What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really report copied content from your site using Google's spam form?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

If your content is copied on hacked or spam sites, use Google's spam reporting form. It's not your site that is compromised, but merely content copied elsewhere.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Search Console

Does the http:// or https:// namespace in an XML sitemap really affect crawlability?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

In the XML Sitemap, using http:// or https:// for the namespace URL (xmlns) has no functional importance. Google treats both identically. Conventionally, http:// is more common.

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name PDF & Files Search Console

Is it really sufficient to include only one version, mobile or desktop, in your XML sitemap?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

For a site with separate mobile and desktop URLs, it is enough to include only one version in the sitemap if the bidirectional annotations are present in the HTML code. There is no need to include both if the annotation is correct.

Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO Domain Name Search Console

Can your slow pages drag down the rankings of your entire site?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★★

Core Web Vitals are evaluated at the level of each page. However, pages with poor scores can have a negative impact on the entire site. This is not an isolated assessment without consequences.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

Why does CrUX collect your Core Web Vitals even if you block Googlebot?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★★

The Core Web Vitals use data from the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), based on real user experiences. The data accumulates even if Googlebot is blocked by robots.txt or noindex, as it originates from the Chrome browsers of real users.

Crawl & Indexing Web Performance

Do Core Web Vitals really change after the initial page load?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

LCP values are updated as content loads. CLS values can be updated based on user actions. These metrics are not fixed at the time of the initial load.

Content AI & SEO Web Performance

How does Google estimate a page's Core Web Vitals without sufficient CrUX data?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★★

When a page lacks sufficient CrUX data, Google uses the scores of similar pages from the same site to make an estimation. If the site's structure is complex, the overall site score may be applied to the concerned page.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you really analyze server logs to diagnose 4xx errors in Search Console?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

To identify the causes of 4xx client errors displayed in Search Console, it is recommended to consult server logs, which typically maintain a detailed record of these errors and their causes.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Search Console

Why does your new site fluctuate like a yo-yo in the SERPs?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

For a recently created and indexed site, it is normal for rankings and indexing to be unstable at first. Fluctuations do not necessarily indicate a problem but rather a normal evaluation phase by Google.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Are your franchise pages seen as doorway pages by Google?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★★

For franchise pages with nearly identical content (only the city name changes), there is a risk of being considered doorway pages (satellite pages). You must absolutely add unique content for each page: customer reviews, detailed store presentation, ...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam Local Search

Should you really submit both mobile AND desktop versions in your sitemap?

Google Jan 28, 2021 ★★

If the mobile/desktop annotations are correctly implemented in the pages themselves, it is unnecessary to include both versions (mobile and desktop) in the sitemap. Submitting either of the two URLs is enough, as Google will discover the other one th...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Search Console

Does Googlebot crawl and render JavaScript at the same frequency?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★★

Googlebot crawls and renders JavaScript at the same frequency. The process follows this sequence: crawling the HTML, then rendering, and finally indexing. In some cases, Google may render more often than it crawls (infrastructure issues or cached res...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Does Googlebot truly execute JavaScript like a real browser?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★★

Google does indeed execute the JavaScript of pages. The rendering happens as it would in a real browser. Any content injected into the DOM by JavaScript can be indexed. To check what Google sees, you need to look at the rendered HTML in the URL inspe...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Search Console

Is it true that Googlebot really ignores all content loaded after user interaction?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★★

Googlebot does not click, scroll, or provide geolocation data. Content that depends on user interactions (clicks, scrolls) or location will not be indexed. Only content visible in the initially rendered HTML will be considered.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Local Search International SEO

Is rendered HTML really the only reference for Google indexing?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★★

To ensure Google is indexing your content correctly, check the rendered HTML code in testing tools. If the content appears in the rendered HTML, it will be indexed. Screenshots are not used for indexing; only the rendered HTML matters.

Content Crawl & Indexing

Can you really rely on Google's cache to check JavaScript indexing?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★

The cached version displayed in search results is an outdated feature that does not follow the same pipeline as modern indexing. It does not include the content rendered by JavaScript. Do not rely on it to check indexing.

Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Does JavaScript really affect your crawl budget?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★

JavaScript can impact the crawl budget if the site contains many JavaScript files to fetch or if the JavaScript makes numerous API requests. However, for websites with fewer than one million pages, the crawl budget is generally not an issue.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Does Google really index the entirety of your pages or just strategic fragments?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★

Google does not partially index pages. The entire content of the page is indexed, but Google then evaluates which parts are most relevant for different queries. Thus, a page can rank well for certain topics and not for others, depending on the releva...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Do CSS classes labeled 'SEO' really harm your SEO rankings?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★

It's a myth that Googlebot treats content differently in blocks with CSS classes containing the word 'SEO' (like div class='seo'). CSS class names have no impact on the value assigned to content by Google.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Can Google's cache really skew the rendering of your JavaScript pages?

Martin Splitt Jan 27, 2021 ★★

During rendering, Google extensively uses cache to ensure consistent outputs. Cacheable GET requests will be cached. If a cached resource has expired or is non-cacheable, Google will retrieve it again via the crawler during a new render.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Web Performance