What does Google say about SEO?

How does Googlebot's geographic limitations affect content indexing?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Google can only index the content visible to Googlebot, which typically crawls from the United States and without cookies. If content is displayed solely through geographic personalization or cookies, Google will not see it and won't be able to index...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why does Google keep crawling old mobile subdomains?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

After redirecting a mobile subdomain (m-dot) to the main domain, Google might continue to crawl the old mobile domain for a very long time, sometimes for several years. This is normal and should not be seen as a problem.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name

Is it true that the ES-419 code is a critical error for hreflang?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

The ES-419 code for targeting Latin America in hreflang is an error found in certain Google pages themselves. This code is not valid, and hreflang links using ES-419 are ignored. Instead, each country should be listed individually (es-mx, es-ar, etc....

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks International SEO

Should you really replicate the markup of major websites for SEO?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

You should not automatically copy the technical markup of major websites, even those belonging to Google, as they may contain errors or use non-standard internal codes that only work within their system but are not valid for the web in general.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Why doesn't Google assign a single quality score for SEO?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

Unlike paid ads, there is no single, quantifiable quality score for natural referencing. Google uses multiple algorithms to evaluate the quality of a site, making it impossible to create a simple metric to display.

Algorithms AI & SEO Local Search

How can overusing bold text harm your SEO efforts?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

If all the content on a page is in bold, it has no SEO effect because nothing stands out. Emphasis markup (bold, strong) works in relation to the rest of the page: only a few highlighted elements have an impact.

Domain Age & History Content

How could bold text influence your SEO strategy?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Boldening important words or phrases in content does indeed assist Google in better understanding the main topic of the page. It's a clear signal indicating what the author considers essential, and Google may give a bit more weight to these elements.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How does semantic HTML enhance your SEO performance?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Using the appropriate semantic HTML tags (headings, strong, em, etc.) helps Google better understand the structure and meaning of a page. This is a positive factor for SEO as it clarifies what is important in the content.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Is it really necessary to manage over 10,000 links per page to optimize your SEO?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

Google has a practical limit on the number of links it can process per page, likely well beyond 10,000 links. However, having thousands of internal links on each page makes it very difficult for Google to understand the site's context and structure.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

What makes Google Discover's SEO standards so much stricter?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Google Discover applies different and often stricter quality standards compared to classic web search, particularly concerning adult content, clickbait titles, and other factors outlined in the Discover documentation from the help center.

Content Discover & News AI & SEO PDF & Files

Should you favor a hierarchical structure to boost your SEO?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Instead of linking every page to all other pages on a site, it's better to create a clear hierarchical structure with categories and subcategories. This helps Google better understand the organization of content and the relative importance of pages.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Does response time really impact how Google crawls your site?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

For a news website, the importance of response time depends less on the type of site and more on the volume of URLs that Google needs to crawl daily. A site with 10,000 pages crawled each day can tolerate a higher response time than a site requiring ...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Domain Name

Why is Google Discover traffic so unpredictable for SEO professionals?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

Traffic from Google Discover is generally very unstable, with brutal fluctuations. If the algorithms determine that a site should no longer be featured in Discover, traffic can nearly vanish overnight, without any intermediate position.

Algorithms Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Do PWAs Really Impact Your SEO?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

A Progressive Web App (PWA) is not treated any differently in SEO compared to a traditional site. Google renders the JavaScript and then treats the PWA like a normal HTML page. Therefore, merely migrating to a PWA does not guarantee an improvement in...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is it essential to redesign older websites for better performance?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★★

A website that is 10 to 15 years old and has evolved organically since its inception will likely benefit from a complete redesign, regardless of the technology chosen. A cleaner, faster, and more modern structure will generally lead to significant ra...

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Redirects

What unique SEO challenges do JavaScript PWAs bring?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2021 ★★

PWAs that are solely based on JavaScript create additional technical challenges for SEO, particularly regarding rendering and indexing. This can involve significantly more work compared to a traditional HTML site.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why should SEO professionals still have a grasp of HTML today?

Gary Illyes Nov 11, 2021 ★★★

HTML is a fundamental building block of the web and isn't going anywhere. SEOs need to understand HTML to manage meta tags, title elements, rel canonical, hreflang, and other technical elements in the head section. Even with CMS systems, knowledge of...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO International SEO

Why is HTML crucial for effective SEO?

Martin Splitt Nov 11, 2021 ★★

HTML is a progressive technology: with minimal knowledge, you can already achieve a lot. Unlike JavaScript, errors in HTML do not prevent the browser from rendering the page. You don’t need to be an expert, but you should understand what HTML is and ...

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

Why is mastering JavaScript becoming crucial for SEO professionals?

Martin Splitt Nov 11, 2021 ★★★

With the increasing migration of native applications to web applications (PWAs), understanding JavaScript will become increasingly important for SEOs. Complex applications in the browser will require enhanced SEO technical expertise to make the conte...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Redirects

Are URLs truly untouchable when it comes to SEO?

Gary Illyes Nov 11, 2021 ★★★

URLs cannot disappear in the foreseeable future since they are the standard means of communicating addresses on the internet. Just like domain names and IP addresses, URLs are structural to the internet. Changing URLs would be even more complex than ...

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure