What does Google say about SEO?

Does the links report in Search Console really show all your backlinks?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

The links report in Google Search Console displays a representative sample of the links, not the total. Google does not filter these links by type (nofollow, disavow, etc.), but simply shows a sample of all backlinks.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Local Search Search Console

Do links really follow the canonical URLs on both sides?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

Google follows links by using the canonical URLs from both the source page and the destination page. When migrating a website, transferring link data in Search Console takes time because Google must first move the canonicals, which can take several m...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Domain Name Redirects Search Console

Do Google manual penalties really require you to disavow every toxic link?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

Manual actions for unnatural links are not based on individual links but on a general trend. The website owner must identify and correct this overarching trend. The Google team will not be picky about a few missed links if the problematic trend is re...

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Do you really need to disavow nofollow, UGC, or sponsored links?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

There is no need to disavow links marked as nofollow, UGC, or sponsored. These attributes already inform Google not to pass PageRank, so disavowing these types of links is unnecessary.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is it really necessary to disavow your toxic backlinks?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

The disavow tool should primarily be used in the case of confirmed manual actions. For normal sites on a day-to-day basis, it is not necessary to disavow links. The exception would be if you know that a problematic action has been taken on your site ...

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam

Does Google really overlook your SEO mistakes instead of penalizing you?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

Google's algorithms are designed to ignore detectable SEO bad practices rather than penalize the entire site. If Google detects keyword stuffing, it ignores it and focuses on the good parts of the page. This allows sites that have followed poor advic...

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam

Is Technical SEO Perfection Really More Important Than Content Quality?

John Mueller Jan 08, 2021 ★★★

The technical elements of a site (HTML, tool scores) hold some importance, but overall quality and the value provided to users are much more significant. A technically perfect site that offers less value will be outperformed by a technically imperfec...

Content AI & SEO

Is it true that crawl volume is insignificant for SEO?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★★

The amount of crawling done by Google is not an indicator of quality or ranking. A decline in the number of crawl requests (from 300K to 50K, for example) is not a problem as long as the Crawl Stats report does not show server errors or significant s...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Does the crawl budget really fluctuate without affecting your site's performance?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★

Google adjusts the crawl budget based on needs: if the pages have probably not been updated, less crawling is necessary. The volume can fluctuate naturally without impacting the performance or coverage of the site.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Should you be worried about unpredictable changes in Core Web Vitals?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★

Core Web Vitals are set to be updated approximately once a year in a structured and scheduled manner, rather than randomly throughout the year. This provides more predictable goals for optimizations.

Web Performance

Are Core Web Vitals Really Trustworthy in Measuring Your Site's Actual Performance?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★

Core Web Vitals are not perfect. There will be websites that are truly fast for users but do not have good Core Web Vitals scores. This is why these metrics continue to evolve and improve.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Why don't your Lighthouse tests reflect your real Core Web Vitals scores?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★★

The ranking factor for Core Web Vitals is entirely based on field data and not on lab data. Tools like Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights provide indications but do not necessarily reflect the true scores used for ranking.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

Should you really trust lab data to optimize your SEO performance?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★

Lab data is not useless: it serves as an indicator and helps identify where potential problems lie. However, they do not represent the absolute truth because performance depends on numerous factors. It is crucial to also measure real-world data.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Are Core Web Vitals really that crucial for your Google ranking?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★★

Core Web Vitals and Page Experience constitute a single ranking factor among hundreds of others. Their power should not be overestimated. Speed is important but not the only factor. If it were, a blank page would rank very well because it is very fas...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Should you block countries with slow connections to boost your Core Web Vitals?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★

You should not block access to countries with slow connections to improve the Core Web Vitals scores. This is an overly focused and risky approach. Users would use proxies/VPNs, making their connection even slower.

AI & SEO Web Performance

Is it true that on-the-ground data from Chrome UX Report outperforms your local performance tests?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★★

To evaluate the actual Core Web Vitals, you need to consult the Chrome UX Report if available (with sufficient data). Search Console provides a Core Web Vitals report that displays this ground data. This is what really matters for ranking.

AI & SEO Web Performance Local Search Search Console

Is it true that Google disregards your Lighthouse scores for SEO ranking?

Martin Splitt Jan 06, 2021 ★★★

What truly matters is how real users experience the website. Lab tools give indications for debugging and identifying issues, but real user experience (field data) is the priority.

AI & SEO

Can the nosnippet Tag Actually Block Google's Passage Indexing?

Danny Sullivan Jan 04, 2021 ★★★

Danny Sullivan indicated on Twitter that using the "meta robots nosnippet" tag on your pages will not prevent the "Passage Indexing" system from being implemented by the search engine and therefore the algorithm from analyzing your pages...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Social Media

Can You Actually Spot Passage Indexing Results in Google's SERPs?

Danny Sullivan Jan 04, 2021 ★★★

Danny Sullivan also explained on Twitter that results displayed through "Passage Indexing" (when this system is implemented, which is not yet the case) will not appear as featured snippets, in any form, but within the "blue links." It will therefore ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Local Search Social Media

Is Google's Passage Indexing Really Live or Still Being Tested?

Danny Sullivan Dec 28, 2020 ★★

Danny Sullivan indicated on Twitter that the Passage Indexing system (analysis of specific content within a page potentially dealing with another topic), logically expected to be launched before the end of the year in the search engine results pages,...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Social Media