What does Google say about SEO?

Do multilingual backlinks really build themselves?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

Backlinks to different language versions of a site develop naturally over time. Users from a linguistic region will naturally link to the version in their own language. There is no need to manually build these links.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks International SEO

Should you really worry about localized URLs for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

Translating URL slugs into the local language (for example, /produit/ vs /product/) has no significant impact on search engine optimization. Some sites utilize localized URLs, while others stick to global URLs - both approaches are acceptable.

E-commerce AI & SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Local Search International SEO

Why is active promotion essential for new websites in SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

For a new website, simply submitting a sitemap is not sufficient. Google must understand how the site fits into the broader context of the web. Actively promoting the site through advertising, social media, and partnerships is crucial to generate awa...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Why is using nofollow in press releases crucial for your SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

When it comes to links in press releases, it's important to clearly indicate that the content is self-produced. Use rel=nofollow on the links, or limit yourself to simple domain links (not optimized with keywords in the anchor) to remain compliant wi...

Content E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Should you really worry about negative SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

In 99% of cases, no action is needed when facing negative SEO. Google's systems are accustomed to this kind of behavior and automatically ignore bad backlinks. The disavow file is only useful if it truly keeps you up at night.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

Why is submitting entire domains for disavowal more effective?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

If you are using the disavow file, submit entire domains rather than thousands of individual URLs. Extract the domains from Search Console and submit them at the domain level to be more effective than attackers.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name PDF & Files Search Console

Is it true that Google overlooks suspicious links without penalizing SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

If no issues are reported in Search Console and no manual actions have been applied, negative SEO is likely not the cause of a traffic drop. Google simply ignores suspicious links instead of penalizing the site.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam Search Console

How can you prevent your pages from being classified as soft 404?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

To prevent a page from being classified as a soft 404, make sure it does not contain text indicating a lack of content ('no products in this category', 'no results'). Instead, display descriptive text explaining the nature and usefulness of the page.

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce Local Search

What’s the relationship between Core Web Vitals and soft 404 errors in SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

Failures in Core Web Vitals (notably Cumulative Layout Shift) have no connection to the classification of a page as a soft 404. They are two entirely distinct systems.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Web Performance

Why does Google sometimes rewrite your meta descriptions without warning?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Google creates its own descriptions when it detects highly repetitive meta descriptions across hundreds of pages. If the same description is used everywhere, Google considers it not truly descriptive and generates one automatically.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should you automate meta descriptions for SEO on a large scale?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

For large scale SEO (especially e-commerce), using automatically generated meta descriptions based on the page content is acceptable. The key is that they should not be identical across the entire site but rather specific to each page.

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

How does Google tailor your meta descriptions for every search query?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

Google adjusts the displayed meta description according to the user's query. If part of the query is clearly stated in the meta description, Google will use it. If not, it may extract content from the page to provide context for the result.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How does placing key text at the top of HTML enhance your SEO?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

When Google generates its own description, it often focuses on the first text found in the HTML. Placing a clear heading at the top of the HTML (which can be styled with CSS for display elsewhere) helps Google create better automatic descriptions.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How will the gradual rollout of Core Web Vitals impact your SEO strategy?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Core Web Vitals began their rollout in early June and will continue until the end of August. The impact is subtle and gradual, never a sudden drop from one day to the next. A sudden decline indicates more of a Core Update.

Algorithms AI & SEO Web Performance

Is it true that Core Updates are actually independent of Core Web Vitals?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Google's Core Update is not related to Core Web Vitals despite the similarity in name. The Core Update focuses on the relevance and quality of content, while Core Web Vitals solely concerns speed and user experience.

Algorithms Content Web Performance

How does hreflang really affect your SEO strategy?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Hreflang helps Google choose the right URL to display based on the user's region, but it does not change the ranking itself. The ranking remains the same; only the displayed URL (local version) changes to match the user's location.

AI & SEO Domain Name Local Search International SEO

Should You Rethink Your Geographic Content Strategy Due to Doorway Pages?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Doorway pages become problematic when created in large quantities. Creating pages city by city for all products on a global scale is clearly doorway. However, having 2-3 local pages for a business targeting nearby cities remains acceptable.

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam Local Search

Why does Google recommend a gradual approach for local pages?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★

Rather than creating 20 local pages at once, start with a single page and analyze the queries it attracts. Then gradually develop based on actual needs instead of automatically generating millions of similar pages.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Local Search

Why Does Google Penalize Published Automatic Translations As They Are?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Using Google Translate to entirely translate a site and publish it as is is considered automatically generated content by the webspam team. Furthermore, it creates low-quality content. Automatic translations should be manually reviewed before publica...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam International SEO

Why doesn’t Google guarantee the display of rich results?

John Mueller Jul 23, 2021 ★★★

Google does not guarantee any display of rich results. Even with technically correct markup, Google can decide to show, reduce, or completely remove rich results based on its quality and relevance algorithms, without sending notifications in Search C...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP Local Search Search Console