What does Google say about SEO?

Should You Still Put Keywords in Your Domain Name and Use Hyphens in URLs?

John Mueller Jun 27, 2022 ★★★

A quick reminder on two well-known points, but things often need to be repeated for the message to get through: John Mueller reiterated on Twitter that the presence of keywords in domain names is largely overrated in SEO, bringing very little importa...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Social Media

Does Hidden Content in Accordions and Tabs Really Carry the Same SEO Weight as Visible Content?

Gary Illyes Jun 27, 2022 ★★★

Gary Illyes also explained in the recent podcast in question that the fact that text is potentially visible (examples: in a tab, an accordion, in short hidden by default but made visible upon user action) was not a problem: the text in question will ...

Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Will Google's new video report in Search Console be a game-changer for video SEO?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★

Google previewed a new video report in Search Console at Google I/O. Although no timeline has been announced yet, this report will enable website owners using videos to obtain detailed information about their video performance.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

How can you survive a Google Core Update without losing all your traffic?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★★

Google launched an algorithmic update called the May Core Update. These Core Updates affect the core of Google's systems and can lead to notable changes in Search and Discover. Some sites may experience traffic drops or gains during these updates.

Algorithms Discover & News AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Why does Google publicly confirm some Core Updates but not others?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★★

Google performs Core Updates several times per year. Google confirms these major updates because they typically produce visible effects and can significantly impact site rankings.

Algorithms

Should you really stop using Google's URL parameter management tool in Search Console?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★★

Google has deprecated the URL parameter management tool in Search Console. Google's crawling systems have improved significantly, making this tool less critical. Google now recommends using the robots.txt file to provide information about crawling.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name PDF & Files Search Console

Are sitemap extension tags still worth your time and effort?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★

Google announced the discontinuation of several sitemap extension tags, notably image geolocation and video category, starting in August 2022. This does not affect the use of other sitemap data which continue to be supported.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos Domain Name Local Search Search Console International SEO

How is Google really evolving its anti-spam tactics to stay ahead of manipulators?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★

Google released its annual Webspam report detailing the efforts deployed to prevent spam and malicious content from affecting search results. The report mentions the changes observed over the years in the fight against spam.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Search Console

Is Google's Ecommerce Essentials series really changing how you approach technical SEO?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★

Google has launched a new video series called 'Ecommerce Essentials' that covers critical topics such as image optimization, JavaScript management, and mobile adaptation. Although targeting e-commerce sites, the information is applicable to any type ...

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO

Should you connect Search Console to Data Studio to boost your SEO performance?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2022 ★★

Google published a series of blog articles explaining how to connect Google Search Console to Google Data Studio. This connection allows you to create advanced visualizations such as bubble charts showing which queries perform well and which could be...

Discover & News AI & SEO Search Console

Can images really boost your Google rankings and visibility?

Alan Kent Jun 22, 2022 ★★★

Images present on a website can have an impact on positioning in Google search results. The way they are integrated directly affects organic search optimization.

Domain Age & History Images & Videos

Is your website losing Google rankings because images lack width and height attributes?

Alan Kent Jun 22, 2022 ★★★

When a web page fails to specify image dimensions (width and height), the page content shifts as the image loads. This behavior is considered a negative signal by Google Search and can affect your rankings.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos

Does specifying width and height in HTML really help your rankings?

Alan Kent Jun 22, 2022 ★★★

To avoid content shifts and improve SEO, you must specify the width and height attributes directly in the HTML markup of the image. This simple practice helps prevent a negative signal from Google.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos

Why does Google prefer hyphens over underscores in URLs—and what's the real impact on your rankings?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Google recommends using hyphens rather than underscores in URLs. Google's tokenizer uses certain parts of the URL to understand page content, and cannot easily segment at the underscore level because many terms on the internet contain them.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Domain Name

Are human-readable and consistent URLs really a ranking factor?

Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022 ★★

Google recommends making URLs human-readable and maintaining consistency in their structure. Brevity and ease of memorization are important for user experience.

AI & SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Is page experience really enough to guarantee good UX for Google?

Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Page experience is a subset of user experience (UX). It includes technical elements such as Core Web Vitals, mobile compatibility, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitials, but does not cover all aspects of UX.

Domain Age & History Content HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance

Should you really prioritize users over machines in SEO?

Lizzi Sassman Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Webmaster guidelines recommend designing websites with users first in mind, then machines. The goal is to make the site work for the people who visit it.

AI & SEO

Does Googlebot really fail to index content hidden behind user clicks?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Googlebot does not trigger user interactions like clicks. If content requires a click to load via an XHR request (a network request initiated by JavaScript), Google will probably not see that content.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Do accordions really hurt your SEO, or is it just an old myth?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Since around 2014, Google has been able to see content within collapsible elements or accordions. Hiding content in this way has no negative effect on how the content is represented in search results.

Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Has hidden content become just as important as visible content for Google?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

Google used to consider content not visible on the page as less important than visible content, but that's no longer the case. Content simply needs to be present in the HTML or immediate JavaScript.

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