What does Google say about SEO?

Can you really block Googlebot state by state in the U.S. without breaking everything?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

If you need to block certain U.S. states (not the entire country), you can block Googlebot based on the IP geolocation of the state, but it's technically challenging because the state-IP mapping is not precise. It's more of an art than a science.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Local Search International SEO

Why does Google not index all your pages despite active crawling?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

When Search Console shows a lot of 'Discovered - currently not indexed' or 'Crawled - currently not indexed' pages, it is often because Google's algorithms are not convinced by the overall quality of the site. You need to significantly improve the ov...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO Search Console

Should you always enable loading='lazy' on all your images to boost SEO?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

The HTML attribute loading='lazy' for images is strongly recommended for SEO. Img tags remain in the HTML, so Google can crawl and index images normally while speeding up page load for users. It’s a simple and effective method of lazy loading.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Images & Videos Web Performance

Should you really fix every 404 error reported in Search Console?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

Having 404 errors in Search Console is perfectly normal and acceptable when you remove content. There are no penalties, manual actions, or downgrades associated with 404 pages. This indicates that you are using the correct HTTP codes. There's no need...

Domain Age & History Content HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Penalties & Spam Search Console

Are jump links really useless for Google's crawling?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

Internal anchor links (with #) are not crawled by Google because they point to the same page. However, Google recognizes them and can sometimes display them in search results to direct the user directly to the relevant section of the page.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Local Search

Should you disavow ghost backlinks that are only visible in Search Console?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

Backlinks from empty pages that are only visible in Search Console and not in other SEO tools are likely due to a technical error (empty for users, full for Googlebot). There is no reason to disavow them. They do not cause a drop in traffic.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Search Console

Why doesn't the Disavow file hide bad links in Search Console?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

The Disavow file does not affect the display of links in the link report of Search Console. Disavowed links will continue to appear in this report even if they are ignored by the algorithm.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Search Console

Should you really contextualize the alt attribute beyond a visual description?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

The alt attribute of an image must not only describe what is in the image but also explain why it is included on this specific page. For example, for a graph showing the efficiency of solar panels, it should mention key data and the context of the pr...

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO Images & Videos

Is Google algorithmically downgrading specific sectors during health crises?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

Google does not algorithmically downgrade travel sites or any other sector specifically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traffic fluctuations are related to user behavior, not an algorithmic adjustment aimed at certain industries.

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should you really use different domain names for a multilingual site?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

For a multilingual site, it is acceptable to use different domain names according to countries (e.g., brand.se for Sweden, example.fr for France) instead of having all versions under a single domain. Hreflang allows linking between these distinct dom...

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Mobile SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure International SEO

Should you really make all recipe images indexable to perform well in SEO?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

For a recipe site, it is strongly recommended to make images indexable. Users often search for recipes via Google Images. Moreover, Recipe structured data requires indexable images to display rich thumbnails in the search results.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos Local Search

Does Hreflang Really Ensure Accurate Geographic Targeting for Your International Traffic?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

Hreflang is not an absolute directive. It is normal to see traffic from foreign countries landing on language versions that are not intended for those countries. Google recommends using a suggestion banner to guide users to their local version rather...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Local Search Redirects International SEO

Why does Google only index one version when your country pages are nearly identical?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

When two pages have identical or nearly identical content (same language, different countries), Google often chooses one as canonical, even with hreflang. Hreflang allows for swapping the displayed URL according to the search country, but indexing wi...

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

Should you develop unique content to effectively index various versions of the same service?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

If you create separate pages for in-person and online courses (same educational content but different delivery methods), Google will index both pages because the distinction (online/offline) is significant. There’s no need to artificially add content...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should you create a new page or update the existing one for a temporary change?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

For temporary content modifications related to COVID (e.g., courses temporarily moving online), it is better to add the information to the existing page rather than creating a new page. Existing pages are already well understood and ranked by Google,...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Is it really necessary to avoid using multiple title and meta description tags on a single page?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★

Adding a second meta description or title tag on a page provides no SEO advantage. Google treats this as an extension of the existing tag. It's better simply to modify the unique tag already in place.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Domain Name

Are 500/503 errors lasting a few hours really invisible to your indexing?

John Mueller May 15, 2020 ★★★

Temporary server errors (500, 503) lasting a few hours are managed automatically by Google: systems wait and retry later. These errors are not reported in Search Console and do not affect indexing as long as they do not last several days. However, th...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Should you prioritize domain authority or optimize page by page?

John Mueller May 14, 2020 ★★★

Google collects various signals at the domain level (or overall site level) and others at the individual page level. The final ranking results from a combination of both: a good landing page on a low-quality domain will be penalized, while an average...

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

Does your shared IP really harm your SEO rankings?

John Mueller May 14, 2020 ★★★

Hosting a website on a shared IP (cloud, shared hosting) does not penalize SEO. Google only blacklists an IP address in extreme cases where 99% of hosted sites are massive spam. In standard cloud environments, the mix of legitimate and illegitimate s...

JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Is Google automatically switching back to mobile-first after fixing asymmetry errors?

John Mueller May 14, 2020 ★★★

When an asymmetry between mobile and desktop versions prevents the activation of mobile-first indexing, Google automatically reassesses the site after corrections are made. There is no manual function to force a new verification, but the systems regu...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO