What does Google say about SEO?

Can self-hosted reviews display star ratings in Google search results for local businesses?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 21, 2022 ★★★

For local businesses or organizations, self-hosted reviews (where the entity hosting the review also controls the review about itself) are not eligible for displaying review star ratings in search results.

Domain Age & History Structured Data Local Search

Why do website mergers produce unpredictable results in Google's eyes?

John Mueller Oct 21, 2022 ★★★

Merging two websites essentially creates something entirely new, with no guaranteed predictable outcome. Google must understand the new global site. It is crucial to follow Google's recommendations, document all changes, and keep an accurate record o...

AI & SEO Domain Name PDF & Files

Do you really need to check Search Console every single day?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

It is not necessary to check Search Console every day. The frequency depends on your needs and usage. A periodic consultation to investigate specific changes is sufficient.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Search Console

Should you always use a 301 redirect for a permanent URL change, or are there exceptions that work better?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

301 redirects must be used for permanent URL changes, not 302s. Google recommends testing redirects before putting them into production.

E-commerce Domain Name Redirects

Should you really fix every single 404 error on your website?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

It's acceptable to leave pages returning 404 if there is no appropriate replacement page. Systematically redirecting to the homepage can create a more confusing experience than a genuine 404 error.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you really segment your sitemaps beyond 50,000 URLs?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Sitemaps exceeding the 50,000 URL limit generate errors in Search Console. It is recommended to segment sitemaps to respect this limit, even if the site can function without a sitemap.

Crawl & Indexing Domain Name Search Console

Should you really automate hreflang tags to manage multilingual websites?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Hreflang links can be automatically integrated into the head of pages for managing language versions. Clickable links in the language selector can help discover alternative versions.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos Links & Backlinks International SEO

Do titles and meta descriptions really influence SEO beyond just improving click-through rates?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★★

Adding optimized titles and meta descriptions has a measurable positive impact on SEO performance. These elements are essential even for technical documentation sites.

Content PDF & Files Web Performance Search Console

Does Google really rewrite your title tags however it sees fit?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Google can rewrite title tags in search results, even for its own sites. Complete control over title display is not guaranteed.

Domain Age & History Content

Should you really be using nofollow links in your client case studies?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Using nofollow links is appropriate in case studies to maintain equity and avoid any perception of favorable link exchange.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

How can you convince a development team to prioritize Core Web Vitals?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Improvements to Core Web Vitals and page speed can be challenging to prioritize within development teams. Proof of business impact is often necessary to secure resources.

AI & SEO Web Performance

Do FAQ structured data really deliver rich snippets, or is Google overselling the feature?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

Adding FAQ structured data enables rich appearance in search results. Success is measured via the Search Console report showing pages with this feature active.

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Search Console

How can you accurately measure SEO success when you're making multiple changes at once?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★

When multiple SEO optimizations are implemented simultaneously, it becomes difficult to attribute improvements to any specific action. The stability objective (net neutral) may be appropriate during migrations or restructurations.

Pagination & Structure Redirects

Does Google Search Central Documentation Get Special Treatment in Search Results?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 20, 2022 ★★★

Google Search Central documentation receives no preferential treatment in search algorithms. There is no button to automatically rank first. Google must do SEO like any other website.

Algorithms AI & SEO PDF & Files

Does Google really see your website the same way browsers do?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★★

There is a crucial difference between the HTML source sent by your server and the DOM rendered after processing by the browser. This distinction is important to understand how Google handles pages, especially when dealing with JavaScript rendering.

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

Should you use HTML or XML sitemap for hreflang? Which method truly matters for international SEO?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★★

Hreflang annotations can be implemented in two ways: directly in the page's HTML code or via an XML sitemap. Both methods are valid and recognized by Google for international SEO.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files Search Console International SEO

Do ccTLDs really impose automatic geographic targeting that's impossible to override?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★★

Geographic top-level domains such as .de, .at, .ch automatically set geographic targeting in Google Search Console. It is not possible to make the mistake of misconfiguring geographic targeting on a ccTLD because targeting is set by default according...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Search Console International SEO

Can you really use noscript tags in the <head> without SEO penalties?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★

Contrary to popular belief, noscript tags are allowed in the head section of an HTML page according to web standards. Google also accepts them, but their content can have unexpected effects on how the page is processed.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Why is cross-referencing multiple data sources critical for accurate SEO diagnostics?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★

It is dangerous to rely on a single data source to diagnose an SEO problem. You must always cross-reference information from Google Search Console with other external tools to avoid false leads and confirm your hypotheses.

AI & SEO Search Console

Can iframes in your <head> really break your technical SEO?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2022 ★★★

An iframe placed within a noscript tag located in the head section can prematurely close the head tag during rendering. This displaces the following elements (including hreflang) into the body, making these SEO directives non-functional.

Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO International SEO