Don’t be evil

We explain THE REAL HISTORY

Who is Matt Cutts?

Matthew Cutts, better known by the nickname Matt Cutts, is an American engineer famous for serving as the head of Google’s webspam team for several years. Born in the 70s, Cutts graduated in computer science and mathematics from the University of Kentucky and received a Master of Science from the University of North Carolina. In 2000, he joined the ranks of Google.

A brilliant career at Google

His rise was meteoric within Google, which at the time was only in its infancy. Cutts started as a software engineer before joining the group’s Search Quality team, and participated in the invention of many of Google’s patented technologies, particularly regarding spam. He is also behind the SafeSearch filter, which allows sensitive content to be hidden on the search engine.

Matt Cutts quickly transitioned to become the head of Google’s webspam team, a position he held until 2016. Throughout his career, this pillar of the American giant contributed significantly to improving the Google search engine.

Matt Cutts’ fight against algorithm manipulation

Matt Cutts dedicated his time to the fight against Black Hat SEO techniques. His contribution to the evolution of the algorithm helped clean up the SERP results by highlighting pages that are more relevant to the user.

Cutts, the messenger of the Panda and Penguin updates

A few years ago, Matt Cutts’ name emerged in the SEO sphere, particularly during the announcements of major algorithm modifications: Google Panda and Google Penguin. These updates massively affected low-quality content and sites receiving artificial external links.

After the deployment of these two new filters, the former webspam team leader communicated during various updates to explain (at least partially) the different consequences for SEO to alarmed search marketers.

Matt Cutts and his involvement in SEO

If Matt Cutts is so well-known in the field of SEO, it is also because of his role with webmasters and search marketers. As someone who participated in the creation of SEO best practices and core principles, he helped clarify certain facets of the algorithm.

His advice to webmasters

Particularly active on Google’s official blog or the Google Search Central YouTube channel, Matt Cutts used to answer user questions via video. He notably gave various indications on the technical aspects of sites for SEO, backlinks, and proper content production methods.

Each of his interventions was carefully analyzed by many SEO players in the hope of deciphering the search engine’s highly secret algorithm… While his advice often remained on the surface, he was sometimes a significant help to search marketers lost among the algorithmic upheavals.

A sometimes ambiguous character

Behind his SEO recommendations, his statements were often blunt and vague, sowing a wind of panic among web marketers. Through tweets, Matt Cutts used to communicate about algorithmic updates at the exact moment of their deployment, or even unexpectedly announce heavy sanctions via social media.

Many believed that Matt Cutts was Google’s spokesperson, attempting to blur the lines or manipulate search marketers through vague advice, leaving them uncertain about which practices were tolerated and which were penalized.