Editorial policy

Sources

• Primary sources first. Google Search Central documentation, the Search Status Dashboard, Bing Webmaster documentation, web.dev, schema.org and vendors' own docs outrank blogs and social posts.
• Industry studies are attributed and dated. A number without a source and a date does not go in a guide. When studies disagree, guides give the range rather than the most dramatic figure.
• Unconfirmed claims are labelled. Search engine statements, reported tests and community observations are kept distinct, and speculation is called speculation.
• Every guide lists the sources it was checked against at the end of the page.

Dates and freshness

Each guide shows when it was first published and when it was last substantively reviewed. The review date only changes when the content does: fixing a typo is not a review, and moving a date forward without changing anything (“date bumping”) is something the course warns against. Substantive changes are logged in the changelog.

How AI tools are used

AI tools are used to help research, cross-check facts against documentation, and draft and edit text. They are not a source. Every factual claim must trace back to a primary source listed on the page, dates and statistics are verified against that source, and the published guide is reviewed before it ships. This follows Google's own guidance that what matters is the quality and accuracy of content, not how it was produced, and its advice to fact-check all AI-assisted output.

Independence

Rankyl has no advertisers, sponsors or affiliate links. Tools are recommended because they are useful, and free options are listed wherever they exist.

Corrections

Every guide has a “Report it” link at the end. You can also email haikalakif17@gmail.com. Confirmed errors are fixed promptly, and significant corrections are noted in the changelog.

Certificate of completion

The certificate you can earn by passing the final exam is a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification or a professional certification, and Rankyl never describes it as one.