What does Google say about SEO?

Is it true that Google delays mobile-first migration for some sites?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

For a site not yet migrated to mobile-first indexing, check that the headings are correctly marked up (not just styled text) and that the number of images (especially thumbnails) is similar between desktop and mobile. Google may delay migration if th...

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

Should you really prioritize every Search Console issue as a crisis?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

The problems listed in Search Console do not all have the same level of criticality. An inability to index is critical, but speed issues are less urgent. It's necessary to evaluate the real impact on your web presence before prioritizing.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Is Domain Authority Really Useless for Your SEO Strategy?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Google does not use a 'Domain Authority' metric in its ranking algorithm. It's a useful third-party metric for understanding a site, but not a Google ranking factor.

Algorithms AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does unsupported structured data really affect ranking?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Building a network of structured data between pages with types unsupported by Google has no visible effect on ranking. Google primarily uses the types documented in its developer guide. The rest is either ignored or too vague to influence ranking.

Domain Age & History Structured Data Pagination & Structure PDF & Files

Why do 404 redirects to the homepage destroy crawl budget?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Redirecting 404s to the homepage (even with a 5-second meta-refresh) is confusing for users and Google. Google treats this as a soft 404 and will continue to crawl more. It’s better to serve a genuine user-friendly 404 page.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Redirects

Should you really use unavailable_after to manage past events on your site?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

For an events site, using the unavailable_after meta tag allows you to indicate to Google when a page will become outdated. This helps Google avoid crawling these pages after expiration and focus on new events.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is Google really confusing your local pages with duplicates because of URL patterns?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Google can make mistakes with canonicalization if the systems determine that a part of the URL (e.g., city name) is irrelevant, especially if random names do not generate a 404. This leads to incorrect canonicals between distinct pages. Google can co...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Domain Name

Should you really ditch third-party tools to test the HTML rendering of your pages?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Google recommends using its official tools (Mobile-Friendly Test, Rich Results Test, URL Inspection Tool) rather than third-party tools to check the rendered HTML. These tools show exactly what the Google indexing and rendering pipeline sees, ensurin...

Content Crawl & Indexing Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Search Console

Is it really necessary to avoid duplicate meta tags in HTML and JavaScript?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★

Having duplicate meta tags (for example, in index.html and via React Helmet) is problematic. You need to either remove them from the static HTML file and generate them solely through the JavaScript framework or the opposite, to avoid duplication and ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Why does Google overlook links hidden behind your dropdown menus?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Links that require user interaction (like hovering over a menu with the mouse) or that are loaded solely via JSON without being present in the rendered HTML will not be discovered or crawled by Google. Only links present in the rendered HTML as visib...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Should you unblock JavaScript and CSS in robots.txt for better SEO?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Blocking access to JavaScript and CSS files via robots.txt prevents Google from downloading these resources, which can cause rendering issues. If content is generated by JavaScript or if non-native lazy loading features depend on scripts, Google will...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files Web Performance

Can blocking JavaScript and CSS really hurt your SEO?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★

If JavaScript and CSS are blocked but improve user experience (like interactive features), it can harm SEO. Google considers user experience in ranking, so serving a degraded experience by blocking these resources can have a negative impact.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should you abandon onclick to avoid being penalized for cloaking?

Martin Splitt Jun 23, 2020 ★★

Having a link with href and an onclick handler that prevents the default action and updates the current page's content is not considered cloaking, as long as the displayed content meets expectations and is not misleading. Google still considers the e...

Domain Age & History Content Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam

Does mobile-first indexing really improve your ranking in Google?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★

Being migrated to mobile-first indexing brings no ranking or search advantage. It is simply the way Google indexes the site. There is no urgency to force this migration.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO Redirects

Do you really need to optimize internal link anchors, or is it a waste of time?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★

For two strong pages on the same topic (e.g., e-commerce and guide), using the same natural anchor (e.g., 'cheese') for internal links is acceptable. There's no need to over-optimize anchors by adding long descriptive keywords.

Domain Age & History E-commerce Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Should you really avoid having multiple pages for the same keyword?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Having multiple pages on the same topic (e.g., a transactional page and an informational page) is normal and acceptable. Google tries to show the most relevant page based on search intent. Cannibalization is only a problem if the pages are redundant.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Can you really prove the editorial quality of your content to Google with structured data tags?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

There is no tag or structured data that allows you to indicate to Google that content has been reviewed by experts. You must convince users of its quality, and then Google's systems will detect it.

Content Structured Data AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Do you really need to stick to the supported page types for the reviewed-by schema?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★

The reviewed-by markup can only be used on officially supported page types (e.g., Medical Page). If schema.org does not allow it to be added to NewsArticle, you should not force a non-compliant implementation. Google only considers it for documented ...

Domain Age & History Discover & News Structured Data PDF & Files

Is Google really tolerant of technical cloaking?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Serving slightly different content to Google and users (e.g., cached data vs live) is not considered spammy cloaking if the purpose of the page remains the same. The main risk is technical (errors invisible to humans).

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

Are manually posted backlinks in forums and comments really useless for SEO?

John Mueller Jun 23, 2020 ★★★

Posting links randomly in forums, blog comments, or public listings does not produce a quality signal for Google. It’s better to dedicate this time to enhancing the content. Google ignores this type of links.

Content E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks