What does Google say about SEO?

Is the DMCA really effective in protecting your duplicated content on Google?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

To protect your content copied by other sites, you can use the DMCA process. It is a legal process where you report to Google that your content has been copied, page by page.

Domain Age & History Content

Why does copied content outrank your original material on Google?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

If you regularly see copied content ranking above your original material, it indicates that Google's algorithms have doubts about the perceived overall quality of your site. You need to significantly improve the overall quality of the site.

Algorithms Content

Do featured snippets and rich results really fluctuate randomly?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

Featured snippets and rich results can fluctuate over time. Teams continually refine the triggering of these features. These are not technical changes but adjustments aimed at improving relevance and targeting.

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

Is it true that Google really indexes hidden content in responsive CSS?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

If an element is in the DOM but hidden on mobile via responsive CSS, Google can still index it. Google attempts to determine which parts are visible and values them for ranking, but the content in the HTML/DOM remains accessible.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO

Is there any structured markup that guarantees the appearance of a Knowledge Panel?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

There is no specific structured markup that guarantees the appearance of a Knowledge Panel for a brand. You can provide information such as the logo, address, hours, but that does not guarantee the display of the panel.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Can you really force sitelinks to appear in Google?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

Sitelinks are generated automatically like Knowledge Panels. Nothing specific can force their display. Google primarily generates them based on the internal navigation of the site. For most sites, Google does not show sitelinks.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Do 301 redirects really transfer 100% of PageRank and SEO signals?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

When you redirect one URL to another with a 301 redirect, Google transfers all signals and links from the old URL to the new URL, including links with parameters.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Domain Name Redirects

Should you really remove expired pages or can you leave them labeled 'expired'?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

For classified ad sites with ephemeral content, two approaches are acceptable: redirecting to the category (soft 404) or returning a 404. In both cases, the page disappears from the results. You should not keep the page live for long with just an 'ex...

Domain Age & History Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Redirects

Do words in the URL really influence Google rankings?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

Google uses words in the URL as a very, very slight factor. It is mainly used during the very first discovery of a URL, before having access to the content. Once the content is crawled and indexed, the language of the URL no longer matters for rankin...

Content Crawl & Indexing Domain Name International SEO

Do the API and Search Console interface really display the same data?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

The data from the Search Console interface and the API comes from exactly the same internal database at Google. It is not a different dataset, but the same data available in different ways.

JavaScript & Technical SEO Search Console

Should you really be concerned about redirect chains for Google's crawl?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

Google follows a small number of redirects immediately, about five consecutive redirects, and treats them as a single request. Beyond five steps, they are treated as separate requests.

AI & SEO Redirects

Is AMP really neutral for Google rankings, or does it hide an invisible visibility lever?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

AMP is not a direct ranking factor. However, removing AMP can lead to a drop in traffic if the site benefits from search features like Top Stories that currently require AMP. This will change with the May update regarding page experience.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Why does copied content sometimes outrank the original despite the DMCA?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

For copied content, use the DMCA process to report duplicate content. If copied content regularly ranks above the original, it indicates that algorithms have concerns about the overall perceived quality of the site and it needs significant improvemen...

Algorithms Content

Should you really delete or redirect expired content instead of keeping it indexable?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

For classified sites with expired content, either redirect to the category page (soft 404) or return a 404 error. Both options remove the page from search results. Do not keep old pages labeled 'expired' for too long as Google needs to crawl and reco...

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

Should you really add video structured data when you're already embedding YouTube?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

Although Google can understand certain information from an embedded YouTube iframe, it is highly recommended to use standard video structured data on the page to ensure that Google can display your pages as appropriate video landing pages.

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO Images & Videos Pagination & Structure Local Search

Why is Google ignoring desktop Core Web Vitals in its ranking algorithm?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★★

The Page Experience ranking factor (including Core Web Vitals) applies to mobile and not to desktop, at least initially. The official announcement concerns only mobile, where performance barriers are more significant.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance Search Console

Can you use different templates for each language version without harming international SEO?

John Mueller Mar 12, 2021 ★★

For an international site organized in subdirectories, it is perfectly acceptable to use different templates or navigations for different international sections. Google can understand the templates for different parts of the site independently.

AI & SEO Pagination & Structure International SEO

Can user-generated content really sabotage your SEO?

Martin Splitt Mar 10, 2021 ★★★

Google may not always differentiate between site-created content and user-generated content on the same page. Spam in comments can therefore impact the site's overall ranking.

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

Should you really mark all user-generated content links with rel='ugc'?

Martin Splitt Mar 10, 2021 ★★★

Mark user-generated content links (in comments or forums) with the rel='ugc' attribute. This discourages comment spam and prevents these links from being associated with your site.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam

Should you really remove rel='ugc' to reward your trusted contributors?

Martin Splitt Mar 10, 2021 ★★

To recognize regularly reliable contributors, you can remove the rel='ugc' attribute from the links they publish.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks