What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really choose server-side rendering over dynamic rendering?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★★

Google recommends server-side rendering over dynamic rendering because it creates faster sites for users. If implementation effort is required, it's better to favor the solution that also benefits users. Both approaches are complex to implement.

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is dynamic rendering with expanded accordions considered cloaking by Google?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★★

Serving Googlebot a version with expanded navigation accordions or without cookie banners via dynamic rendering is not considered cloaking, as long as the user is not misled about the main content. The rule: do not mislead the user about the actual t...

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

Is the hidden content behind an accordion or tab really taken into account by Google?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★

Google does not click on elements. If content is visible by default, Google does not know it can be hidden. Hidden content is not completely ignored, but may be considered less important if it is not initially visible.

Content AI & SEO

Do JavaScript links really need to be <a> elements with href to be crawled?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★★

For Google to follow links generated by JavaScript, they must be genuine elements with a valid href attribute. Buttons, divs, spans with onclick, or tags without href or with empty href are not followed. Reference: JavaScript SEO Basics guidelines ...

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

Can Google really ignore part of your site without warning?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★★

Google does not guarantee that it will crawl and index all pages of a site, nor the speed at which this will happen. Indexing does not mean that the page will be visible or useful in the results. Focus on the pages that truly have a chance of generat...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Web Performance

Should you really split your JavaScript bundles by site section for better SEO?

Martin Splitt May 27, 2020 ★★

Rather than using a single massive JavaScript bundle, it's advised to split the bundles according to the logical sections of the site (blog, forum, shop) to avoid downloading unnecessary code and to improve caching. Changes in one section then only f...

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Why did Google introduce event status support in structured data?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★

Google has added support for structured data for postponed, canceled, or online events, allowing sites to indicate these status changes directly in search results following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are Core Web Vitals really a full-fledged ranking factor?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★★

Google has launched Core Web Vitals, a set of performance metrics including LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID (First Input Delay), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), which will be incorporated into Lighthouse, Chrome DevTools, PageSpeed Insights, a...

Domain Age & History Images & Videos Pagination & Structure Web Performance Search Console

Should you really optimize your site for mobile-first indexing?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★★

About 70% of all search results are indexed through mobile-first indexing. Google was expected to switch all sites in September 2020, but this date could change due to COVID-19. Search Console indicates the indexing status of each site.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Search Console

How can structured data for licensed images elevate your visibility in Google Images?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★

Google has added documentation on licensed images (licensable images) in the developer documentation, allowing sites to mark this type of content with structured data.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos PDF & Files

What exciting new features does Google have in store for your SEO with Search Console?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★

Search Console offers a revamped removals report, insights on review rich snippets, new site report features, and user interface improvements including better export options.

Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Local Search Search Console

Does Google really give preferential treatment to government and health websites in search results?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★

Official government and health websites can display special announcements directly in search results using structured data and a dedicated tool in Search Console.

AI & SEO Local Search Search Console

How can you manage a temporary closure without harming your SEO?

John Mueller May 26, 2020 ★★

Google has created guidelines to assist websites in managing temporary business closures in an SEO-compatible manner, after finding that some sites mismanage these situations.

AI & SEO

How Does Google Really Treat User-Generated Content (UGC) for SEO Rankings?

John Mueller May 25, 2020 ★★★

In a video from the #AskGoogleWebmasters series, John Mueller explained that UGC (User Generated Content, i.e., content created by visitors on a website, such as comments, reviews, etc.) is taken into consideration in exactly the same way as the "cla...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Local Search

Will Google Penalize Your Pages After Removing a Noindex Tag?

John Mueller May 25, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that a page that was initially deindexed via a meta robots "noindex" tag and then had this tag removed at a later time returns to a "normal" indexation situation afterwards, as if the temporary deindexation had never...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Social Media Search Console

Should You Create Your XML Sitemap Manually or Use an Automated Tool?

John Mueller May 25, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Reddit that, for large-scale websites, creating XML Sitemap files manually is not recommended, but rather using a tool (plugin or otherwise) from the CMS being used...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name PDF & Files Search Console

Does Google really treat UGC just like your editorial content?

John Mueller May 19, 2020 ★★★

Google does not differentiate between content written by the site owner and that created by users (comments, discussions, complete pages). Any content published on a site is considered to be endorsed by the owner and is used for ranking purposes. It ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should you really mark all your UGC links with rel='ugc'?

John Mueller May 19, 2020 ★★★

For links added in user-generated content, Google recommends using the rel='ugc' attribute to signal that the site owner cannot guarantee the quality or relevance of these links.

Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does Google really treat all content published on your site in the same way?

John Mueller May 19, 2020 ★★★

Google does not differentiate between content written by the site's publisher and content generated by users (comments, discussions, full pages). Any content published on a site is considered content that the site owner wishes to disseminate and will...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should you block all UGC content from Google indexing by default?

John Mueller May 19, 2020 ★★★

To manage a large volume of user-generated content, Google recommends blocking these pages from indexing by default (via a noindex meta tag) and allowing them to be indexed only after validating their quality. The validation criteria depend on the si...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO