In a recent statement, a Google representative emphasized the significance of a website's home page, challenging the common belief within the search community regarding the importance of specific pages. Traditionally, links have played a crucial role in signaling Google about a website's important pages. While the home page held dominance in the early days of SEO due to directory links, the current trend suggests that inner pages gain importance as people link to content directly. However, Gary Illyes surprised many by asserting that, according to Google, the home page remains the most important page of a site. This perspective, highlighted in a Search Off the Record podcast, explores how to discern technical and quality issues causing dropped traffic. Google's representative, John Mueller, highlights the importance of the home page in various contexts, referring to it as the ""strongest"" page in 2018, and continues to debate its significance.