What does Google say about SEO?

Are HTTP 1xx status codes harming your site's crawlability by Googlebot?

Gary Illyes May 15, 2025 ★★

Google does not support HTTP 1xx status codes (such as 100 Continue or 101 Switching Protocols). The crawler simply passes through them without noticing and waits for the next non-1xx status code to evaluate the response.

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO

Are your TCP/UDP network errors really blocking Google's crawl?

Gary Illyes May 15, 2025 ★★★

Connection issues reported in Search Console (network blocking messages or connection problems) can originate from low-level TCP, UDP, QUIC, or DNS layers. These network errors directly impact Google's ability to crawl your sites.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Search Console

Should you still worry about choosing between 301 and 302 redirects?

Gary Illyes May 15, 2025 ★★★

For Google Search, all 3xx redirect codes (301, 302, 307, 308) are treated similarly during crawling. Google slightly takes into account the temporary/permanent distinction for canonicalization, but otherwise simply considers it a redirect.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Redirects

Is Your Crawl Budget Being Compromised by HTTP 429 Status Codes?

Gary Illyes May 15, 2025 ★★

HTTP status code 429 (Too Many Requests) is treated by Google as a client-side error (4xx), indicating that the client is requesting a resource too frequently. It is not a server error even though it limits access.

HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Why does Google really care so much about HTTP status codes for your search rankings?

Gary Illyes May 15, 2025 ★★

HTTP status codes tell an important story about what happens during a request. They are crucial for website owners and SEO professionals because they allow you to understand how Google interacts with a site and diagnose problems.

Content HTTPS & Security AI & SEO

Should You Avoid Having the Same Link Multiple Times on a Webpage?

John Mueller May 06, 2025 ★★★

According to John Mueller, having multiple identical links on the same page is perfectly acceptable and even very common. He clarified that this poses no problem whatsoever, particularly if the links in question appear in navigation elements such as ...

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

Are Your N:1 Redirects Sabotaging Your SEO Migration?

John Mueller May 06, 2025 ★★★

John Mueller explained that a landing page could appear in search results for an e-commerce query, even if it has little content, thanks in particular to the many redirects pointing to it. In the example questioned on Bluesky, all pages from an old d...

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Redirects

Is Google finally offering the advanced SEO training that practitioners have been demanding?

Cherry May 01, 2025 ★★

Google is launching Search Central Live Deep Dive, an extended and in-depth version of Search Central Live events. This new pilot format offers several days of advanced content, practical workshops, and greater networking opportunities, in response t...

Domain Age & History Content

Is Google really serious about hands-on learning with its new Deep Dive workshops?

Cherry May 01, 2025 ★★

The Deep Dive events will include practical workshops on Search Console, Google Trends, and technical subjects like robots.txt, allowing participants to learn through hands-on practice rather than simple theoretical presentations.

Content Crawl & Indexing Search Console

Will Google's Deep Dive SEO sessions finally replace superficial conference presentations?

Gary Illyes May 01, 2025 ★★

Deep Dive events will enable in-depth contextualization of SEO topics, unlike the short 25-minute formats. Google will be able to concretely show how to apply concepts via Search Console, server logs, and other practical tools.

AI & SEO Search Console

Should you trust local SEO experts over Google's official statements?

Gary Illyes May 01, 2025 ★★

Google recognizes the crucial importance of local communities in each country. Lightning talks make it possible to identify and highlight local experts on specific topics, who become more accessible resources than international Googlers.

Content AI & SEO Local Search

Is Google really using your feedback to shape its SEO events—or just making you think it does?

Cherry May 01, 2025 ★★

Google bases event planning on detailed community feedback, including preferred duration, preferred locations, types of content, and participant profiles. Registration forms enable the program to be adapted to the real needs of SEO professionals.

Content AI & SEO

Is Search Central Live finally coming to Africa—and what does this mean for local SEO professionals worldwide?

Gary Illyes May 01, 2025 ★★

In 2025, Google is expanding Search Central Live to new territories: Budapest, Warsaw, the Baltic States, Zurich, and for the first time in Africa (South Africa). Events are also being maintained in Asia-Pacific with two events in Japanese and Mandar...

AI & SEO Images & Videos

Should You Really Set Today's Date in Your XML Sitemap's Lastmod Tag?

John Mueller Apr 29, 2025 ★★★

On Reddit, John Mueller stated that having the sitemap's lastmod tag always display the current date is lazy and proves counterproductive when it's intentional. Otherwise, it may also be a sitemap generation issue. Here are his exact words: "setting ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO PDF & Files Local Search Search Console

Is Image Streaming Killing Your Google Image Search Rankings?

John Mueller Apr 29, 2025 ★★★

John Mueller stated that using "image streaming" techniques, similar to YouTube video embedding, was not favorable for SEO. He even went so far as to say it was an "excellent way to prevent your images from being found by image search engines."

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

Do You Really Need to Shorten Your URLs to Improve Your Organic Rankings?

John Mueller Apr 29, 2025 ★★★

On Reddit, John Mueller responded to a user who wondered whether a URL longer than 75 characters could negatively affect a page's ranking. The Google representative's answer: "Most systems cut off the URL at around 1000 characters. At 82, you still h...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does Choosing a Specialized TLD Like .esports Really Impact Your SEO?

John Mueller Apr 22, 2025 ★★★

Google recently clarified that using the top-level domain (TLD) ".esports" offers no advantage in terms of natural search engine optimization (SEO). John Mueller responded on the social network Bluesky to a claim that the ".esports" TLD would improve...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Social Media

Does Structured Data Really Improve Your Site's SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Apr 22, 2025 ★★

John Mueller recently reaffirmed that using structured data does not improve a site's ranking in search results. Google's spokesperson stated on Bluesky: "Structured data won't make your site rank better." He clarified that these tags are primarily u...

Domain Age & History Content Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

How is the IETF standardization of robots.txt reshaping the game for crawlers and SEO professionals?

Gary Illyes Apr 17, 2025 ★★★

Robots.txt was a de facto standard for approximately 25 years before being officially standardized with the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). This standardization makes it possible to standardize the way different parsers interpret robots.txt f...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files

Why does Google really enforce a 500 KB size limit on robots.txt files?

Gary Illyes Apr 17, 2025 ★★★

Google enforces a 500 kilobyte limit on robots.txt files. This limit was established for security reasons, notably to prevent buffer overflow attacks during the file parsing process.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure PDF & Files