What does Google say about SEO?

Is it true that you must fully translate a multilingual site to rank well?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

It is not necessary to translate all pages of a site. Google evaluates pages in each language individually. Gradually translating, starting with certain pages, is a valid approach. Hreflang also works on a page-by-page basis.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure International SEO

Should you really worry about crawl budget on a site with fewer than 10,000 URLs?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

For a site with 5,000 to 10,000 URLs, crawl budget is not a concern. Google can crawl this volume in a few days. Noindex pages will be crawled less frequently over time, but they will still be checked periodically.

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

Robots.txt or noindex: which option should you choose to block indexing?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★

For small sites, noindex and robots.txt are practically equivalent. Noindex requires periodic crawling, while robots.txt can leave the URL indexed without content. The choice depends on the ease of technical implementation on the site.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name

Does artificial traffic really affect Google rankings?

John Mueller Dec 24, 2021 ★★★

Google does not use artificial traffic (traffic bots) as a ranking signal. If a site seems to rise in the rankings with bot traffic, the correlation is likely accidental or due to other quality-of-search factors.

Why does Google need a dedicated SEO team for its own site?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★★

Google's SEO team works on the Search Central site by improving content, titles, descriptions, and internal linking to enhance page discoverability. This team is isolated from the research teams and relies on public documentation to learn SEO, demons...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure PDF & Files

Does Google’s core updates really impact the foundational algorithm?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★

Core updates affect the heart of Google’s systems and can lead to significant changes in search and Discover results. The November 2021 core update is one such example.

Algorithms Discover & News

Is it true that Google really prioritizes high-quality product reviews?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★★

The December 2021 product review update aims to better promote high-quality product reviews. Google provides documented best practices on what constitutes a quality product review.

E-commerce PDF & Files Local Search

Should you really react quickly after a Google algorithm update?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★★

Google's algorithm updates primarily concern long-term changes in search and are generally not influenced by rapid adjustments of websites. It is advisable to take a step back, read the documentation, and observe the real impact before considering an...

Algorithms JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Should you maintain a static copy of your site during temporary downtime?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★

If a site needs to be taken offline for security reasons, Google recommends maintaining a static copy of the site with the same URLs. This allows users to find information and helps search engines keep the site in their index.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name

Should you really worry if your homepage lacks an H1?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★

According to the 2021 Web Almanac analysis from HTTP Archive, more homepages use H2 tags than H1 tags, a surprising statistic revealed in their SEO chapter of over 35 pages.

Domain Age & History Content HTTPS & Security JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why is Google refusing to set a final date for mobile-first indexing?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★

Mobile-first indexing is still ongoing. Due to issues observed on a small number of sites, Google has decided not to set a final date for now and will continue to inform sites of issues as needed.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Should you panic when Google Search Console reports redirect errors?

John Mueller Dec 23, 2021 ★★

Following mistakenly sent redirect error alerts in Search Console, Google recommends checking a sample of pages with the URL Inspection tool. If the pages appear correct, there’s no need to worry.

Domain Age & History Domain Name Redirects Search Console

Does the robots.txt file really prevent the indexing of your pages?

Gary Illyes Dec 21, 2021 ★★★

The robots.txt file is used to control crawling by automated bots. Google can index URLs blocked by robots.txt without retrieving their content, based solely on external links pointing to those pages.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Domain Name PDF & Files

Is your SEO testing tool really considered a crawler by Google?

David Price Dec 21, 2021 ★★★

A crawler is a fully automated system that accesses web pages without constant human intervention. Tools where a user manually triggers a request (like the URL inspector in Search Console) are not considered traditional crawlers.

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

Does Googlebot really follow links or does it work differently?

Gary Illyes Dec 21, 2021 ★★

Googlebot doesn't 'follow' links as it's often described. It's a fetching system that downloads content from a list of URLs. The terminology 'following links' gives Googlebot too much autonomy.

Content Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Is it true that Google's open source robots.txt parser is really used in production?

Gary Illyes Dec 21, 2021 ★★★

The robots.txt parser that Google has made open source is exactly the same code used in production. Changes to the open source code are deployed in production within 1 to 2 days.

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce

Why is Google dropping indexing directives in robots.txt?

Gary Illyes Dec 21, 2021 ★★★

Google has decided to eliminate support for specific indexing directives in robots.txt during the open sourcing of the parser. Robots.txt should now only be used to control crawling, according to its original purpose.

Crawl & Indexing

Does publishing a website legally mean you allow Google to crawl it?

David Price Dec 21, 2021 ★★

Putting a public website on the Internet legally implies implicit consent for search engines to crawl it, unless otherwise stated via robots.txt. This expectation has existed since the mid-90s.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

How does Googlebot adjust its crawl frequency to prevent server crashes?

David Price Dec 21, 2021 ★★

Google constantly balances between maintaining an up-to-date view of the web and not overwhelming sites with too many requests. The goal is to provide good value for the bandwidth consumed.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Can you index a page without crawling it?

Gary Illyes Dec 21, 2021 ★★★

There is a fundamental distinction between crawling ( retrieving content) and indexing (storing in the index). Google can index a URL without crawling its content if it is blocked by robots.txt but referenced by other sites.

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