What does Google say about SEO?

Do you really need to rename all your image files for SEO?

John Mueller Oct 06, 2022 ★★★

Descriptive filenames are recommended in Google's guidelines, but if you already have good alt text and textual content around the image, changing filenames will likely have no significant SEO impact.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos PDF & Files

Is it really worth risking a major image URL overhaul if Google will penalize you with months of reduced visibility?

John Mueller Oct 06, 2022 ★★★

If you change all image URLs on a site at once, Google will first remove the old images from search results and then slowly index the new ones over several months, causing a period of reduced visibility in image search.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos Domain Name

Should you optimize ALL your images or just the ones on high-traffic pages?

John Mueller Oct 06, 2022 ★★

To optimize existing images effectively, it is recommended to cross-reference Search Console data (pages with the most impressions/clicks) with a list of images lacking alt text, and prioritize these high-visibility pages.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos Search Console

Are your logos and clickable buttons sabotaging your accessibility and SEO performance?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 06, 2022 ★★

For functional images like logos or buttons, alt text must be added for accessibility purposes. For SEO, users may search for logos ('logo of X company'), so the alt text should reflect this potential usage.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos

Why is Google replacing your title tags with H1 headings?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★

Having the same title for all pages is problematic because it creates a poor appearance in search results. Google can replace problematic titles with H1 tags.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Does Google really index titles modified by client-side JavaScript, or does it stick with the default?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★★

When the initial HTML sent by the server contains a default title and JavaScript modifies it after the page loads, Google may index the default title instead of the correct one.

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

Should you abandon client-side JavaScript rendering to succeed in SEO?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★★

Server-side rendering (SSR) is considered the best practice for SEO because Google may not always correctly retrieve content generated by client-side JavaScript.

Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you abandon dynamic rendering for SEO?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★★

Google considers dynamic rendering obsolete and as a temporary solution only for those who cannot implement server-side rendering. This approach adds complexity and infrastructure costs.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Does the URL inspection tool really reveal what Google actually sees during JavaScript rendering?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★★

The URL inspection tool in Google Search Console lets you visualize exactly the source code that Google saw during the crawl and rendering of the page, which helps diagnose JavaScript-related issues.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Search Console

Does JavaScript-rendered content really impact your Google indexation, and should you worry about it?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★

Everything that happens after the server sends its initial HTML response is part of JavaScript territory. If the title or content changes after this moment, it can create problems for Google's indexation.

Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is server-side rendering really faster than client-side rendering for SEO?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★

Server-side rendering has the advantage of generally being faster for the user, provided it is implemented correctly.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO

Does Google really master JavaScript, or are there still pitfalls to avoid?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★

Google has significantly increased its client-side rendering capabilities over the past few years, but problems can still occur depending on specific configuration and infrastructure.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Can Lighthouse really diagnose your critical rendering problems for Google?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★★

The Lighthouse tool, available via web.dev or Chrome DevTools, can be used to detect page loading issues and visually observe how elements like headings load and change.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Web Performance Search Console

Should you really crawl your website every three months to avoid technical problems?

Martin Splitt Oct 05, 2022 ★

Performing regular site crawls (for example every three months) allows you to detect technical issues such as duplicate titles before they affect search performance.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Can a Slow Website Be Deindexed from Google Due to Poor Core Web Vitals?

John Mueller Oct 03, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that a site cannot be deindexed from the search engine based solely on the algorithm's analysis of its loading times and therefore Core Web Vitals criteria.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Web Performance Social Media

Should you prepare for the Helpful Content Update in Japanese to enhance your SEO?

Google Sep 29, 2022 ★★

The Helpful Content Update is not yet active for Japanese, but it is likely to be in the future. It is recommended to read the documentation now to get ready, as the content of this update aligns with Google's previous messages.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO PDF & Files

Is it true that structured markup for conditional free shipping is missing in SEO?

Google Sep 29, 2022 ★★★

There is no structured data markup to indicate conditional free shipping (for example, 'free delivery over X euros') in organic search results. This feature may exist for Google Shopping but not for organic search.

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO

Why is canonicalization essential for SEO with duplicate content?

Google Sep 29, 2022 ★★★

To manage duplicate pages with different parameters, Google advises using the canonical tag on all variants to indicate the representative page. This is the recommended method for dealing with duplicate content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is it true that sitemaps play a crucial role in indexing?

Google Sep 29, 2022 ★★★

Pages not included in the sitemap can still be crawled and indexed by Google. The sitemap helps communicate quickly and effectively with Google, but it doesn't fully control what will be indexed. Google automatically discovers and indexes pages even ...

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

Should we really view duplicate pages as low-quality content?

Google Sep 29, 2022 ★★

Pages with different parameters creating duplicates should not be considered low-quality content. This is a duplication issue to be solved through canonicalization, not a content quality problem.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO