What does Google say about SEO?

Does Google Cache Really Influence the Ranking of Your Pages?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

The display or non-display of a page in Google Cache is neither a sign of quality nor a ranking indicator. It’s simply a side effect of internal systems. To test what Googlebot sees, you should use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, not the c...

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

Are link directories truly dead for SEO?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

Sites where users simply submit URLs to display links are an outdated model. Google has difficulty understanding why to rank these pages instead of the source sites directly. 404 links aren't seen as a sign of poor quality by Google, but they can dis...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Local Search

Is Google Cache really not useful for assessing a page's SEO quality?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

The presence or absence of a page in Google Cache is neither a sign of quality nor an indicator of ranking. It's simply a side effect of internal systems. To test what Googlebot sees, you should use the URL Inspection Tool in Search Console, not the ...

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

How does my site get included in the Chrome User Experience Report without signing up?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

Inclusion of a site in the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) is automatic, based on a sample of Chrome traffic. There is no manual registration required. Sites can also collect their own Core Web Vitals data using the JavaScript library to integra...

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Why doesn't your niche change generate any traffic despite all your SEO efforts?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

The absence of traffic after a niche change can have multiple causes (technical issues, high competition, inappropriate targeting). There is no unique solution. It is recommended to consult Google Webmaster or SEO help forums to obtain a personalized...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Domain Name

Do translated pages really count as duplicate content in Google's eyes?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

Translated pages in different languages are regarded as completely separate and indexed independently. Google does not see them as duplicate content. They rank individually according to the search language. Hreflang is optional if traffic is already ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing International SEO

Why does Google ignore your canonical tags, and how can you enforce separate indexing for your regional URLs?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

When Google selects a canonical different from the one declared by the webmaster (e.g., /en-se instead of /en-za), it’s usually because the content is identical or very similar. Google merges the URLs and indexes only one. To enforce separate indexin...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name

Why is your Search Console crawl budget skyrocketing for seemingly no reason?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

Crawl statistics in Search Console include all crawled URLs (HTML, images, CSS, JS, server responses) and all requests passing through the Googlebot infrastructure, including checks for advertising and e-commerce landing pages. This can explain a cra...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Search Console

Hreflang and geo-targeting: Can Google really ignore your international signals?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

Hreflang and geo-targeting are signals of preference, not absolute restrictions. Google may show a page /en-se (Sweden) to users in India or the United States if the algorithms decide it’s the best version. It is recommended to display a banner allow...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Local Search Redirects International SEO

Why is Search Console showing the wrong URL for Hreflang and Canonical?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

When Google groups similar hreflang pages by selecting a unique canonical, it still displays the correct localized version in search results (e.g., Swiss URL for Switzerland). Search Console shows data on the canonical (German URL), which may seem in...

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

Should you canonicalize all your country versions to a single URL?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

If the webmaster canonicalizes all country versions (DE, AT, CH) to a single page (e.g., DE-DE), Google will follow this directive and only index this single page. This prevents the verification of hreflang links between versions. Pages must be self-...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks International SEO

How can local signals help you prevent canonicalization between your multi-country pages?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

To prevent Google from grouping similar multi-country pages, it is essential to include clear local signals: different displayed currencies (not just in a dropdown menu), local addresses, local phone numbers. Even with the rest of the content identic...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Local Search

Should you really abandon country variations in hreflang?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

It is possible to simplify hreflang by grouping solely by language (e.g., all English speakers, all German speakers) without creating all country × language combinations. This reduces the number of URLs and makes management easier. If a user searches...

AI & SEO Domain Name International SEO

Is it really necessary to use hreflang for a multilingual website?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

For versions in truly different languages (English, Spanish, German), hreflang is often not required because users search in their language and Google naturally displays the correct version. Hreflang becomes useful especially for countries sharing th...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Local Search Social Media International SEO

Do Facebook comments really impact your site's SEO and EAT?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

It is recommended to check if Google can index Facebook comments (check the rendering). If they are not indexable, they likely have no effect on SEO or EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). A drop in traffic after their removal is like...

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

Should you isolate UGC and News content in subdomains to avoid penalties?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

For Google to treat a News section and a forum separately on the same domain, there needs to be a clear separation: different subdomains or distinct directories (/news and /forum). User-generated content is not negative in itself but must be moderate...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Should you create a lightweight version for Googlebot to speed up crawling?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

Removing trackers and pixels to speed up the version served to Googlebot is probably not considered cloaking (akin to server-side prerendering). However, this adds no value because Google measures speed via the Chrome User Experience Report (real use...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Web Performance

Can you create local pages by city without risking penalties for doorway pages?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★★

Creating city-specific landing pages can be acceptable if each page offers true unique value (special offers, local reviews, popular models in that city). Avoid: generic auto-generated content about the city (population, schools) that constitutes doo...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam Local Search

Has Google's manual action for doorway pages disappeared in favor of algorithmic solutions?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

Google once had (or may still have) a manual action for doorway pages, but many manual actions have evolved into algorithmic treatments over time. It is unclear whether the manual action for doorway pages is still active or if it is now entirely algo...

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Penalties & Spam

How does your site end up in the Chrome User Experience Report?

John Mueller Aug 04, 2020 ★★

Inclusion of a site in the Chrome User Experience Report is automatic and based on a sample of Chrome traffic. No manual sign-up is required. Chrome automatically determines which sites should be included in the report.

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