What does Google say about SEO?

Does user experience really impact SEO rankings, or just conversions?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

If your website frustrates users or fails to satisfy them, they won't come back. For most products, getting visitors who quickly achieve their objective, who return, and who recommend your product are all tied to the quality of their experience with ...

E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is a high bounce rate really a red flag for your SEO performance?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

A high bounce rate can be a sign that you need to conduct user experience research to understand why visitors are leaving your site quickly. Talking directly to your users is often the best way to understand this issue.

JavaScript & Technical SEO

Are your pages' negative ratings a hidden SEO signal worth investigating?

Lizzi Sassman Oct 31, 2024 ★★

If many people click the negative vote button to indicate they don't like a page, but you don't know why, that's a clear signal to start applying UX research methods to investigate the causes of the problem.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should you really start with heuristic evaluation before testing with real users?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

Before talking to users, use heuristic evaluation: take a list of standards (contrast, error prevention, etc.) and verify that each screen of your site respects these principles. This allows you to identify obvious problems without investing time wit...

AI & SEO

Can cognitive walkthrough really boost your SEO through better user experience?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

Cognitive walkthrough involves defining your typical users, listing their main tasks, then following the ideal path screen by screen by asking yourself at each step whether the user will do what's expected. This generates a list of hypotheses and pot...

AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Why do five users truly unlock 85% of UX problems for SEO professionals?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

For qualitative research, five participants are generally sufficient. This number is optimal because the added value of insights decreases sharply after the fifth user: you learn a lot from the first, almost as much from the second, but progressively...

AI & SEO

How can qualitative-quantitative triangulation transform your UX research into a powerful SEO lever?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★★

It is recommended to triangulate your data by using multiple methods. The classic approach consists of first conducting qualitative research with five users to identify problems, then using a quantitative survey to validate the frequency and magnitud...

AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Why will 100 users never be enough to validate your SEO user experience strategy?

Iva Barisic Hafner Oct 31, 2024 ★★

For a survey, with only 100 total users, you cannot get enough responses to conduct reliable statistical analysis. If you have few users, it's better to contact them directly for individual 15-minute interviews rather than sending out a survey.

AI & SEO

Why is Google ending the Sitelinks Search Box?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★★

Google will remove the Sitelinks Search Box from search results starting November 21, 2024, as its usage has decreased over time. This change will be applied globally across all languages and countries, without impacting rankings or other sitelinks.

Links & Backlinks International SEO

Can you influence the site name shown by Google in search results?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★★

There is currently no method to force a specific site name display in search results. Using the domain name as the site name is a normal behavior and is not considered a bug. The issue may resolve over time, but with no guarantee.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does Google actually crawl CSS-hidden elements?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★

Google's crawler can retrieve HTML elements even if they are hidden with display:none. Links found within elements like details tags or popovers are also followed by the crawler if they exist in the DOM, thereby facilitating the discovery of content ...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

How should you handle the X-Robots-Tag during 301 redirects?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★

If you want to use the X-Robots tag with noindex/nofollow during a 301 redirect, you need to apply it not only on the intermediate page but also on the final destination page.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Redirects

Why does Google only support one favicon per site?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★

Google Search only supports one favicon per site, where the site is defined by the site name (domain-level or subdomain-level, including the homepage). Updating favicons takes time as they are updated individually, so patience is required after imple...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Why should you include both publication and modification dates in your NewsArticle structured data?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★

For NewsArticle structured data, it is recommended to include both the publication date (datePublished) and the modification date (dateModified), even if only the modification date is visible on the page. This helps Google better understand the conte...

Domain Age & History Content Discover & News AI & SEO

Why are some data points hidden in Search Console?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★★

Search Console may not display certain data to protect user privacy, particularly for queries with very few impressions or containing personal or sensitive information. It is technically impossible to trace a single impression in a large-scale system...

Content AI & SEO Web Performance Local Search Search Console

Should you still worry about Googlebot desktop with a mobile-first index?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★★

Googlebot desktop is still active after the full transition to mobile-first indexing in July 2024. The MFI change means that Google primarily uses the mobile user-agent to index content, but Googlebot desktop continues to crawl. If mobile content is ...

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

Should you really drop AMP to simplify your SEO?

Google Oct 31, 2024 ★★

For websites that already have a well-optimized responsive mobile version, Google recommends considering the removal of AMP versions to simplify maintenance. The fewer versions to manage, the easier it is to diagnose SEO issues and reduce maintenance...

AI & SEO Mobile SEO

What Should You Do with Your Old AMP Subdomains: Keep or Delete Them for Good?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2024 ★★★

John Mueller advises site owners with obsolete AMP subdomains to maintain existing 301 redirects, or alternatively to completely remove the AMP subdomains from DNS. He also clarifies that there is no risk regarding sites' crawl budget since most AMP ...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Redirects

How Can You Diagnose and Fix Crawl Problems Affecting Multiple Domains at Once?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2024 ★★★

John Mueller explained how to resolve crawl issues affecting multiple domains simultaneously. He suggests examining shared infrastructures, such as CDNs, which are often responsible for these interruptions. He also recommends analyzing Search Console...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Search Console

Should You Really Integrate AI Into Your SEO Strategy Right Now?

John Mueller Oct 29, 2024 ★★★

Emphasizing that AI is not a temporary phenomenon, John Mueller recommends that industry professionals embrace it. However, he acknowledges that AI is often overhyped or subject to excessive enthusiasm, reinforcing a sense of insecurity among some. N...

Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure