What does Google say about SEO?

Why should site migrations be one-way?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2021 ★★

When migrating a site, it's advisable to either proceed incrementally in the right direction or make a complete change all at once. Back-and-forth migrations (moving to B and then returning to A) complicate understanding for Google’s systems.

Redirects

How does Google’s support for WebP images transform SEO strategies?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2021 ★★

Google's image processing systems support images in the WebP format. The same system is utilized across all areas of Google Search, including Discover and Google News.

Domain Age & History Discover & News AI & SEO Images & Videos

Why isn't there a one-size-fits-all solution for sitemaps in SEO?

John Mueller Nov 03, 2021 ★★

There isn't a straightforward universal solution for sitemaps that works for all types of websites. Most site configurations have their own simple sitemap solutions built-in or available through plugins.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Is blocking CSS files a risk to your SEO strategy?

John Mueller Nov 03, 2021 ★★★

Blocking CSS files in robots.txt can cause problems and should be avoided. Being able to see a page fully helps Google better understand the page and confirm that it is mobile-friendly.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO PDF & Files

Is it true that you can't reset a website's indexing?

John Mueller Nov 03, 2021 ★★★

It is not possible to reset a website's indexing. If the site has been modified, search engines will automatically focus on the new version and gradually ignore the old version over time.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why Are Redirects Essential When Changing URLs?

John Mueller Nov 03, 2021 ★★★

To assist Google in focusing on the new version of a modified website, it is recommended to use redirects from the old URLs to the new ones.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Are RSS feeds really impacting SEO crawling?

John Mueller Nov 03, 2021 ★★

Having RSS feeds is not problematic for crawling, even though Googlebot frequently fetches them. Google's systems automatically balance the crawl across a website, crawling some pages more often only after having already examined the important pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Your CMS Choice (WordPress, WooCommerce...) Really Impact Your Google SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Nov 02, 2021 ★★★

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that the search engine does not rank the sites it crawls and analyzes based on the CMS used (when it can potentially be detected). Using WordPress does not mean your site is classified as a "blog". Wo...

Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Can Penguin Really Penalize an Entire Website and Not Just Individual Pages?

John Mueller Nov 02, 2021 ★★★

John Mueller also explained in this hangout that Penguin (long integrated into the search engine's general algorithm) doesn't just analyze backlinks (and potentially ignore them) at the granular level of individual web pages. The algorithm can also h...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Why should you use x-default in language directory pages?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

For a directory page listing the country versions of a site, this page must be defined as x-default in the hreflang. Without this, Google treats it as a separate page and may show it in place of the actual content pages.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO International SEO

Do Noindex Pages Really Affect Google's Perceived Quality?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Google does not consider noindex pages in the overall quality assessment of a site or in core updates. Only indexed content serves as the basis for quality algorithms, as it is what is displayed to users.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing

Do ccTLDs Really Impact Local SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Google uses country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) as a factor for geographic targeting. For queries where the user is looking for something local, websites with corresponding ccTLDs are favored. For gTLDs, geographic targeting can be defined in Sea...

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

Why are Google updates rolling out without any prior announcements?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★

Algorithm updates like the product review update gradually roll out to other regions and languages after the initial launch, typically without specific announcements. It's important not to assume that an update is limited to the announced region.

Algorithms E-commerce AI & SEO International SEO

Why are search titles now fixed to each page?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Since the title update, the title links displayed in search results are determined on a per-page basis, rather than dynamically based on the query. This simplifies testing: you can alter the title, submit the page for indexing, and see the results im...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks

Do page titles really impact SEO rankings?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★

Google uses page titles as a small ranking factor. It's important not to create titles that are completely irrelevant. It is the content of the title tag that gets used for ranking, even if Google shows a different title link.

Domain Age & History Content Links & Backlinks Local Search

Is the disavow tool truly safe for your SEO?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Using the disavow tool does not trigger any penalties, negative signals, or black marks on a site. It is a purely technical tool for managing external associations. Google does not retain memory of resolved manual actions.

Content AI & SEO

Why does it take up to 6 months for the impact of a disavow file to show up?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

The effects of a disavow file manifest incrementally over a period of 3 to 6 months as Google processes the links. A visible effect in just a few days after submission is therefore not related to the disavow.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

Does translated content truly impact SEO?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Translated content in another language is seen as completely different by Google. Translations are never treated as duplicate content because the words and text are different.

Content AI & SEO International SEO

Is Hreflang really always necessary?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★

Before implementing hreflang for a multilingual site, you should check in Search Console if Google is already showing the right pages in the correct languages. If that’s the case, hreflang may be redundant. It's typically only useful for generic quer...

Domain Age & History Search Console International SEO

Do social metrics really influence SEO?

John Mueller Oct 30, 2021 ★★★

Google does not consider social media activity (followers, likes, shares) as a ranking factor. Social profiles and pages are treated like normal HTML pages if they contain crawlable links and indexable content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media