What does Google say about SEO?

What changes can we really expect from Search Console in the coming months?

John Mueller Dec 22, 2020 ★★

The team continues to work on Search Console with several features requested by the community currently under development. Launches generally take time between receiving user feedback and the actual deployment of new features.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Search Console

Why did Google migrate its own podcast to HTTPS after public criticism?

Gary Illyes Dec 22, 2020 ★★

After community comments on Twitter regarding the podcast being hosted in HTTP, Google migrated the hosting to HTTPS, in line with the security recommendations the company promotes.

HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Redirects Social Media

What new Search Console features will transform your SEO monitoring?

John Mueller Dec 22, 2020 ★★

The team is continuing to work on Search Console with several features in the works based on community feedback from Twitter. These launches take time between the receipt of feedback and the actual deployment.

AI & SEO Social Media Search Console

Why is Google centralizing all its SEO documentation under Search Central?

John Mueller Dec 22, 2020 ★★★

Google has consolidated all its search documentation under a single site (Search Central) instead of the five or six different locations that previously existed. This major project aimed to facilitate access to information for users seeking to unders...

AI & SEO PDF & Files Redirects

Should you add text transcriptions to your audio content for SEO benefits?

Gary Illyes Dec 22, 2020 ★

Following community feedback, the Google Search Relations team has added text transcriptions for all their podcast episodes, making the content more accessible.

Content

Why Is Google Taking So Long to Add Regex to Search Console?

John Mueller Dec 21, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller confirmed that, as mentioned last August, Google still has plans to offer a regex (regular expressions) system for use in the Search Console "Performance" report, but for now, no updates can be announced on this front...

Content AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

How Does Google Actually Handle Misinformation in Search Results?

Danny Sullivan Dec 21, 2020 ★★★

Danny Sullivan explained on Twitter that, most of the time, Google considers misinformation, particularly in the health sector (anti-vaccine content, etc.) as spam and, just like "low-quality" content, it is actively hunted down and potentially penal...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam Social Media

How Can You Properly Manage Paywalls to Avoid Google Penalties?

John Mueller Dec 21, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained during a hangout how to best use structured data markup on Paywalls (paid access to content) in these terms: "You can use the rich results test tool, like any other type of structured data. The tricky part of implementing some ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam Local Search Search Console

How does Google segment Core Web Vitals by geographical area?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

With sufficient CrUX data, Google can segment Core Web Vitals by sections (US, Europe, etc.). Without enough data, a single aggregated data point is used for the entire site. The Search Console shows these segments where available.

Web Performance Search Console

How does Google evaluate a site that doesn’t have CrUX data yet?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

For sites without CrUX data, Google has to make initial assumptions, just like for other quality metrics. This is neither good nor bad, but Google will gradually collect data. It's comparable to the 'honeymoon period' or 'sandbox' perceived by some.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should you optimize your website's URL structure for SEO?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

The URL structure (domain/category/sub-category/product) is acceptable. Google does not have a strong opinion on the exact structure. The important thing is not to change it without a major reason, as this complicates the understanding of the site by...

E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Should you really test before mass content removal?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

If you are considering a significant content reduction (e.g., 75%), test first on a few pages. Observe performance before generalizing. If the results are not good, you can restore the original content, and the ranking will return after reindexing.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Web Performance Search Console

Should you publish every day to rank well on Google?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

There is no ideal frequency for publishing articles (daily, weekly, monthly). It depends on the available content and what users are searching for. Some sites publish little, while others publish a lot.

Content Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

How long does it really take for a navigation change to impact your SEO?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

After a major change like the main navigation, most processing is done within 2-3 weeks. Google attempts to recrawl all pages within 6 months. The most important pages are updated within a few weeks. Expect at least a month to see the full effects.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you really return a 404 for temporarily empty e-commerce categories?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

For a category that is temporarily emptied of all its products, using a 404 status code is the simplest and most effective solution. The noindex has the same effect. A canonical to another category will be treated as a soft 404. When products return,...

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is it really necessary to modify your website during a Core Update?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

If you have improvements to make, don’t delay them due to an ongoing Core Update. There are always updates happening. Implement your changes and monitor them, but don’t wait for the end of an update to enhance your website.

Algorithms AI & SEO

Do Core Updates really affect your entire site uniformly?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★★

During Core Updates, Google assesses both the overall view of the site and smaller sections. Some areas may rise while others fall. Overall traffic might even remain stable if variations offset each other. Changes are not uniform across the entire do...

Algorithms AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Does web accessibility really boost indexing and SEO?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

Making a site accessible generally improves indexing. Adding alt attributes to images and providing textual details helps Google better understand the content. Therefore, accessibility is more of an advantage than a disadvantage for SEO.

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

Why do your rankings drop even without any technical errors?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

It is normal for rankings to fluctuate (up and down) even if everything is technically correct. A ranking drop does not necessarily mean there is an error. Google may simply have a better understanding of other pages or may struggle to grasp the rele...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Can you geotarget your Web Stories in country subfolders without risking SEO?

John Mueller Dec 18, 2020 ★★

For Web Stories, geotargeting functions just like it does for regular pages. If Web Stories are placed in country subfolders (e.g., /UK/, /US/), the geotargeting is applied normally. In countries without a dedicated Web Stories UI, they are indexed a...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO