A-11 Press release and third-party authority tactics must stay in the experiment layer

Why it matters

Tactics that borrow another site's authority or fake endorsement can fall foul of Google's spam policies, and they put the whole site at risk. A one-off result is also easy to mistake for a rule that works everywhere. Keeping these tactics in a controlled experiment limits the damage and keeps the baseline standard honest.

How to implement

1. Stop any press release that has no genuine news or value.
2. Disclose paid placements and qualify the links that come with them.
3. Make sure content on third-party platforms helps that platform's users.
4. Remove fake posts, fake reviews, self-recommendation and authority hijacking.
5. Run each experiment with its own cohort and timeframe, and keep the findings out of the baseline standard.

Checklist

• Use a press release only when there is genuine news or value.
• Disclose paid placements and qualify links.
• Offer real benefit to the users of the third-party platform.
• Do not use fake Reddit posts, fake reviews, self-recommendation or authority hijacking.
• Measure the experiment with a separate cohort and timeframe.
• Do not generalise success into the baseline SEO standard.

How to audit

• Check that each press release has genuine news or value.
• Check that paid placements are disclosed and links are qualified.
• Check that experiments use a separate cohort and timeframe, and that no fake or deceptive tactics are in use.

Related controls

• A-09 Maximise coverage must be used as a distribution strategy P1
• A-10 A page plus real video combination must be tested on high buyer-intent topics P2
• A-08 Search profiles must be claimed using real owned identities P2
• A-07 Social and video Search Console properties must be set up where supported P1
• A-06 Preferred Sources must be used only on eligible sites, as a user preference feature P2

Myth guards that reference this control

• “If a trusted SEO expert said it, it is a canonical rule”
• “If SEJ, SEL or Ahrefs wrote it, it is an official ranking factor”

Sources

• [G4] Google spam policies
• [E5] Edward Sturm: King of AEO: The Exact Tactics Ranking Pages and Changing AI Overviews in Hours