Google Rejects Unofficial SEO Directives for Ranking Content

Image credit: Search Engine Journal

Google does not recognize or utilize unofficial search engine optimization (SEO) directives such as ‘llms-author.txt’ files or ‘Content-Signal’ HTTP headers for ranking or discoverability, a company official said.

John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, addressed a Reddit user’s proposal, confirming these suggested methods have no impact on how major search engines or large language models (LLMs) process content.

The Reddit user had suggested implementing an ‘llms-author.txt’ file and a ‘Content-Signal’ HTTP header or robots.txt directive to help individuals with names shared by more prominent figures improve their personal discoverability online.

Mueller explicitly stated Google does not use ‘llms.txt’ or ‘llms-author.txt,’ and he was unaware of any other crawlers or LLMs that currently do.

He further clarified that ‘content-signal’ robots.txt directives are also not employed by crawlers or LLMs. Mueller noted this particular directive was initially proposed by Cloudflare.

Cloudflare had introduced the Content-Signal directive for robots.txt and later incorporated it into an HTTP response header for its ‘Markdown for Agents‘ feature. However, Mueller indicated it has no measurable effect on search engine behavior.

Mueller advised the Reddit user’s challenge was not a technical SEO issue requiring new directives. Instead, he suggested the individual focus on building a stronger digital presence.

He recommended strategies such as participating in interviews and consistently creating noteworthy content to establish a more distinct online footprint.

Source: Search Engine Journal