What does Google say about SEO?

Why does spoofing Googlebot's user agent in your browser actually accomplish nothing?

Google Feb 07, 2023 ★★★

Changing the user agent to Googlebot in your browser may not work as expected because Googlebot also respects robots.txt (which browsers ignore) and some websites verify whether the request actually comes from a Google datacenter.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is your resource waterfall chart really exposing your hidden performance bottlenecks?

Google Feb 07, 2023 ★★

The waterfall diagram in the Network tab helps you understand the time spent at each stage: queueing, connection, server response time, and download. Long connection or download times may require examining different hosting options.

AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Does Google really analyze the DOM instead of raw HTML—and why does this matter for your rankings?

Google Feb 07, 2023 ★★

The Elements tab lets you search for content on the page and verify whether it's present or absent in the DOM, and where it's positioned. If content is missing from the rendered HTML in Search Console, it will also be missing from the DOM.

Domain Age & History Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Search Console

Should you really ban lazy loading and infinite scroll to get indexed by Google?

Google Feb 07, 2023 ★★★

For Googlebot to index content, it must be loaded without requiring user interaction such as scrolling. Developers must find an alternative to load this content in a way that is accessible to Googlebot.

Content Crawl & Indexing Images & Videos

Are DevTools really enough to debug your technical SEO problems?

Google Feb 07, 2023 ★★

Browser developer tools can be used together with Google Search Console tools to perform an initial analysis and debug various technical SEO problems before using more advanced tools.

Content Search Console

Could Your CDN and Firewall Be Blocking Googlebot Without You Knowing?

Gary Illyes Feb 06, 2023 ★★★

Gary Illyes explained on LinkedIn that the two obstacles most frequently encountered by Googlebot when crawling a site were CDNs and Firewalls that are more or less properly configured. And he advises to carefully check what these barriers put on a s...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media Search Console

Should You Really Always Use Absolute URLs in Your Canonical Tags?

Gary Illyes Feb 06, 2023 ★★★

Gary Illyes explained on LinkedIn that "canonical" tags on a website should contain absolute addresses (https://www..com/20230203-51450-quand-les-quality-raters-de-google-manifestent-pour-etre-mieux-payes.html) and not relative ones (example: ../2023...

Content Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Redirects Social Media

Should You Still Calculate Keyword Density to Optimize Your SEO in 2024?

John Mueller Feb 06, 2023 ★★★

John Mueller explained once again in a webmaster hangout that Google's algorithm does not use a notion of "keyword density index" in content to assign a relevance score to a page for that query: "Keyword density doesn't matter, but being explicit in ...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Local Search

Why does Google recommend testing in real conditions rather than relying solely on documentation?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

When facing unexplained issues or unexpected behaviors, creating controlled experiments with test domains allows you to understand Google's actual behavior rather than relying solely on documentation or opinions.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name PDF & Files

Was Google really prioritizing HTML over JavaScript for crawling and indexing?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

In 2015-2016, Google had difficulty indexing certain JavaScript frameworks like AngularJS. Websites built entirely in HTML were crawled and indexed faster than JavaScript-based sites, even though Google officially claimed to render JavaScript like a ...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Can loading spinners really prevent Google from indexing your JavaScript pages?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

Loading spinners that hide content during JavaScript rendering can prevent Googlebot from accessing the full content of the page, even if everything works correctly in Chrome or in Fetch as Google.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why does Google take 3 to 6 months to index JavaScript content after crawling your site?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

Even when Google crawls a JavaScript site quickly (a few weeks for 50-100K URLs), full processing and indexation of rendered content can take 3 to 6 additional months before being reflected in search results.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Is your JavaScript slowing down how fast Google discovers your pages?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

In comparative experiments, the discovery and crawling of internal links are significantly faster on HTML-based sites than on sites where links are injected dynamically via JavaScript.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Can JavaScript Really Be Indexed Faster Than HTML?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★

Contrary to expectations, some JavaScript pages can be indexed faster than their HTML equivalents, because Google runs indexing processes in parallel with different priorities depending on the type of content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is your JavaScript really being rendered by Google? Here's how to verify it with the honeypot method.

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

To verify whether Google is correctly rendering your JavaScript, create links accessible only via JavaScript that point to unique URLs, then analyze your server logs to confirm that Googlebot accesses these target URLs.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Are all JavaScript frameworks really treated equally by Google's crawling system?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★

Although Google is the only search engine that renders JavaScript, not all frameworks are treated identically. Some modern frameworks may have incompatibilities or require specific adjustments to be properly indexed.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is Google misleading you about JavaScript rendering, or just keeping things simple?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★

Statements like 'Google renders JavaScript like a modern browser' aren't false but represent simplifications. There are nuances and limitations that aren't always documented in detail.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Should you really fix your technical SEO before investing heavily in content and backlinks?

Martin Splitt Feb 01, 2023 ★★★

Before investing heavily in backlinks or content, it's crucial to ensure that the technical foundation of your website is correct. A technically flawed site will not fully benefit from content or link-building efforts.

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you really remove meta keyword tags from your website?

Lizzi Sassman Jan 31, 2023 ★★★

Meta keyword tags do not help with SEO. Google stopped using them long ago, as explained in a 2009 blog post.

Discover & News AI & SEO

Should you really waste time cleaning up spammy backlinks from your link profile?

John Mueller Jan 31, 2023 ★★★

Google's systems are becoming better at identifying spammed links automatically. It's not necessary to prioritize their cleanup unless you receive a manual action. The disavow tool can be used if necessary.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam