What does Google say about SEO?

Is it really necessary to master browser functionality for technical SEO?

Martin Splitt Dec 29, 2021 ★★

Technical SEOs must have a deep understanding of how browsers work, the rendering process, and how Google renders pages. This knowledge is broad enough to require continuous learning.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should you really rely solely on Google's official documentation?

Martin Splitt Dec 29, 2021 ★★

To avoid misunderstandings between developers and SEO professionals, it is essential to always refer to the official documentation rather than conspiracy theories or urban legends in the SEO industry.

AI & SEO PDF & Files

Is Traffic Really the Only SEO Metric That Matters?

Martin Splitt Dec 29, 2021 ★★

Focusing solely on traffic as a KPI can cause important metrics to be overlooked. A site can have a lot of traffic while still being technically deficient.

Content AI & SEO

Can You Really Mix Multiple Languages on the Same Site Without Hurting Your SEO?

John Mueller Dec 27, 2021 ★★★

John Mueller reminded us that Google analyzes the language used in content at the web page level rather than at the broader site level. You can therefore offer pages in English, pages in French, and pages in Spanish on the same domain name—this will ...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name International SEO

Does Google Analytics 4 Really Influence Your Site's Search Rankings?

John Mueller Dec 27, 2021 ★★★

John Mueller reminded us (once again) on Twitter that Google does not use data provided by Google Analytics (and GA4 in particular) as a relevance criterion for its search engine algorithm.

Algorithms Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Social Media

Is it really safe to show structured paid content only to Googlebot without risking penalties?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

It is technically considered cloaking to show structured paid content exclusively to Googlebot, but it is acceptable according to Google's rules. Users will see the content after crossing the paywall, which corresponds to what Googlebot sees.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam

Does the DMCA really apply page by page, or can an entire site be reported?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

The DMCA process is related to individual pages. If a page copies your content, you can specifically report that copied page, but you cannot report the entire website through the DMCA.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Does Google really index every single piece of content you publish?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

Google cannot index all content. Even with technically correct sites, the quality bar is higher than before. Google must ensure that only what is genuinely useful and relevant for users is indexed.

Content Crawl & Indexing

Can an invalid AMP page still be indexed by Google?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

If an AMP page is not valid, Google will still index the page as normal HTML. It just won't benefit from the advantages of the AMP cache, but that doesn't affect the rest of the SEO.

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

Can Safe Search really stop your adult site from ranking for your own brand?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

Safe Search algorithms can prevent some adult sites from ranking on generic queries, even if it is the name of their brand, when users do not expect that type of content. Google does not consider this to be a bug.

Algorithms Content AI & SEO

Could the Product Reviews Update impact your site even if it's not in English?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

Although the Product Reviews Update is announced for English, it may be deployed in other languages. Google typically starts with one language and then gradually extends to others, but this isn't instantaneous.

E-commerce AI & SEO Local Search International SEO

Which method should you choose for multilingual content: geotargeting or hreflang?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

To localize pages for different English-speaking countries, the two main methods are geotargeting in Search Console (subdomain/directory level) and hreflang tags (page level). A JavaScript redirect banner can serve as a backup solution.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Local Search Redirects Search Console International SEO

Can Google arbitrarily choose which language version to index when the content is identical?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

If the content is identical across multiple language versions (only the currency changes), Google can choose a canonical version and index only that one. Hreflang will still work to display the correct URL, but reporting will be on the canonical vers...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Local Search International SEO

Should you really block advertising URLs in robots.txt?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

Blocking advertising parameters in robots.txt for Googlebot is technically acceptable for SEO, but it can lead to campaign rejections in Google Ads. It's important to check with the Ads team.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Should you give up on dynamic keyword injection to avoid Google penalties?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

Dynamically adding content based on keywords in an artificial way in hopes of ranking better is not a good idea. The content must be relevant to the page and useful to users, not just a keyword injection.

Domain Age & History Content

Does client-side rendering with React really create ranking challenges for Google?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

A React site using client-side rendering, even if the page is empty without JavaScript, should not pose ranking issues. Google renders and processes the JavaScript. The URL Inspect tool allows you to verify that the content is visible.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Search Console

Should you really block all internal search URLs in robots.txt?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

The URLs generated by the site's internal search should generally not be indexed. They should be blocked with robots.txt to avoid an infinite space of URLs and to prevent spam. This does not provide any SEO value.

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

Are SEO sites truly exempt from YMYL criteria?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

SEO business websites are not classified as Your Money or Your Life sites. This category pertains to sites critical to users' lives. It is advisable to read the Quality Rater Guidelines to better understand the categories.

Does Google penalize invisible or misleading structured breadcrumbs?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

Google checks if structured data is visible on the page. If the structured breadcrumb does not match the displayed breadcrumb, Google may not use it or may only partially utilize the markup, except in cases like FAQs where only the question needs to ...

Domain Age & History Structured Data Pagination & Structure

Can you really link multiple sites in the footer without risking your SEO?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

Linking multiple sites from the same owner in the footer is acceptable if they are significantly different and kept to a reasonable number (5-10 maximum). Beyond hundreds of sites, it resembles doorway pages that should be avoided.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam