What does Google say about SEO?

Are Links Still the Most Important Ranking Factor in SEO?

John Mueller Aug 03, 2020 ★★★★

Statement from John Mueller (who seems to be the only SEO spokesperson at Google who hasn't gone on vacation 🙂): "links are definitely not the most important ranking factor".

Algorithms Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does Google Really Use Analytics Data to Rank Websites in Search Results?

John Mueller Aug 03, 2020 ★★★★

John Mueller explained for the 458,965th time on Twitter that Google does not use data provided by Analytics for its search algorithm...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO Social Media

Should you consider Web Stories as part of your SEO content strategy?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★★

Web Stories are a short, informative content format based on AMP that allows the creation of standard HTML pages directly on your own site. They can appear in Google Search, Google Images, and Discover, are controlled by the site owner, and can be mo...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO Images & Videos Mobile SEO

Could Page Experience Really Shift Your Google Rankings?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★★

Google has announced that the Page Experience benchmark will become a ranking factor in search. This benchmark combines Core Web Vitals (loading speed, interactivity, stability) with other existing signals such as mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, and guid...

Domain Age & History HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Mobile SEO Pagination & Structure Web Performance

Do Core Web Vitals thresholds actually reflect high-quality user experience?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★★

The thresholds used for the Page Experience benchmark are based on high-quality user experience, and their feasibility is verified against data from the Chrome User Experience Report. Tools such as Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, and Search Console h...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance Local Search Search Console

Why is Google retiring the Structured Data Testing Tool, and what could you potentially lose?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★

Google will deprecate the general Structured Data Testing Tool to focus on the Rich Results Test, specifically designed to diagnose what can appear in search results. This decision aims to reduce confusion, as many structured data implementations do ...

Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Why did Google postpone mobile-first indexing, and what are the risks if your website isn't ready?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★★

Google announced a change to the timeline for mobile-first indexing, extending the transition until the end of March 2021. This additional timeframe allows websites to adjust their pages for mobile-first indexing. Google has also published best pract...

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

Do Google's new JavaScript guides on links and navigation really change the game?

John Mueller Jul 31, 2020 ★★

Google has expanded its documentation for JavaScript sites, adding information on links, the History API, URL fragments, and 404 pages. These resources are recommended for developers of JavaScript-based websites.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure PDF & Files

Will Google Finally Reduce the Weight of Business Names in Local Pack Rankings?

Danny Sullivan Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

When an SEO professional complained that business names had too much weight in the algorithm that displays businesses in the "local pack," Danny Sullivan explained that the tool's development teams were aware of this problem and were working on it...

Algorithms AI & SEO Local Search

How Can You Successfully Migrate Your Website Without Losing Your Organic Rankings?

John Mueller Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller provided some insights on Reddit regarding website migration. First of all, if there are changes, they will primarily come from a new CMS and/or new content, not from a domain name change alone: "Moving the site from one domain to anothe...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure Web Performance Redirects Search Console

Is AMP really useless for Google ranking?

Martin Splitt Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

AMP is not a ranking factor. AMP simply indicates to users that they can expect a fast page. Fast non-AMP sites can outperform equivalent AMP pages. Page speed matters, not the framework used.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance

Should you really stick to Google's 500 KB page limit?

Martin Splitt Jul 27, 2020 ★★

Google recommends a page size of 500 KB or less, while the market average is several megabytes. The lighter, the better, especially for users on limited or metered connections.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Is page speed really overrated as a Google ranking factor?

Martin Splitt Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

Page speed is a ranking factor, but it is not the most important one. Relevant content remains king. Google cannot make it such a strong factor that it would prevent displaying the most relevant content. Among two results of equivalent quality, the f...

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

Is it really necessary to aim for a Lighthouse score of 100 to rank better on Google?

Martin Splitt Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

Google does not rank pages based on a specific Lighthouse score. Pages are categorized into groups (slow, average, fast). Moving from a Lighthouse score of 90 to 95 does not make a difference for the ranking. The important thing is to get out of the ...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Why doesn’t Lighthouse reflect the true performance of your site?

Martin Splitt Jul 27, 2020 ★★★

Lighthouse results are lab data tested from your machine and connection, not what real mobile users experience on unstable connections. You need to use the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) and Google Analytics to obtain actual usage data.

Mobile SEO Pagination & Structure

Why doesn't fixing a Lighthouse recommendation always speed up your page as much as promised?

Eric Enge Jul 27, 2020 ★★

When Lighthouse indicates that an optimization would save 6 seconds, the page won't necessarily speed up by 6 seconds after the fix. Some optimizations run in parallel, so multiple issues need to be addressed to see the total improvement.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should you still use the disavow file against automated UGC spam?

John Mueller Jul 24, 2020 ★★

Automated scripts creating spam links in profiles/forums are a very old pattern that Google can recognize and ignore. Manual cleanup on the site (nofollow, noindex) is preferable to the disavow file for this use case.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Penalties & Spam

Can rich results really rank beyond page 1?

John Mueller Jul 24, 2020 ★★

Rich results stemming from structured data (including events) can appear on any results page, not just the first one. Some types of rich results are more visible on page 1, but this is not an absolute rule.

Domain Age & History Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

Should you really invest in a reverse proxy to hide Google's hacking warnings?

John Mueller Jul 24, 2020 ★★

Regarding hacking warnings in search results, Google recommends focusing on preventing hacking and quick remediation rather than setting up complex infrastructures to limit the exposure of warnings.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Do multiple redirect chains really hinder Google's crawling?

John Mueller Jul 24, 2020 ★★★

Multiple redirect chains (http to www to https) are not problematic. Google follows to the final URL and focuses on it. As long as users directly access the final URLs and the chains are not used frequently, there is no negative impact.

HTTPS & Security Domain Name Redirects