Google: We Don’t Use Third-Party SEO Tool Scores For Rankings

According to John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, the company does not use scores from third-party SEO tools to determine website rankings.

As Mueller explains:

“No, Google does not use scores from third-party SEO tools for search. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re all useless.”

While Google’s algorithms and assessments matter for search rankings, third-party SEO tool scores can still provide value:

1. They give you an overview of how your site performs regarding SEO best practices.
2. The scores can highlight potential issues to address and identify next steps for improvement.
3. They help evaluate the success of previous SEO work.

However, it’s important to understand how the scoring system works and what it actually measures. Mueller recommends using the tools to improve performance and user experience, rather than directly target higher rankings.

As an example, Mueller mentions Google’s own Chrome Lighthouse tool. While Lighthouse generates performance scores, Google does not use those scores to determine search rankings. But the scores can still help identify issues that impact user experience and click-through rate.

In summary, though Google ignores third-party SEO tool scores for ranking websites, the scores from tools like Lighthouse, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc. can still provide valuable insights into potential issues and opportunities for optimization. The data can then be used to improve your actual on-page and off-page SEO.

Sources

1. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-we-dont-use-third-party-seo-tool-scores-for-rankings/493956/
2. https://seodebate.com/articles/google-clarifies-third-party-seo-tool-scores-not-used-for-rankings-still-valuable/
3. https://searchengineland.com/google-search-seo-tools-scores-430771