What does Google say about SEO?

How Does Google's Knowledge Panel Really Adapt to Your Searches?

Danny Sullivan Aug 09, 2021 ★★★

Danny Sullivan explained on Twitter that the content of the Knowledge Graph (Knowledge Panel) is not fixed; it primarily depends on the query entered. Depending on whether a query is more or less precise or simply different, the algorithm will displa...

Algorithms Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Local Search Social Media

Is it really worth investing time in Page Experience optimization?

John Mueller Aug 09, 2021 ★

John Mueller indicated on Reddit that the "Page Experience" criterion is more than a "tie breaker," as had been said previously, but that its weight remained low and that it did not replace excellent content relevance...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How does Google identify the abusive use of expired domains?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Google has systems in place to detect expired domains and determine how to handle them. If you identify expired domains being used abusively (e.g., former government domains repurposed into health blogs), please use the spam reporting form.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam

Should You Tackle DMCA Complaints One URL at a Time for Better SEO?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

For copyrighted duplicate content, the DMCA approach is the officially recommended method. It operates on a URL-by-URL basis. Google may suggest more scalable solutions for sites that regularly submit numerous DMCA complaints.

Content AI & SEO Domain Name

Does temporary deindexing really impact your SEO ranking?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

If a legitimate site is temporarily deindexed for technical reasons (a few hours or days), it automatically corrects itself and is not held against the site in the long term.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why should you care about content copies that don’t affect your SEO ranking?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Don't get caught up on all the sites that copy your content, but only on those that actually rank above you. The existence of copies isn’t necessarily a problem for your SEO.

Content AI & SEO

Do omitted results really impact your SEO?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

When you conduct a quoted search and your site appears in the omitted results, it does not indicate that Google sees your site as a duplicate. It is a technical behavior related to the type of query.

Content

Does the way you spell really influence your SEO ranking?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

Google does not have a classifier to distinguish between British English and American English. Choose your spelling based on your users, not for SEO. Google understands English content regardless of the spelling used.

Content AI & SEO

Why does brand traffic remain resilient against algorithm updates?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Building brand awareness generates stable search traffic that does not fluctuate with algorithm changes. Brand searches are nearly navigational: if users are searching for your brand, your site will always be the most relevant.

Algorithms Pagination & Structure

Why do certain brands fail to show up for generic search queries?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Google does not have a system that guarantees the display of specific brands for non-branded queries. The rare exception occurs when a brand becomes synonymous with a generic term, which Google considers a bug.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Local Search

How can you stand out in SEO within a saturated market?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

In a highly competitive sector dominated by established brands, it is preferable to find a niche where you can become a leader before tackling generic queries. This is more of a business decision than an SEO one.

JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

How does Google really determine the publication dates of a page?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Google uses multiple factors to determine the relevant dates of a page, not just metadata. Visual changes need to be significant on the page. Dates must be consistent between metadata and visible content, including the correct time zones.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Why should very large sites rethink their use of Search Console?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Search Console limits the number of unique data entries per day for performance reasons. For large sites with numerous URLs, queries, or unique features, use specific properties (subdomains) rather than the domain level for more accurate data.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Web Performance Search Console

Does the number of reviews truly impact your SEO?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Google does not use the number of customers or reviews to rank sites in classic web search. This information may be displayed in rich results, but it is not a ranking factor for web search.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Local Search

What makes your pages remain invisible on Google?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

If your pages take more than two weeks to be indexed, it is generally due to technical issues (difficult crawling) or quality issues (content that is not interesting to Google). Assess whether your site is technically fast, then focus on the quality ...

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

Why should you leverage the Search Console API for large SEO sites?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

For very large websites, use the Search Console API to extract complete data and build your own dashboards. This allows you to bypass the limitations of the tables in the interface.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Search Console

Is it true that your site can't be manually reassessed for quality?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

There is no technical action that can manually trigger a quality reassessment of your site. Google's systems continuously reevaluate the content. A major restructuring (like changing CMS or URLs) naturally forces an overall reassessment.

Content Domain Name Penalties & Spam

Should core updates be considered in isolation for SEO?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

Google's core updates affect different parts of the ranking system. If you notice a change during one core update, it does not mean you will systematically see a change during the next one. They are not interconnected.

Algorithms

Does AMP really enhance your site's speed without hurting SEO performance?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★

Using AMP is a great way to achieve a speed boost without significant work. There are no consistent reports showing that AMP degrades a site's performance, unless the integration is faulty.

AI & SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance Search Console

Do affiliate links really impact your SEO?

John Mueller Aug 06, 2021 ★★★

There is no limit to the number of affiliate links on a page, nor is there an ideal ratio between links and article length. Google looks for useful content that justifies displaying your page. Affiliate links themselves are completely irrelevant to r...

Domain Age & History Content Discover & News AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Local Search