What does Google say about SEO?

Does Google really ignore most of your structured data markup?

Lizzi Sassman Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Google does not support all available schema.org entities. The Search Gallery provides the complete list of tags supported for rich snippets. Some properties are used as metadata to help Google understand the page without generating an enriched visua...

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO Images & Videos

Do you really need to publish every day to improve your Google SEO?

Gary Illyes Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Publishing daily or at a specific frequency doesn't help you rank better in Google search results. However, the more pages you have in Google's index, the more your content can appear in search results.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does word count really matter for SEO rankings?

Lizzi Sassman Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Content can be useful whether it's short or long. It depends on the context and what the person is searching for. The number of words (500, 1000, etc.) doesn't matter if the content answers the user's intent.

Content

Do keywords in URLs still have an impact on SEO?

John Mueller Sep 07, 2022 ★★

Words in URLs play only a minor role for Google Search. Don't overthink it. Use URLs that are stable over time, avoid changing them too frequently, and make them useful for users. Whether or not to include filler words is up to you.

AI & SEO Domain Name

Do images really consume your crawl budget at the expense of your strategic pages?

Gary Illyes Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Googlebot and its variants (Images, etc.) share a single crawl budget. If you have many images, Googlebot Images can use a portion of the budget that could have been used by Googlebot. This is not a concern for the majority of sites, unless you have ...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Social Media

Can you really launch two nearly identical websites without risking a Google penalty?

John Mueller Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

There is no penalty or manual action for having two nearly identical websites. However, if the URLs and content are identical, Google's systems may choose one page as canonical and focus on it for crawling, indexing, and ranking. For both pages to be...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Domain Name Penalties & Spam

Should you really avoid modifying meta tags with JavaScript?

Martin Splitt Sep 07, 2022 ★★

While it is possible to update meta tag data with JavaScript, it is not recommended. This can send contradictory signals to Google Search, and certain features may fail to detect the changes or have incorrect information.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Are Google's algorithm updates really that different from penalties?

Gary Illyes Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Named updates published on the Search Central Rankings Updates page are not penalties. They are adjustments to ranking algorithms to deliver higher quality and more relevant results. If a site's ranking drops after an update, follow general content g...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Why does Google only communicate about a fraction of its algorithm updates?

John Mueller Sep 07, 2022 ★★

Google made over 4,000 updates in 2021. Many of these changes are minor and are not announced. The most important ones, particularly those on which site owners can act, are announced and listed in the documentation.

AI & SEO PDF & Files

Do structured data really improve your Google rankings?

Lizzi Sassman Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

Structured data in itself is not a ranking signal. It is not guaranteed that rich results will appear systematically. Google's algorithm examines many factors to create the best search experience based on location, language, and device type.

Algorithms AI & SEO International SEO

Should you really do a 1:1 migration without changing anything during a domain switch?

John Mueller Sep 07, 2022 ★★★

For optimal domain migration, it is recommended to transfer your entire website (1 for 1) to the new domain and use permanent 301 redirects from the old to the new. This is the simplest method for Google's systems. Deleting content, changing URLs, or...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects

Does adding descriptive text around your images really boost their rankings in Google Images?

Lizzi Sassman Sep 07, 2022 ★★

To improve illustration performance in search results, you need to add text on the page to introduce the illustrations, plus alternative text for each image. Use descriptive words that users would actually search for in Google Images rather than simp...

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

Why must your JavaScript links absolutely use A tags with valid href attributes?

Martin Splitt Sep 07, 2022 ★★

For JavaScript links, you must use a real HTML A tag with an href attribute containing a resolvable URL, not a JavaScript URL like 'javascript:'. Avoid anything that isn't an appropriate link.

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

Does audio content on a page actually influence your Google ranking?

Gary Illyes Sep 07, 2022 ★★

Audio content, in itself, does not play a role in ranking text-based results. There can be indirect effects if users find the page more useful and recommend it more.

Domain Age & History Content

Is it really a mistake to combine noindex and canonical on the same page?

John Mueller Sep 07, 2022 ★★

Using noindex and rel=canonical together creates an undefined situation because noindex asks to remove everything while canonical suggests that everything should be transferred. Google's systems will do their best in this conflicting case, but a spec...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Are structured video data really just about getting your content indexed?

Lizzi Sassman Sep 07, 2022 ★★

Even if a video is indexed, it's still worthwhile to add structured data. This helps Google better understand the video (topic, title, statistics) and can make your videos eligible for other features like key moments. Indexing is not the end — there ...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does declaring the primary language of each page really matter for SEO?

John Mueller Sep 06, 2022 ★★★

It is ideal that Google's systems can recognize the primary language of a page. This greatly facilitates the recommendation of the page to users who perform searches in that language.

Domain Age & History International SEO

Can you really mix multiple languages on the same page without SEO penalties?

John Mueller Sep 06, 2022 ★★★

Having content in other languages on a page is acceptable. However, it is strongly recommended to have a clearly defined primary language for each page.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure International SEO

Do you really need a meta tag to declare your site's language to Google?

John Mueller Sep 06, 2022 ★★

There is no meta tag that you must use to tell search engines your language choice.

International SEO

Is the HTML lang attribute really useless for SEO?

John Mueller Sep 06, 2022 ★★

The HTML lang attribute is recommended, primarily for screen readers, although it is not mandatory for SEO.

International SEO