What does Google say about SEO?

Does Google Search Console really show you the JavaScript rendering that it indexes?

John Mueller Apr 06, 2022 ★★★

The rendered version of a JavaScript page is visible in Google Search Console's testing tools if you want to verify what Google actually indexes.

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

Does Google really index your dynamic JavaScript content? What SEO experts don't tell you

John Mueller Apr 06, 2022 ★★

In most cases, Google can render and properly index the content of JavaScript-based websites.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Does an empty cache really mean your JavaScript site has indexing issues?

John Mueller Apr 06, 2022 ★★★

It's normal for the cache view of a JavaScript website to be empty or incomplete. This is not an indication of an indexing problem, but simply a technical restriction of browsers.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Is your cached content being blocked by browser security policies, and how is Google affected?

John Mueller Apr 06, 2022 ★★★

Due to browser security, there are restrictions on how content can be accessed from a page. For example, if a page requires a JavaScript file from your server, browsers may block this request when it comes from other websites, such as Google's cache.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files Web Performance

Should You Really Remove Redirected URLs from Your XML Sitemap?

John Mueller Apr 04, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that when you redirect a URL, you can temporarily leave the original URL in the XML Sitemap (1 to 3 months), giving Google time to discover and process it. While this is technically a bad practice in theory (an XML S...

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

Is Google really rewarding in-depth product reviews over surface-level content?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★★

Google has launched an algorithmic update to better recognize and rank in-depth, authentic, and high-quality product reviews. This update is being deployed in English, with the goal of expanding to more languages in the future.

Algorithms Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO Local Search International SEO

Is Google finally opening up URL inspection through API automation?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★★

Google has launched a new API for the URL inspection feature in Search Console. It allows you to programmatically check the indexation status of a page, whether it has been discovered, crawled, indexed, and which canonical URL has been selected.

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

Should you really migrate to Google Analytics 4 to avoid losing your traffic data?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★

Google Analytics will stop collecting data for Universal Analytics next year. It is recommended to migrate to Google Analytics 4, which has been available for several years, to get used to the new tool while there is still time.

AI & SEO

Should you really leverage Search Console with Data Studio to optimize your SEO tracking?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★

Google has launched a series of blog articles explaining how to use Search Console with Data Studio. This combination allows you to connect multiple data sources and create personalized dashboards.

Discover & News AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Search Console

Will Google's 'indexifembedded' tag revolutionize how you control content indexation?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★

Google has launched the 'indexifembedded' meta robots tag, which allows a page to specify whether its content should be indexed in certain specific situations. This tag covers infrequent use cases.

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

Does Search Console Insights make traditional Search Console obsolete for content creators?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★

Search Console Insights is specifically designed for creators who don't need all the functionality of Search Console or Analytics. If you're verified in Search Console, you automatically have access to this tool.

Content Search Console

Is Google finally bridging the gap between SEO and development teams with a new video series?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★

Google has published a new video series called 'SEOs & Devs' aimed at bridging the gap between SEO professionals and developers by highlighting the intersection between these two professions.

Does Page Experience on desktop really deserve your attention as a ranking factor?

John Mueller Mar 31, 2022 ★★★

The Page Experience ranking factor, which includes Core Web Vitals (speed, responsiveness, and stability), was previously used only on mobile. It has recently been deployed for desktop users as well. This rollout is independent of mobile-first indexi...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Is the Alt Attribute for Images Really Useless for SEO on Google Search?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★

According to John Mueller, the text content specified in the ALT attribute of IMG tags would only be used for Google Images search. This text would not be taken into account as part of the algorithm for web search. He also advised against providing t...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos

Does Google Really Penalize AI-Generated Content?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that AI-generated content had not yet reached a sufficient level of quality, in his opinion. In response to a question about automated content generation, he stated: "Content generators and content spinners have exis...

Content AI & SEO Local Search Social Media

Can you really afford to wait for an unstable ranking to stabilize on its own?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★★

If your ranking is fluctuating, waiting won't automatically improve the situation. You need to convince Google's algorithms that your site is clearly the best result, otherwise you're leaving it to chance and your competitors' actions.

Algorithms AI & SEO

Does boosting your SEO really require producing more content?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★★

Improving your website doesn't come down to simply generating more content. It can also mean removing content and combining elements together to create something better.

Content

Does the location of your XML sitemap really affect crawl efficiency?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★

The location of the sitemap file doesn't really matter. You can place it in a subdirectory, subdomain, or different host. If it's listed in your robots.txt file, you can put it anywhere.

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

Should you really use the URL inspection tool to index a brand new website?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★

For a brand new site with no signals or background information, using the URL inspection tool to request indexation is a way to get your foot in the door, but it's not a guarantee that Google will pick it up.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Search Console

How long does it really take to see your new backlinks in Google Search Console?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2022 ★★

Most reports in Search Console are recalculated every three to four days. For the links report, you should expect to see data within approximately one week to one and a half weeks, not months or hours.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Search Console