What does Google say about SEO?

Why Does Google Sometimes Ignore Your Meta Description in Search Results?

John Mueller Apr 20, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller indicated in a webmaster hangout the various reasons why Google will not use the content of a page's meta "description" tag in its snippet (page summary in search results): 1. The meta description is neither relevant nor useful (example:...

Domain Age & History Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

How Does Google Handle Sudden Search Spikes and Fleeting Trends?

John Mueller Apr 20, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google's algorithm does not currently take into account changes in internet user behavior due to the coronavirus, for example: searches to buy toilet paper or remote work tools, etc. John Mueller explained...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Search Console

Why Has Differentiation Become Essential for Ranking Well on Google?

John Mueller Apr 20, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller indicated in a hangout that it was very difficult to "stand out from the crowd" when you offer the same information on your site as dozens of other information sources on the Web (he was speaking here to a phone ringtone website publishe...

Content AI & SEO Search Console

Should You Still Optimize the Noscript Tag for SEO in 2024?

Martin Splitt Apr 20, 2020 ★★★

Martin Splitt explained during a hangout that Google no longer supports the "noscript" tag, except for images. But even this approach could soon be reconsidered by removing this support for images, if the signals received from other sources are suffi...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Are Doorway Pages Still Penalized by Google?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

Creating pages solely for keyword variations and redirecting to the same content is considered doorway pages, which is discouraged by Google's Web Spam team.

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

Is it really necessary to limit the number of pages to enhance SEO value?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

It is recommended to limit the number of pages on a website to focus on quality and strengthen the existing ones, rather than dilute them with multiple keyword variations.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

How does Google really detect search intent to rank your pages?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

Google tries to understand the intent behind a query. If the intent is commercial, Google will prioritize commercial pages, whereas for an informational search, informative pages will be favored.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Are links between affiliate sites really risk-free for SEO?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

Working with affiliate or partner sites is generally trouble-free if the links do not appear to be illegitimate advertising. Use 'nofollow' for links that are clearly promotional.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you really remove breadcrumb markup from your homepage?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

Using breadcrumb markup on the homepage may be unnecessary since there is no path leading to it.

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Can the HTTP 503 code really slow down Googlebot strategically?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

HTTP 503 errors are a way to automatically slow down Googlebot, and this is taken into account by all of Google's crawlers.

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security

Does duplicate backend code really harm your SEO?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

Using the same backend code and site structure generally does not cause duplication if the content and descriptions are different.

Content Pagination & Structure

Why can a Google reconsideration request take two months without a response?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

Reconsideration requests can take a significant amount of time, sometimes up to two months, to receive a response.

Do backlinks from adult sites really penalize your SEO?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

Having links from adult sites does not prevent ranking otherwise, but it is possible to use the 'disavow' tool to lessen their impact.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is noindex really enough to remove a page from Google search results?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

To prevent a page from appearing in search results, use a 'noindex' tag on that page. This will remove it from Google's index.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why is Google's indexing API prohibited for most of your pages?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

The Indexing API is intended solely for pages with structured data of the type 'job posting' and 'live streamed', and not for other types of pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why are your domain migrations inexplicably killing your visibility?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

During frequent domain migrations, it may happen that signals are not transmitted correctly, which affects visibility.

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

Should you really be worried when you modify the anchor text of your main navigation?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

Changing anchor text to be less specific without losing the overall context is feasible, but it may require relearning from Google.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Can hreflang enhance the visibility of an international site in local search results?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★

Using hreflang will not make a site more popular in a country if the site is not already shown in search results.

AI & SEO Pagination & Structure International SEO

Why does Google advise against automatic redirection for multilingual homepages?

John Mueller Apr 19, 2020 ★★★

Automatically redirecting users to a specific language version can complicate the diagnosis of indexing-related issues.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Redirects

How can Google's SEO training videos transform your optimization strategy?

John Mueller Apr 15, 2020 ★★★

Google announces the release of a series of videos titled 'Webmaster Conference Lightning Talks', which include condensed presentations on SEO, similar to those given at their physical conferences.

AI & SEO