What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really choose between 301 redirect and canonical for merging two sites?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

To merge two sites, Google recommends the 301 redirect if the goal is purely SEO and a complete cleanup. The canonical is preferable if you want to keep the old site active for reasons other than SEO.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Redirects

Should you really align visible dates and structured data for chronological ranking?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

Google recommends that the visible date on the page matches the date in the structured data. If Google can correctly recognize the date, it will be able to rank articles chronologically when necessary.

Domain Age & History Discover & News AI & SEO

Do orphan pages really harm your SEO?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

Pages without internal links are considered non-critical by Google. Google gives them less weight in search results. If these pages have duplicated or low-quality content, the impact is limited as they are not prioritized.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Have Core Web Vitals really become a crucial ranking factor?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

Core Web Vitals, including CLS, are not yet a ranking factor currently. Google plans to use them as a page experience factor starting in May 2021. It is advisable to address the issues now to prepare.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

Should you really prioritize rel=sponsored for affiliate links, or is nofollow enough?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

For affiliate links, Google recommends using rel=nofollow or rel=sponsored. Both are acceptable, and they can even be combined. Google prefers rel=sponsored as it is more specific, but there is no major SEO difference between the two.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Can the same site really appear 7 times on the same SERP?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

Google does not have a strict restriction on the number of times a site can appear in search results. The same site can show up 5, 6, 7 times or more if it is relevant to the user. The goal is to reduce, not to eliminate completely.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Should you really optimize your pages for 'best', 'top', or 'near me'?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

Google attempts to recognize qualifiers in queries such as 'best', 'top', or 'near me' and to understand intent rather than focusing solely on exact word matches. It is not necessary to specifically optimize for these terms on the page.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Why does it take Google 3 to 6 months to refresh large websites?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

For large sites, Google balances crawling between discovering new content and refreshing existing content. Without specific signals, Google takes 3 to 6 months to refresh all the content of a large site. Sitemaps help signal significant changes.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Does the length of an article really influence its Google ranking?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

There is no direct relationship between the length of an article and its ranking. What matters is meeting user needs. For some topics, users expect long articles, while for others they do not. There is no minimum length requirement.

Discover & News AI & SEO

Is it really necessary to match exact keywords in your SEO content?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

It is not necessary to use exact keyword matching in your content. Google recognizes synonyms, misspellings, singular/plural forms. Machine learning systems understand the subject matter and search intent beyond just the exact words.

Content AI & SEO

Does Google really impose an indexing delay based on the quality of your pages?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

Google does not have an intentional delay between indexing a page and displaying it based on quality or mobile usability issues. If the content is in pure HTML, it is indexed immediately after crawling. JavaScript rendering may cause a delay of a few...

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

Why does Google still show the old domain in site: queries after a 301 redirect?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

When performing a site: query for a domain that redirects, Google may show the old site because the systems are trying to display what you're specifically searching for. This link can persist for many years even after a migration. Cached pages show t...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Web Performance Local Search Redirects

Why do your local performance tests never match Search Console data?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

The Core Web Vitals data in Search Console is based on what real users have experienced, aggregated over a month. Your local connection to the site may be very different from that of the average user, so local tests may show results that differ from ...

Web Performance Local Search Search Console

Does Top Stories really use a different algorithm than conventional search?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

Top Stories and the News tab in Google Search are variations of conventional search using different ranking algorithms because user intent differs. Any site can appear here without necessarily being a news site.

Algorithms Discover & News AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Is there really a difference between rel=nofollow and rel=sponsored for affiliate links?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

For affiliate links, both rel=nofollow and rel=sponsored are acceptable. Google prefers rel=sponsored for better understanding of the site, but there is no major SEO difference. Both attributes can be combined.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Does the length of an article really influence its ranking on Google?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

There is no relationship between the length of an article and its ranking. For some topics, users expect long articles; for others, they do not. The important thing is to meet user needs, not to reach a specific length.

Discover & News AI & SEO

Do you really need to include 'best' and 'top' in your content to rank for these queries?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

For queries containing 'best' or 'top', Google tries to recognize intent rather than just looking for those words on the pages. The algorithms focus on external factors to determine relevance.

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Can your site really appear in Top Stories and the News tab without being a news outlet?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★★

Top Stories and the News tab are essentially specific variations of Google search. Any site can appear there, not just news sites listed in Google News. Each surface employs different ranking algorithms.

Algorithms Discover & News AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Do you really need to mark your affiliate links to avoid a Google penalty?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2020 ★★

Google is capable of recognizing common types of affiliate links. There is no automatic penalty if affiliate links are not explicitly marked, but it is recommended to help Google understand the site better.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

How can you optimize your title tags to prevent Google from rewriting them?

Daniel Waisberg Nov 12, 2020 ★★★

HTML title tags inform users and search engines about the subject of a page. They should be concise and informative. If the title is too short, too long, or considered less relevant, Google may display only a portion or automatically generate one bas...

Domain Age & History Content Local Search