{"id":173749,"date":"2024-03-27T06:36:59","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T11:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=173749"},"modified":"2025-03-03T05:39:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T10:39:23","slug":"seo-experiments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/","title":{"rendered":"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\">\u201cTest, test, test!\u201d We hear it shouted from the virtual rooftops of X and LinkedIn. But if you\u2019re focused on running a business, how often do you get a chance to test <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/seo-basics\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-basics\/\">SEO fundamentals<\/a> to their limits? Probably not that often\u2014if at&nbsp;all.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, I\u2019ll share my favorite Ahrefs\u2019 SEO experiments we\u2019ve run over the years and what they show us about how Google <em>really<\/em> works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"intro-tok\" id=\"intro_tok\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"intro-title\">Contents<\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"expand-dots\"><span><\/span><span><\/span><span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"1. Do links really matter for rankings?\" data-section=\"experiment-1\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Do links really matter for rankings?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Google recently <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jenstar\/status\/1704972204532776982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1704972204532776982%7Ctwgr%5Eb6bc2874173c830492c2231f09669e216ddceac5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seroundtable.com%2Fgoogle-links-no-longer-a-top-three-ranking-factor-36094.html\">downplayed the importance of links<\/a>, but what happens if you disavow the links to certain pages on your website?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_hh3p4uh8ul4z\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Patrick and the team ran an experiment that disavowed all external links to three of our blog\u2019s most popular pages for a month. He wanted to see what the impact would be on our organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For most websites, this type of experiment could be virtual suicide, so I wouldn\u2019t advise you to try to recreate this&nbsp;test!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1426\" class=\"wp-image-173752\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\" alt=\"impact of disavowing links\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links-477x425.png 477w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links-768x684.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links-1536x1369.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_i9xhzgrx56n\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In our experiment, it appeared as though links still matter to Google, and disavowing links or removing them can negatively impact the performance of certain pages. (Shocker.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_zicuami398zl\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No. I wouldn\u2019t advise you to test this on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/impact-of-links\/\">Do Links Still Matter for Rankings? A Study by Ahrefs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"2. What happens if you delete content?\" data-section=\"experiment-2\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_1fxtq6j11ox9\"><\/a>2. What happens if you delete content?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>How important is the main content on a page for ranking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may assume it\u2019s very important for Google\u2014 but the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/d9\/2023-11\/417516.pdf\">trial exhibits from the U.S. Department of Justice<\/a> suggest that Google has previously relied heavily on how people <em>reacted<\/em> to documents rather than understanding the documents themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"735\" class=\"wp-image-173753\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/google-doesnt-understand-documents-they-fake-it.png\" alt=\"Google doesn't understand documents they fake it\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/google-doesnt-understand-documents-they-fake-it.png 1000w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/google-doesnt-understand-documents-they-fake-it-578x425.png 578w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/google-doesnt-understand-documents-they-fake-it-768x564.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_dtrv0ufchu9j\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Patrick and the team removed the main content from two pages to determine the SEO impact on our organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of what one of our blog posts looked like after we removed the main content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1219\" height=\"1629\" class=\"wp-image-173754\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/top-youtube-searches-page-with-no-content.jpg\" alt=\"Top youtube searches page with no content\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/top-youtube-searches-page-with-no-content.jpg 1219w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/top-youtube-searches-page-with-no-content-318x425.jpg 318w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/top-youtube-searches-page-with-no-content-768x1026.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/top-youtube-searches-page-with-no-content-1149x1536.jpg 1149w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1219px) 100vw, 1219px\">\n<figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">At least it\u2019s a quick&nbsp;read.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the content was removed, we saw an immediate drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The drop and rebound in <strong>Clicks<\/strong> and <strong>Impressions<\/strong> was shown clearly on Google Search Console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2016\" height=\"763\" class=\"wp-image-173755\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clicks-and-impressions-in-google-search-console.png\" alt=\"Clicks and Impressions in Google Search Console\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clicks-and-impressions-in-google-search-console.png 2016w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clicks-and-impressions-in-google-search-console-680x257.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clicks-and-impressions-in-google-search-console-768x291.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clicks-and-impressions-in-google-search-console-1536x581.