines Now Prohibit Incentivizing Removal Of Negative Reviews