What does Google say about SEO?

Does Google Discover really use the same quality algorithms as traditional search?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google Discover is part of the Search systems. It uses the same crawling, indexing, content understanding processes and the same quality algorithms as traditional search. Major algorithm updates for Search can therefore have an impact on Discover as ...

Algorithms Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO

Is Google really merging your multilingual pages into a single canonical URL?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

When a site has identical content pages targeting different countries (e.g., French Canada vs. France), Google may group (fold) them into a single canonical version in the index. In Search Console, only the canonical appears, but in search results, t...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Search Console International SEO

Should you still fill in the priority and changefreq attributes in your XML sitemaps?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google does not use the priority or changefreq attributes in sitemap files. Only the URL and the lastmod date are taken into account. Priority has been ignored because websites filled it out in a non-relevant way (all set to the maximum or based on d...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure PDF & Files Search Console

Does the new structured data testing tool really take up to 30 seconds to analyze a page?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

The new structured data testing tool takes longer (up to 30 seconds at times) than the old one (4 seconds) because it processes the page through the entire Google indexing pipeline, rather than just performing a quick HTML load. However, most request...

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

Is it really necessary to duplicate your structured data between mobile and desktop?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

If a site displays the same content twice (once for desktop, once for mobile with display:none), it is sufficient to include structured data only once. Including it twice increases the risk of desynchronization between the two versions.

Content Mobile SEO Local Search

Should you really ditch display:none to differentiate mobile and desktop?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

Using display:none to hide content based on the device (desktop or mobile) does not pose a major issue for Google, but a purely responsive layout is recommended in the long run to facilitate maintenance and avoid inconsistencies.

Content AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Can you truly prioritize certain pages in Google without a dedicated meta tag?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google does not allow webmasters to specify that one page should rank higher than another on their own site. The only way to signal the importance of a page is through internal linking: strongly linking from the homepage, sidebars, etc., so that user...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Can Google really block a site at position 11 to keep it off page 1?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google has no algorithm or manual action that blocks a site at a specific position (e.g.: always position 11, never on page 1). If a site is considered relevant for position 11, it can also be relevant for higher positions depending on the query.

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Penalties & Spam

What size of pop-up actually avoids Google’s penalty for intrusive interstitials?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google penalizes intrusive pop-ups that occupy most of the screen and prevent users from accessing the main content. If a pop-up covers a small part of the screen (about 15%) and does not interfere with the content, it is generally not problematic. L...

Content AI & SEO

Does mobile-first indexing really offer any SEO advantages, or is it just a myth?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

Being already indexed in mobile-first does not provide any advantages in terms of ranking or indexing. It is a technical change (using the mobile crawler). If the site is responsive and equivalent on both mobile and desktop, the transition will occur...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO

Can you really resolve a duplicate content dispute through Google Search Console?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Google is required to follow the DMCA process as defined by law, without interpretation. In cases of conflicting DMCA complaints (one copying the other and vice versa), Google cannot determine who the legitimate owner is. Such disputes must be resolv...

AI & SEO Search Console

Does Google always prioritize the original content source first?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★★

Even if Google identifies that content was published first on site A, it may rank site B, which copied this content but added real value (comments, analyses). Google prioritizes relevance and user utility, not just the order of publication.

Content AI & SEO

Can Google really demote an entire site for systematic duplication?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

When Google recognizes that an entire site merely copies content from other sites without adding anything of value, it becomes easier to downgrade that site as a whole. In contrast, determining on an article-by-article basis which version to rank hig...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO

Can automated DMCA complaints harm your visibility on Google?

John Mueller Aug 21, 2020 ★★

Some large content providers automatically crawl the web and file DMCA complaints in an automated manner, generating a very high volume of DMCA requests each day. Google processes these complaints but has systems in place to detect abuse.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

How can Search Console be leveraged to effectively audit and enhance your technical SEO?

Daniel Waisberg Aug 18, 2020 ★★

Search Console offers features to enhance AMP implementation, request the temporary removal of content from search results, manage sitemaps, identify pages crawled and indexed by Google, and monitor site performance in Google search.

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

Do Hn Tags (H1-H6) Really Impact Google Rankings?

John Mueller Aug 17, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained in a hangout the importance of Hn tags (H1-H6) for Google's algorithm: "the headings on a page help us to better understand the content of the page. They're obviously not the only ranking factor that we have. We also look at th...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos

Do Licensed Images Really Rank Better in Google Images?

John Mueller Aug 17, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that whether an image has a copyright or is available under a license (regardless of the license type) does not help it rank better in Google Images results. This is not a relevance criterion for the search engine.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Social Media Search Console

Is Guest Blogging Really Dead for SEO in 2024?

John Mueller Aug 17, 2020 ★★

John Mueller indicated, again on Twitter, that obtaining links through blogs (guest blogging) does not work in SEO: "These links have no value. It's a waste of time if you're only doing it for the links."...

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media

Which Image Formats Should You Use in Structured Data to Optimize Your SEO?

Google Aug 17, 2020 ★★★

Google has updated its online help regarding the image formats supported by structured data tags for this type of file. These are the following formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP and SVG...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos PDF & Files

Does Google Really Penalize Sites Listed in Disavow Files?

John Mueller Aug 17, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller has said it again for the 345th time 🙂: the fact that a website is listed in a disavow file submitted to Google by another site has no impact on its crawl or future rankings and does not generate a penalty or any other specific treatment...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Penalties & Spam