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2016px) 100vw, 2016px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the <strong>Clicks<\/strong> drop is relatively small, this is fairly compelling evidence that removing content is a bad&nbsp;idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_5l6r0bigfy2g\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether or not Google understands the nature of the content or infers it from user experience signals, we don\u2019t know for&nbsp;sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What we do know is that there is a strong correlation between removing our main content and the drop in clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With no content on the page about the topic, the relevancy of this result for users hits rock bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_bzzh3yon3zp7\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I strongly advise you not to try this test yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/impact-removing-content\/\">I Deleted the Content From Two Posts To See if They\u2019d Still Rank. Here\u2019s What Happened<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"3. Can you rank #1 in 24 hours?\" data-section=\"experiment-3\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Can you rank #1 in 24&nbsp;hours?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Sounds tough, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in one of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/author\/sam-oh\/\">Sam Oh\u2019s<\/a> most audacious videos, he tried to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zlNIHl92b3k\">rank #1 on Google in 24 hours<\/a> using only a handful of basic <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-techniques\/\">SEO techniques<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sam\u2019s video got tons of engagement, likes, and views\u2014and even Google praised the quality of Sam\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"618\" height=\"384\" class=\"wp-image-173750\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/google-epic-tips-ahrefs-youtube.png\" alt=\"google-epic-tips-ahrefs-youtube\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_9dfu5xoa65mb\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sam found a post on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/blogging-tips\/\">blogging tips<\/a> he wanted to rank number one for and set about using basic <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-techniques\/\">SEO techniques<\/a> to improve its ranking in Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He identified why the page was ranking poorly, created a plan to beat the competitors by improving the content, and then submitted the updated page to Google Search Console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sam used Ahrefs\u2019 <strong>Also talk about <\/strong>report in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> combined with some ChatGPT wizardry to identify unique and fresh angles to expand the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the full video&nbsp;here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zlNIHl92b3k<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_yha2y7cx8282\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When we polled SEOs and asked them <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-long-does-seo-take\/\">how long SEO takes<\/a>, most SEOs said it can take three months or&nbsp;more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1284\" class=\"wp-image-173751\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/how-long-does-seo-take.jpg\" alt=\"How long does SEO take\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/how-long-does-seo-take.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/how-long-does-seo-take-530x425.jpg 530w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/how-long-does-seo-take-768x616.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/how-long-does-seo-take-1536x1233.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This SEO experiment flipped that narrative on its head and showed that improving your rankings in Google can actually be much faster\u2014even using only basic <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-skills\/\">SEO skills<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_t0sj67k84aqd\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. The fact that Google praised this video should be enough to tell you that the techniques used in this video are \u201cGoogle-safe\u201d experiments that you could try on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, like any test\u2014be aware that the results you get may vary from&nbsp;ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zlNIHl92b3k\">I Tried to Rank #1 on Google in 24 Hours to Prove a&nbsp;Point<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"4. What happens if you add a related posts section?\" data-section=\"experiment-4\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_vq7q407xbktk\"><\/a>4. What happens if you add a related posts section?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Related posts are usually shown at the bottom of a blog page and internally link to similar content. Most content management systems offer functionality to add related content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_qjzswa3p25jt\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In December 2022, we added a \u201cKeep Learning\u201d related posts section using a popular WordPress plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The theory was that adding this section would help improve our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/internal-links-for-seo\/\">internal linking<\/a> and be useful for our readers who might want to explore other parts of our content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"774\" class=\"wp-image-173756\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/related-posts-section-highlighted.jpg\" alt=\"Related posts section highlighted\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/related-posts-section-highlighted.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/related-posts-section-highlighted-680x329.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/related-posts-section-highlighted-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/related-posts-section-highlighted-1536x743.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The results were positive across multiple URLs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"867\" class=\"wp-image-173757\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/organic-traffic-increase-from-seo-experiment-via-a.png\" alt=\"Organic traffic increase from SEO experiment via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/organic-traffic-increase-from-seo-experiment-via-a.png 1200w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/organic-traffic-increase-from-seo-experiment-via-a-588x425.png 588w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/organic-traffic-increase-from-seo-experiment-via-a-768x555.