What does Google say about SEO?

How does Google handle website technical issues?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

For technical issues (site downtime, crawl errors), Google has virtually no memory. As soon as the site becomes accessible again, indexing and display resume almost instantly, as Google must cope with the unstable nature of the Internet.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Why does it take so long for Google to recognize SEO improvements?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

Changes related to the overall quality of a site take significantly longer to be reevaluated by Google. It usually takes several months, even six months or more, for Google to recognize significant quality improvements, as the algorithms need to unde...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO

Should you be concerned about the Page Experience update's impact?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

The Page Experience update is generally subtle and should not cause massive drops or spikes in traffic. A 50% decrease in traffic cannot be solely attributed to speed or the Core Web Vitals, and likely indicates other more significant issues on the s...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

Is it detrimental to SEO to disable JavaScript specifically for Googlebot?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

Disabling JavaScript only for Googlebot is not advisable. It can create a divergence between what Googlebot sees and what users experience, making it very challenging to diagnose issues. If JavaScript is not essential for the content and internal lin...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Why doesn't Googlebot interact with e-commerce pages?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

Googlebot renders pages to check for missing content, but it does not interact with the pages (no clicks, no adding to cart). It would take too long to crawl the entire web. However, Google Product Search can perform certain checks on e-commerce func...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Why aren't featured snippets always location-specific?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

Featured snippets are standard search results with a more extensive excerpt. Google attempts to recognize when a user is searching for something local and uses geotargeting information, but cannot guarantee that local results will always be displayed...

Domain Age & History Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Local Search

Should you really convert your images from JPEG to WebP for better SEO?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

Changing image URLs (for example, from JPEG to WebP) can affect rankings in Google Images, as it takes time for the changes to be reflected. Some users employ the same file extension to serve WebP, which helps avoid this problem. The impact depends o...

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

Should you worry about the impact of lazy loading on image alt attributes?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

When Google renders a page, it loads the page in a very high viewport which typically triggers lazy loading and allows the alt attribute associated with the right images to be captured. Having the alt attribute in place while a placeholder image is d...

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Mobile SEO Web Performance

How does Google determine indexing timelines for different domains?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

Indexing time varies significantly from one domain to another. Google attempts to understand the overall context of a domain to determine where to allocate its crawling resources. A new, lesser-known domain will take longer to be crawled and indexed ...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

What happens to out-of-stock product pages according to Google?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

Google tries to determine whether a page is still relevant based on its content. Out-of-stock product pages can be seen as soft 404 errors and may be completely removed from the index. If the page remains indexed despite being out of stock, its ranki...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Should you really use structured review data on your own e-commerce site?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★★

For an e-commerce site, using structured review data for your own business is not recommended as it lacks objectivity. Google prefers reviews for individual products (self-assessment or user aggregation). Star ratings in search results appear for rev...

E-commerce AI & SEO Local Search

What causes your Core Web Vitals to disappear from Search Console?

John Mueller Nov 26, 2021 ★★

Search Console displays Core Web Vitals data only when there is sufficient user data for a group of pages. If the number of good pages decreases without an increase in bad pages, it simply means a temporary lack of data, not a problem. This effect ca...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance Local Search Search Console

Is it true that Google claims there’s no widespread indexing problem?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★★

Google confirms that after repeated checks with global teams, no widespread indexing issues have been detected in recent months. Reported cases are generally due to technical problems on the site side or content quality issues.

Content Crawl & Indexing Search Console

Why does Google limit indexing based on a site's perceived quality?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★★

Google may decide to stop indexing new content from a site if, based on the content already indexed, it believes it has enough information. This decision is not based on crawling new pages but on the overall evaluation of the site.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why does Google quickly announce major indexing issues?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★

When a genuine indexing issue affecting numerous sites occurs, Google quickly communicates through its official channels to inform webmasters, as demonstrated in previous incidents.

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Why is it essential to report spam through Google's specific tool?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★

To report spam in search results, use the spam content report form. Reports feed Google's anti-spam algorithms rather than triggering immediate manual actions.

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

Is Content the Key to Solving Your Indexing Issues?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★★

When faced with indexing issues, instead of seeking technical workarounds, Google recommends fundamentally improving the quality and uniqueness of content to increase its value for users.

Content Crawl & Indexing

Should You Still Use 301 Redirects Months After an URL Change?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★

Even if a 301 redirect is implemented several months after a URL change, it remains useful and should be implemented. However, other factors such as structural changes or algorithm updates can affect ranking.

Algorithms Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects

Does Googlebot ever disregard the robots.txt file?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★★

Google states that Googlebot typically follows the guidelines set in the robots.txt file. If a site appears in search results despite a robots.txt block, it's because the URL is known through external links, but the content is not crawled.

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

Does typing a URL in Chrome really guarantee its indexing?

Google Nov 25, 2021 ★★★

Google does not crawl or index URLs simply because they have been typed into the address bar of Chrome. If an unrelated test site is indexed, one must look for links from the production site.

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce Links & Backlinks Domain Name