What does Google say about SEO?

Can a single noindex tag on an hreflang page contaminate your entire international cluster?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★

In hreflang clusters, pages can influence each other mutually. A noindex on one page in a cluster can potentially affect the entire cluster in case of detected duplication. It is recommended to add noindex to each page you wish to remove to ensure th...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO International SEO

Should you use X-Robots-Tag to keep PDFs and binary files out of Google's index?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★★

For binary files like PDFs where it's impossible to add a meta tag, Google supports the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header with noindex. This header works like a meta noindex and will be processed during indexation.

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO PDF & Files

Does the unavailable_after directive really slow down Google's crawling?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★

The unavailable_after directive leads to a gradual slowdown in crawling over time. Google continues to check the page because it wants to ensure the truthfulness of the information, just as it does with lastmod in sitemaps. Google can use this direct...

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

Should you disable Google cache to take control of how your snippets appear in search results?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★

At the serving level (search results display), it is possible to control the snippets displayed and the cached content of the page. The meta noarchive tag allows you to remove the cached page without affecting the indexation of the content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Web Performance

Can you really force Google to refresh a snippet without owning the website?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2022 ★★

The tool for removing snippets and cache is particularly useful for people who don't own the site. It allows you to request a quick refresh when information on a page has changed, without needing Search Console access.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance Search Console

Does Google's removal tool actually delete your URLs from the index?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★★

Google's removal tool masks results at the serving level but doesn't remove the URL from the index. Removal is fast because it happens at search time. For complete index removal, you also need to add noindex or return a 404/410 status code.

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

Why does it really take Google months to permanently remove a page from its index?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★

In some cases, it can take several months to completely remove a result from Google's actual index. This is why the removal tool exists: it allows immediate masking at the serving level while permanent index removal happens gradually.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Google's URL removal tool actually stop crawling your pages?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★★

Using the removal tool doesn't signal Google to stop crawling the page. Google will continue its crawl attempts. To prevent the page from returning to the index, you must combine the tool with noindex or a 404 code on the page itself.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Can Google really index your URLs blocked by robots.txt without you being able to do anything about it?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★★

If a page blocked by robots.txt disallow is very popular on the internet, Google can index the URL without the content. The result will appear without a snippet but with the title. In this case, a meta noindex tag will never be seen by Google because...

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

Does Google extract meta robots and canonical tags during indexing rather than at crawl time—and why does this distinction matter for your site?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★★

Meta tags such as meta robots noindex and rel canonical are extracted during the indexing process, when Google parses the content and performs rendering. If Google detects meta robots noindex, the URL will be removed from the index.

Content Crawl & Indexing Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Should you really rely on JavaScript to handle noindex directives?

Gary Illyes Aug 04, 2022 ★★

Adding meta noindex via JavaScript should work in most cases after rendering, but there can be time windows or situations where rendering doesn't happen and the directive wouldn't be seen. It's better to be consistent and use noindex everywhere if ne...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should You Really Focus on Backlink Numbers to Improve Your SEO?

John Mueller Aug 01, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that there is no objective and exhaustive way to count the links pointing to a web page (backlinks): "Don't focus on the number of links a particular tool indicates, there is no 'correct' way to count links, interpre...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media

Do Age Verification Pop-ups Really Prevent Your Content from Appearing in Google Discover?

Danny Sullivan Aug 01, 2022 ★★★

Danny Sullivan explained that if a website displays an age verification request (particularly for sites accessible only to adult users via a pop-up) before accessing its content, this can prevent it from displaying links in Discover.

Content Discover & News AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure Local Search

Do Noindex Pages Really Impact Your Core Web Vitals?

Google Aug 01, 2022 ★★★

In an official document, Google states that a page marked as "noindex" cannot impact the overall Core Web Vitals score of the site to which it belongs.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files Web Performance

Should you really remove prices and stock levels from your title tags?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★★

It is not recommended to include dynamic information such as stock levels or prices in title links because there can be a delay of several days before an update on your site becomes visible in search results.

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is your title tag really showing up the way you think it is in Google's search results?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★

To verify how your titles appear in search results, perform a site search by specifying the URL in the Google search bar (site:URL). It is recommended to check several pages to ensure that the title links are in line with expectations.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Do GTIN Identifiers Really Boost Your Product Visibility on Google?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★★

Providing accurate product identifiers such as GTINs through a combination of Google Merchant Center feeds and structured data on pages can increase your exposure in experiences that list products with multiple sellers per product, such as the best p...

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO

Does Google really exclude 100% online businesses from Business Profile — and why?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★

Only businesses with a physical presence, such as a physical store or a service area they cover, can create a Google Business Profile. Purely online businesses are not currently eligible for a professional profile.

Does Google really rewrite your title tags however it wants?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★★

Google normally extracts title links from the HTML title element. If Google believes a title is incomplete or does not match the actual content of the page, it may use other sources such as the main visual title of the page or even the text of links ...

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Why does Google really require 1200 pixels for product images to appear in rich results?

Alan Kent Jul 28, 2022 ★★★

Google recommends that key product images be at least 1200 pixels wide. Google has observed that users generally respond well to high-quality images that can be displayed directly in search results.

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO Images & Videos