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_7i79ro5olm69\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding a related content section to your blog can improve your internal linking. Because <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/crawler\">Google crawls the internet using links<\/a>, it makes it easier for Google to understand the relationship between pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Ahrefs\u2019 Blog already had a decent internal linking structure in place, we didn\u2019t see a tremendous uplift, but it might have more impact for blogs with fewer internal links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_dwhloh9dtkca\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Adding a related posts section to your blog is usually a low effort and easy to implement. Your results may vary, but in most cases it should have a positive impact over&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/related-posts-seo\/\">Does Adding a Related Post Section Help Your Blog? We Tested It<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"5. What happens if you block pages in robots.txt?\" data-section=\"experiment-5\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_1gjqyiaa362e\"><\/a>5. What happens if you block pages in robots.txt?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s surprisingly common for websites to accidentally block parts or even their whole website without realizing it. Patrick\u2019s theory was that by blocking the pages from being crawled, Google would have to rely on the link signals alone to rank the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, did it&nbsp;work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_w15yq9zgaiug\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Patrick blocked Google from crawling two pages using <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/robots-txt\/\">robots.txt<\/a>. Both pages lost traffic, but despite blocking the page, the scale of the loss was not as bad as it could have&nbsp;been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1998\" height=\"598\" class=\"wp-image-173758\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pages-blocked-with-robots-txt-via-ahrefs-site-exp.png\" alt=\"Pages blocked with robots.txt via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pages-blocked-with-robots-txt-via-ahrefs-site-exp.png 1998w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pages-blocked-with-robots-txt-via-ahrefs-site-exp-680x204.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pages-blocked-with-robots-txt-via-ahrefs-site-exp-768x230.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pages-blocked-with-robots-txt-via-ahrefs-site-exp-1536x460.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So the good news is that Google can be fairly forgiving if you accidentally block a page from being crawled\u2014so long as you eventually unblock it. If you want to remove the page from Google\u2019s index, robots.txt is not the way to&nbsp;go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_2gg2qq696yj\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Google needs to crawl and check your website periodically. If you block pages in robots.txt, you\u2019re telling Google not to crawl certain parts of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not a good idea to do on pages that you want Google to rank in their search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_gf9tl08l157f\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No. I wouldn\u2019t advise you to try&nbsp;this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/blocked-robots-test\/\">The Story of Blocking 2 High-Ranking Pages With Robots.txt<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"6. Can you rank #1 just by getting more links to a post?\" data-section=\"experiment-6\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_bld9r1okj7vi\"><\/a>6. Can you rank #1 just by getting more links to a&nbsp;post?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you improve rankings <em>just<\/em> by building links to your article?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_xfz52otv3amj\"><\/a>What was the experiment?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/author\/joshua-hardwick\/\">Josh<\/a> and the team wanted to know whether it was possible to rank number one by just focusing on link-building for a specific content type\u2014no other changes to the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result was this <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-statistics\/\">SEO statistics<\/a> post specifically designed to attract links. 500+ emails later, Josh managed to secure a stack of decent links, which boosted the page to the number one spot on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"696\" class=\"wp-image-173759\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ranking-number-one-with-linkbuilding.png\" alt=\"Ranking number one with linkbuilding\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ranking-number-one-with-linkbuilding.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ranking-number-one-with-linkbuilding-680x296.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ranking-number-one-with-linkbuilding-768x334.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ranking-number-one-with-linkbuilding-1536x668.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To this day, the post still ranks number one and has the most <strong>Backlinks<\/strong> and <strong>Domains<\/strong> compared to the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"908\" height=\"626\" class=\"wp-image-173760\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/seo-statistics-backlinks-and-domains-screenshot-v.png\" alt=\"SEO statistics backlinks and domains screenshot, via Ahrefs' SERP overview\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/seo-statistics-backlinks-and-domains-screenshot-v.png 908w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/seo-statistics-backlinks-and-domains-screenshot-v-616x425.png 616w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/seo-statistics-backlinks-and-domains-screenshot-v-768x529.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_1vnqs0yzyqyn\"><\/a>What it tells us about Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This experiment showed two things. Firstly, acquiring high-quality links to your pages can help boost rankings. But also that some types of content can earn links easier than other types of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Statistics-based content is highly shareable and is also the type of content that will be referenced by journalists\u2014especially if it\u2019s up to&nbsp;date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_l67j82axm4mr\"><\/a>Can you test this yourself?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Creating a statistics post and backing it up with an outreach campaign is a straightforward SEO experiment. In my opinion, it is one of the best ways to earn links naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/link-building-case-study\/\">Link Building Case Study: How We Built Backlinks With a \u2018Stats\u2019 Page (And Ranked #1)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to browse more SEO experiments and case studies? Check out our latest <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/category\/data-studies\/\">Data Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to run your own SEO experiments\" data-section=\"how-to-run-seo-experiments\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_538eq7j2j59m\"><\/a>How to run your own SEO experiments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you\u2019ve got a taste of the SEO experiments we\u2019ve run here at Ahrefs. Now, it\u2019s time to pass the baton over to&nbsp;you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To set up your own SEO experiment, you need to develop an idea to test and a way to measure it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The process usually goes something like&nbsp;this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hypothesis<\/strong> \u2013 What do you think will happen in your experiment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Test<\/strong> \u2013 Running the experiment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Measure<\/strong> \u2013 Measuring results using a tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/portfolios\"><strong>Ahrefs Portfolio<\/strong><\/a> to track your positions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Review<\/strong> \u2013 Reviewing the results and drawing a conclusion from the experiment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1152\" class=\"wp-image-173761\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-173749-12.png\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-173749-12.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-173749-12-590x425.png 590w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-173749-12-768x553.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-173749-12-1536x1106.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t tell you what to test, but I can show you two ways to measure your results using Ahrefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_3c70lzintve4\"><\/a>SERP overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to spot-check a keyword to see if it has gone up or down over a time period, you can use Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> to see if there have been any position increases for your target keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do&nbsp;this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter your keyword into <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scroll down to the <strong>SERP overview<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add a comparison date \u2013 this should be the date that you started the&nbsp;test<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"654\" class=\"wp-image-173762\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/serp-overview-screenshot.png\" alt=\"SERP-overview-screenshot\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/serp-overview-screenshot.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/serp-overview-screenshot-680x217.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/serp-overview-screenshot-768x245.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/serp-overview-screenshot-1536x491.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The green and red lines show whether or not a website has <strong>Improved<\/strong> or <strong>Declined<\/strong> in its position over&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> is great for spot checks, but what if you wanted to track multiple keywords in a bigger SEO experiment? You can use <strong>Portfolios<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_zg3p803v6cmw\"><\/a>Portfolios<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I find myself using <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/portfolios\/\">Portfolios<\/a> all the time now, and it\u2019s probably one of my favorite Ahrefs features. But it\u2019s also great for tracking the results of your SEO experiments over&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To set up a new <strong>Portfolio,<\/strong> click on <strong>+ Create<\/strong> and then on <strong>Portfolio<\/strong> from the main dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"338\" height=\"400\" class=\"wp-image-173763\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/creating-a-new-portfolio.png\" alt=\"creating-a-new-portfolio\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve done that, add the URLs you want to track to your <strong>Portfolio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1070\" height=\"1116\" class=\"wp-image-173764\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/creating-a-new-portfolio-1.png\" alt=\"creating-a-new-portfolio\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/creating-a-new-portfolio-1.png 1070w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/creating-a-new-portfolio-1-407x425.png 407w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/creating-a-new-portfolio-1-768x801.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1070px) 100vw, 1070px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve updated the settings to your preferences, click <strong>Create<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahrefs will then track all the URLs in your portfolio collectively and individually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Portfolios<\/strong> operate in a similar way to <strong>Projects<\/strong>. Clicking on different elements on the dashboard will take you through to the different Ahrefs reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My favorite report is the <strong>Compare pages<\/strong> report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1876\" height=\"770\" class=\"wp-image-173765\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/compare-pages-portfolio-comparison.png\" alt=\"compare-pages-portfolio-comparison\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/compare-pages-portfolio-comparison.png 1876w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/compare-pages-portfolio-comparison-680x279.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/compare-pages-portfolio-comparison-768x315.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/compare-pages-portfolio-comparison-1536x630.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1876px) 100vw, 1876px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This would be particularly useful if you were running an SEO experiment, as you could visually track the progress of your different URLs and <strong>Organic traffic<\/strong> over&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You can set up multiple portfolios, so if you need to, you can create a control portfolio to compare against, or track against competitors\u2019 equivalent URLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-173749-_u5h6e7n2weja\"><\/a>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking what Google says as gospel truth isn\u2019t what SEOs are hardwired to do. But at the same time, creating and running SEO experiments takes time and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to run your own SEO experiments, you can start by recreating Ahrefs\u2019 more successful SEO experiments. Don\u2019t forget to use a tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer\u2019s<\/a> <strong>SERP Overview<\/strong> and <strong>Portfolio<\/strong> to ensure you aren\u2019t making changes that negatively impact your website in the long&nbsp;term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got more questions? Ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chris_at_b449\">on X<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, I\u2019ll share my favorite Ahrefs\u2019 SEO experiments we\u2019ve run over the years and what they show us about how Google really works. Google recently downplayed the importance of links, but what happens if you disavow the links<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":"[]"},"categories":[335],"tags":[],"coauthors":[437],"class_list":["post-173749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-seo","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Theory is great, but testing is better.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Theory is great, but testing is better.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Haines\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@chris_at_b449\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Haines\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9afb394ccc6e0e19c199d26984a8b0b2\"},\"headline\":\"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2083,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/6-seo-experiments-that-help-reveal-by-chris-haines-general-seo.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General SEO\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/\",\"name\":\"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"Theory is great, but testing is better.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/seo-experiments\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1426,\"caption\":\"impact of disavowing links\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\",\"description\":\"Link Building Strategies &amp; SEO Tips\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ahrefs\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/ahrefs-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/ahrefs-logo.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"Ahrefs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/Ahrefs\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ahrefs\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/ahrefs\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/ahrefscom\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9afb394ccc6e0e19c199d26984a8b0b2\",\"name\":\"Chris Haines\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg5328cbfe0b80f39d8800869ef43bebfc\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Haines\"},\"description\":\"Chris is an SEO director who has 10 years of experience in SEO, agency side. When not involved in SEO, he enjoys messing around with vintage synthesizers, walks on sandy beaches, and a good cup of tea.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chrishaines.uk\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/uk.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/chris-haines-seo\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/chris_at_b449\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/chris-haines\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works","description":"Theory is great, but testing is better.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works","og_description":"Theory is great, but testing is better.","og_url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/","og_site_name":"SEO Blog by Ahrefs","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/","article_published_time":"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1426,"url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Chris Haines","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@chris_at_b449","twitter_site":"@ahrefs","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Haines","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9afb394ccc6e0e19c199d26984a8b0b2"},"headline":"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works","datePublished":"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/"},"wordCount":2083,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-seo-experiments-that-help-reveal-by-chris-haines-general-seo.jpg","articleSection":["General SEO"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/","name":"6 SEO Experiments That Help Reveal How Google Works","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png","datePublished":"2024-03-27T11:36:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-03T10:39:23+00:00","description":"Theory is great, but testing is better.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-experiments\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/impact-of-disavowing-links.png","width":1600,"height":1426,"caption":"impact of disavowing links"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/","name":"SEO Blog by Ahrefs","description":"Link Building Strategies &amp; SEO Tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Ahrefs","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ahrefs-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ahrefs-logo.png","width":2048,"height":768,"caption":"Ahrefs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ahrefs","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ahrefs\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/ahrefscom"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9afb394ccc6e0e19c199d26984a8b0b2","name":"Chris Haines","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg5328cbfe0b80f39d8800869ef43bebfc","url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ChrisHaines_2x.jpg","caption":"Chris Haines"},"description":"Chris is an SEO director who has 10 years of experience in SEO, agency side. When not involved in SEO, he enjoys messing around with vintage synthesizers, walks on sandy beaches, and a good cup of tea.","sameAs":["https:\/\/chrishaines.uk\/","https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-haines-seo","https:\/\/x.com\/chris_at_b449"],"url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/author\/chris-haines\/"}]}},"as_json":null,"json_reviewers":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173749"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=173749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}