What does Google say about SEO?

Is Google really unable to crawl your navigation if it doesn't use proper anchor links?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★★

For content discovery, Google focuses on technical links. Navigation must use anchor elements with appropriate href attributes. If unlinked images, onclick events, or other methods are used, Google probably won't be able to use them.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Are Core Web Vitals really enough to measure user experience?

Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022 ★★

Core Web Vitals offer a limited view of how a user experiences a page. There is no single metric that can cover the entirety of user experience, which is why multiple specific metrics have been defined.

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

Why won't Google give you precise criteria on certain UX aspects—and what should you do about it?

Gary Illyes Jun 21, 2022 ★★

Google remains vague on certain UX aspects because they are difficult to define precisely. For example, navigation structure, titles, or readability levels cannot be specified exactly because they vary depending on context and audience.

Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Does web accessibility directly impact your Google rankings?

Lizzi Sassman Jun 21, 2022 ★★

Webmaster guidelines include accessibility as part of user experience, notably mentioning the importance of alt text for images and other standard accessibility practices.

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

Is Lighthouse really missing poor quality anchor text on your site?

Martin Splitt Jun 21, 2022 ★

Google's Lighthouse tool uses a limited list of English phrases to detect non-descriptive link text like 'click here'. This detection doesn't work for other languages and remains very basic.

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks International SEO

Can Nofollow Links Actually Pass PageRank and Boost Your SEO After All?

Danny Sullivan Jun 20, 2022 ★★★

Danny Sullivan indicated on Twitter that, even though Google changed its method of handling nofollow links in 2019, there's little chance that such a link will transmit "juice" in any significant way, even if the algorithm deems the link interesting....

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

Should You Publish Empty Pages While Waiting to Write Their Final Content?

John Mueller Jun 20, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that it's a poor SEO practice to publish pages empty of content (i.e., with only the graphic charter, menus, etc.), for example to get them indexed while waiting for the content to be written. The page should only be...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Social Media

Does Google Really Use Bing's Index as a Backup Database?

John Mueller Jun 20, 2022 ★★★

Alright, here's a fun one to wrap up this section and start the week on an amusing note: a user asked John Mueller if Google used Bing's index when it couldn't find satisfactory results in its own index. And John Mueller's answer was, of course... No...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Google Really Use Identical Algorithms Everywhere in the World?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★★

Google aims to make its algorithms as globally valid as possible. Not having to create variations by country or language makes algorithm testing and maintenance much easier.

Algorithms AI & SEO International SEO

Why doesn't Google roll out algorithm updates everywhere at the same time?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★★

Once an algorithm performs as expected in the initial test country or language, it is typically extended progressively to other countries and languages over time.

Algorithms AI & SEO Domain Name International SEO

Does Google really deploy updates simultaneously across every country and language?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★★

Although Google strives to make everything as global as possible, the deployment of major algorithmic changes can vary by country and language. There is no simple yes or no answer about the simultaneity of rollouts.

Algorithms AI & SEO International SEO

Why does Google test algorithm updates in specific countries or languages before rolling them out worldwide?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★★

Sometimes, Google needs to select a specific country or language to focus on first when deploying an algorithmic update. This allows engineers to refine the algorithms before a wider rollout.

Algorithms AI & SEO International SEO

Does Google really deploy algorithm updates in English first, or does it depend on the specific language?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★

During a progressive rollout, Google selects the language or country most relevant to the algorithm in question. It's not always English—the choice depends on the nature of the update.

Algorithms AI & SEO International SEO

Does Google really announce all of its progressive rollouts by geographic region?

John Mueller Jun 14, 2022 ★★

When Google deploys an algorithmic update in a specific country or language first, this information is mentioned in official announcements when relevant.

Algorithms International SEO

Should You Invest in a CDN to Improve Your Organic Rankings?

John Mueller Jun 13, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller indicated during a hangout with webmasters that, generally speaking, using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) does not specifically provide an SEO bonus and does not bring a positive effect in terms of visibility. Unless your site contains...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Images & Videos Web Performance Search Console

Should You Block Human Access to Your XML Sitemaps?

John Mueller Jun 13, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google accepts the practice of blocking your XML sitemap files from regular users while keeping them visible only to search engine crawlers.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name PDF & Files Social Media Search Console

Should You Really Fill the ALT Attribute of All Your Images with Your Site Name?

John Mueller Jun 13, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that it was not a good practice to identically repeat a website's name in the ALT attribute of images that had little semantic meaning (bullets, lines, etc.) or simply images that had an empty ALT by default. John ex...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Social Media

Does Google really follow every HTTP status code in a chain, or does it stop at the first one?

John Mueller Jun 08, 2022 ★★

Google processes only the final HTTP status code after following a complete redirect chain. When crawling a series of redirects, Google follows the entire chain to the final destination page and concentrates on the end result, whether it's a page wit...

Domain Age & History Content HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Redirects

Does a CDN really improve your Google rankings?

John Mueller Jun 08, 2022 ★★★

Using a CDN has no significant effect on SEO or Google rankings. The main impact concerns user experience. If Google's crawl is very slow, it can affect indexation, but this is generally not a problem except for sites with millions of pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should you block API endpoint crawling to optimize your crawl budget?

John Mueller Jun 08, 2022 ★★

Google discovers API endpoints through the JavaScript rendering of your pages. If these APIs don't contain content critical for indexing, it's recommended to block their crawl via robots.txt to save crawl budget.

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