What does Google say about SEO?

Does scraping really distort impressions in Search Console?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

Bots and scrapers querying Google results can generate artificial impressions that are visible in Search Console. Google filters these bots at various levels, but some may slip through and distort impression metrics without impacting actual rankings.

Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Search Console

How do internal links truly influence your SEO strategy?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Internal links distribute SEO value throughout the site and signal to Google the relative importance of pages. Linking a page from the homepage indicates that it is important or new, which speeds up crawling and may slightly influence its ranking.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks

Why are Technical SEO and Quality Content Inextricably Linked?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Technical SEO and content quality are equally important. Both need to be good together. Quality isn't just about the text, but the entire site: layout, design, images, speed. One cannot compensate for the other.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Web Performance

How long does it really take for Core Web Vitals to impact your rankings?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

The Core Web Vitals data used for ranking has about a 28-day delay. Therefore, any significant speed improvement takes about a month to affect search results. Visible changes earlier are not related to Core Web Vitals.

AI & SEO Web Performance

Should you rely on a single trust score for SEO?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

Google does not have a single trust score or metric to evaluate a site. Trust is not measured with a fixed number and does not solely depend on inbound links. Improving content quality helps, but there is no specific metric associated with it.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does deferred JavaScript really have no impact on SEO?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

Deferring the loading of non-critical JavaScript until the first user interaction does not affect SEO, provided that the main content remains visible for indexing. Googlebot does not interact with the page through clicks; it only needs visible conten...

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

Do JavaScript vulnerabilities flagged by Lighthouse really affect your SEO?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

Security vulnerabilities detected in JavaScript libraries by Lighthouse do not directly impact SEO. However, if they lead to an actual site compromise, then the compromised state will affect search rankings. Prevention is advised.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should You Keep URLs Indexable for Temporarily Out of Stock Products?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

For products that are temporarily out of stock, it is best to keep the URL indexable and indicate unavailability through structured data. Google regularly refreshes the page to detect when it is back in stock. Noindex or removing links slows down rei...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Structured Data E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Does the importance of the author change depending on the type of content?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Indicating an expert and reliable author (E-A-T) is important for YMYL sites (health, finance). For other types of content (theater news, SEO), the author's identity is less critical. Avoid generic names like 'admin,' but the site itself can serve as...

Content AI & SEO

How Does a Link from the Homepage Speed Up Reindexing?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

When a product is back in stock, adding a link from the homepage accelerates detection by Google. Pages linked from the homepage are deemed more important and crawled faster. This complements the use of Merchant Center feeds.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Is using nofollow on internal links really unnecessary for PageRank?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Using the nofollow attribute on internal links to control the distribution of PageRank (link juice) has no visible effect and is not recommended. It's better to either link normally to pages to be indexed, or use noindex or remove links for non-prior...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is Content Really the Only Factor in Site Classification?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Google does not rank a site (e-commerce, blog, etc.) based on its CMS or plugins (WordPress, WooCommerce). The classification relies solely on the actual content of the pages. You can use any infrastructure without it affecting the site's categorizat...

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce Pagination & Structure

Is Infinite Scrolling Changing Our SEO Strategy for Good?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

With infinite scrolling tested on Google, results are loaded in groups of 10. Each loaded group generates impressions, as if the user were clicking on the next page. This increases impressions for pages 2-4, but not necessarily clicks, leading to a r...

Domain Age & History Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

Should you really aim for a server response time under 200 ms for SEO?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★★

Google recommends a maximum server response time (HTTP response time) of 200 milliseconds. A time of 2 seconds is considered very high and restricts daily crawling capacity. Only HTTP requests to the server are counted, excluding third-party scripts ...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security

What causes your FAQ rich results to vanish after a redesign?

John Mueller Oct 23, 2021 ★★

If FAQ rich results are no longer appearing after a redesign, use a site: query to check if they display. If they do, it indicates a perceived quality issue of the site. If they don't, it's a technical problem. There is no fixed recovery timeline aft...

Content Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Local Search

How do Core Web Vitals truly impact your SEO?

Vivek Sekhar Oct 21, 2021 ★★★

Core Web Vitals refer to three fundamental metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (loading time of the main content), First Input Delay (response time to the first interaction), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability of the page). These metrics mea...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Why is Google focusing on the 75th percentile for Core Web Vitals?

Annie Sullivan Oct 21, 2021 ★★★

Google measures Core Web Vitals at the 75th percentile of real users. If three-quarters of visitors experience fast loading times, the site is deemed performing well. The focus is on real user measurement (RUM) rather than lab testing.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Are Core Web Vitals the key to boosting your SEO performance?

Vivek Sekhar Oct 21, 2021 ★★★

Core Web Vitals are a ranking factor in Google searches, but many other signals come into play, including content relevance. Performance is important but does not replace the quality and relevance of the content.

Content AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Why shouldn't you focus solely on SEO?

Vivek Sekhar Oct 21, 2021 ★★★

Websites should not concentrate solely on speed for SEO reasons. Performance directly enhances usability, conversions, newsletter sign-ups, cart additions, and ad revenues. The business impact goes well beyond search engine optimization.

Domain Age & History Discover & News AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

How do third-party elements really influence your SEO?

Vivek Sekhar Oct 21, 2021 ★★★

Google measures the complete site experience, including third-party elements (widgets, ads, external scripts) that the site has chosen to integrate. Owners must demand optimal performance from their third-party providers, as anything impacts the over...

Content AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console