Transparency
Sources and methodology.
What we rely on in our work and where the figures in our reports and case studies come from.
In brief: We work from the search engines’ own documentation, W3C and Schema.org specifications, and we measure with Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and our own GeoScan auditor. Every figure in a report carries a tool and a measurement date, so it can be checked. All the sources and tools we use are listed below.
Which sources do we use?
| Source | Publisher | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Central | Which search engine documentation do we follow? | |
| Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content | Which search engine documentation do we follow? | |
| Яндекс Вебмастер | Яндекс | Which search engine documentation do we follow? |
| Schema.org | W3C Schema.org Community Group | Which specifications and standards do we rely on? |
| WCAG 2.2 | W3C | Which specifications and standards do we rely on? |
| Reglamento (UE) 2016/679 (RGPD) | Unión Europea | Which specifications and standards do we rely on? |
| llms.txt | llmstxt.org | Which specifications and standards do we rely on? |
| Google Search Console | What do we measure with? | |
| PageSpeed Insights и Core Web Vitals | What do we measure with? | |
| GeoScan | SEO7.ES | What do we measure with? |
Which search engine documentation do we follow?
We take ranking rules from the companies that do the ranking, not from forum retellings. When documentation and "common practice" disagree, we follow the documentation.
- Google Search CentralPublisher: Google
Requirements for indexing, structured data, canonicals and hreflang.
- Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First ContentPublisher: Google
E-E-A-T criteria: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trust. We check texts against them before publishing.
- Яндекс ВебмастерPublisher: Яндекс
Yandex's own requirements for markup and regional targeting. Needed for clients serving Russian-speaking audiences.
Which specifications and standards do we rely on?
Markup, accessibility and data handling are defined in specifications. We check the primary source, not a plugin that "seems to handle it".
- Schema.orgPublisher: W3C Schema.org Community Group
Type vocabulary for JSON-LD. Organization, WebPage, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage and their relations come from here.
- WCAG 2.2Publisher: W3C
Level AA accessibility criteria: contrast, keyboard operation, target size, understandable forms.
- Reglamento (UE) 2016/679 (RGPD)Publisher: Unión Europea
Basis for the consent banner, cookie retention periods and the list of data recipients in the privacy policy.
- llms.txtPublisher: llmstxt.org
File format a site uses to tell language models what it holds and how to read it.
What do we measure with?
No figure in a report is eyeballed. Each one has a tool, a measurement date and a way to repeat it.
- Google Search ConsolePublisher: Google
Impressions, clicks, average positions and queries. The basis for reports and the baseline before work starts.
- PageSpeed Insights и Core Web VitalsPublisher: Google
Load speed and layout stability on real users, not on a developer’s ideal connection.
- GeoScanPublisher: SEO7.ES
Our own AI-search readiness auditor: 172 checks across eight groups plus a live query to a language model.
How do we handle data?
A figure without a measurement date is not a figure
Positions, traffic and speed shift every week. That is why every metric in our reports carries a date and a tool. The measurement can be repeated and give the same result.
A client's result stays the client's result
In case studies we show only what a Search Console export or the project analytics confirms. If an agreement protects the data, we say so instead of substituting a flattering estimate.
Outdated claims get removed, not hidden
When a client site migrates or a metric stops holding, the old numbers leave the case study entirely. We prefer a short honest case to a long one with figures from a past life.
What do the methodology terms mean?
- E-E-A-T
- Google's criteria for judging a text: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust. We check texts against them before publishing.
- Schema.org
- The shared structured-data vocabulary that search engines and AI use to understand what a page describes: a company, a service, a question and answer.
- GeoScan
- SEO7's free auditor of AI-search readiness: it runs 172 checks and asks a language model whether it names your domain. The quick check takes about 10 seconds, the full mode up to 2 minutes.
“A model is built on numbers, and a number cannot lie. Eleven is always eleven, in any language and any context. An adjective needs someone to interpret it. That is why our pricing page scores higher than any other: there you simply cannot write in adjectives.”
What do people ask about the methodology?
Which tools do you measure with?
Traffic and rankings come from Google Search Console, speed from PageSpeed Insights, and AI-search readiness from our own GeoScan auditor. The client has these tools too, so any figure in a report can be rechecked knowing the tool and the date. Search Console keeps 16 months of data, and PageSpeed Insights measures speed from real visitors over the last 28 days.
Where do the figures in portfolio cases come from?
From Google Search Console exports and the project analytics, with the period stated. If an agreement protects the data, the case describes the work without figures.
Why cite documentation instead of popular SEO blogs?
Blogs retell documentation late and with mistakes. Requirements for markup, canonicals and snippets change at the source, so the primary document is safer.
What is GeoScan and can I check my own site with it?
It is our free AI-search readiness auditor. It runs 172 checks and separately asks a language model whether it names your domain for customer-style queries. Any site can be checked at geoscan.seo7.es.
How often do you revise this list of sources?
When documentation changes or a new tool enters our work. The date of the last revision sits at the foot of the page, and any source we no longer actually use is removed.
What follows from this?
A verifiable figure beats a flattering one. We take the rules from those who write them, measure with tools the client also has, and pull a metric off the page as soon as it stops being true. If you find a number without a source in a case study or report, write to us: that is our mistake and we will fix it.
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