What does Google say about SEO?

Why do old URLs still show up after a migration?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

After migrating URLs, a site: search might still display old URLs even if Google has already migrated the indexing. Google aims to be helpful by showing where the content used to be located. Checking the cached version reveals if the new URL is index...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Web Performance Local Search Redirects

Should You Really Worry About Core Updates Without Clear Guidelines from Google?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

Google does not provide specific recommendations for core algorithm updates (Core Updates). The general advice for updates applies, with no particular action needed for each update.

Algorithms

Is it true that adding a second internal link to a page is pointless for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

If a link already exists to a page, adding a second link to that same page offers no significant SEO advantage. The only possible effect is the expansion of anchor text, but this doesn’t create any issues either.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Are Navigation Links Really That Different for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

Google does not make a major distinction between links in navigation and links in the main content. The primary difference concerns boilerplate content versus main content, but not specifically the links themselves.

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Why are internal PageRank micro-optimizations ineffective for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

Internal PageRank micro-optimizations generally have no visible impact in search results. Significant changes come from managing faceted navigation, filters, and sorting options, not from slight redistributions of PageRank.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

How does anchor text hold more weight than the number of internal links?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

When it comes to internal linking, focusing on the anchor text and its relevance is far more crucial than the number of links or the distribution of PageRank. Anchor text helps Google clearly understand the topic of the target page.

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

Is the author really that important for SEO of non-critical content?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

Author information is less relevant for non-critical contents like movie descriptions. Google places more emphasis on expertise and authority for critical contents such as medical or financial information.

Content

How does Google really handle infographics for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

Google does not break down charts, infographics, or data visualizations to extract individual values. These elements are treated like standard images, indexable for image search but without a detailed analysis of the content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos

Why is contextual text crucial for your graphs in SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

For graphs and visualizations, it's essential to provide enough contextual text around them, not just a title. This helps Google understand the topic and index the page, even if the graph itself is not analyzed.

Domain Age & History Content

Why should you prioritize HTML tables for indexing specific values?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

If the goal is to index specific values from charts, it is better to present this data in the form of HTML tables. This way, Google can process them through normal crawling and potentially display them as rich snippets.

Crawl & Indexing Structured Data AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Local Search

Should you really mark every product with structured data on category pages?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

On a category page listing multiple products, you shouldn't mark each product individually with the Product structured data. Google prefers that the markup corresponds to the main element of the page, or to use a carousel format if available.

Domain Age & History E-commerce

Should you rethink the use of structured data for SEO?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

When it comes to structured data, you need to work backward: first, identify what display Google offers in the search results, and then implement only the necessary markup to achieve that display. This guarantees a measurable return on investment.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Why does geographic targeting take a week in Google Search Console?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

Geographic targeting settings in Search Console take about a week to propagate to Google's various systems. The effect is first visible on new content and then gradually on existing content during the recrawl.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Could a product canonical to category be harming your product content?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

When a canonical tag points from a product page to a category page, the signals (links) are transferred, but the content of the product page is completely ignored. Only the content of the category page is indexed and used for ranking.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should You Always Optimize the Length of Titles and Descriptions?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

Google does not provide a fixed optimal length for title and meta description tags as display varies based on queries and devices. The title and description should match the page content, whether they are short or long.

Domain Age & History Content

How does Google change meta descriptions based on user queries?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

Google frequently customizes the displayed meta description based on the user's query. If the provided meta description does not align well with the query, Google will instead pull relevant excerpts directly from the content of the page.

Domain Age & History Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

How does a clear HTML structure impact the display of sitelinks?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★

For Google to display links to specific sections of a long page, a clear HTML structure is required with distinct sections, ID anchors, and internal links to those sections. While this is not guaranteed, it greatly facilitates the display.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure Local Search

Why are 1:1 redirects essential for a seamless domain migration?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

For a domain migration, you need the simplest possible 1:1 redirects, without UTM parameters or anything else. This allows Google to properly recognize the migration and transfer all signals quickly. Complicated parameters can complicate and slow dow...

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Redirects

Is there really no delay between Google's crawling and indexing?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

There is no queue or artificial delay between crawling and indexing at Google. If a page can be crawled, Google tries to index it as quickly as possible, except for JavaScript sites that require pre-rendering.

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

Could separate mobile sites be the reason your indexing is slowing down?

John Mueller Jul 09, 2021 ★★★

Having separate versions (desktop, mobile, app) of a site slows down indexing because Google has to crawl three versions instead of one. Switching to a responsive design accelerates the process by reducing the number of URLs to crawl by two-thirds.

Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO Domain Name