What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really ditch m-dot sites for responsive design?

John Mueller Mar 06, 2020 ★★★

It is recommended to switch to responsive design rather than maintaining separate m-dot sites, even though we still support the latter with mobile-first indexing.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO

How long should you really keep a redirect after a domain migration?

John Mueller Mar 06, 2020 ★★★

Keep redirects from old domains for at least a year after migration to properly pass authority, and ideally, for as long as possible to prevent spam issues on old domain names.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam Redirects

Are XML sitemaps really essential for Google's crawling?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★★

A sitemap can help Google discover and prioritize the pages of your site, especially if your site is very large, contains isolated pages, or if its content changes rapidly, like news sites.

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

Do you really need an XML sitemap for all your websites?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★★

Well-structured small sites often do not need sitemaps, as Googlebot can discover their content through effective interlinking of pages.

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

Should you really automate the generation of your XML sitemaps?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★

It is recommended to automatically generate sitemaps through the system managing your site, such as with WordPress plugins or Drupal extensions, rather than creating them manually.

Crawl & Indexing Domain Name Search Console

Do you really need to split your sitemaps into multiple files?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★

Sitemap files have limits regarding the number of URLs and maximum size. If necessary, you can create multiple sitemap files and submit them together with an index file.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name PDF & Files Search Console

Is it really enough to delete a sitemap in Search Console to remove it from Google?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★★

Removing a sitemap from Search Console does not delete the sitemap from Google's servers. To make sure Google stops preserving it, you need to remove it from your site and return a 404 code.

Crawl & Indexing Search Console

How can you permanently delete a URL from Google's index without leaving a trace?

Google Mar 04, 2020 ★★★

For Google to stop indexing a URL, it must return a 404 code or be blocked via a robots.txt file. For complete removal from the index, use the noindex directive or require HTTP authentication.

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Domain Name PDF & Files

Is PageRank Still a Decisive Ranking Factor in SEO?

John Mueller Mar 02, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google's algorithm still uses the concept of PageRank today, even though the current PR has changed significantly from the initial formula: "It's not quite the same as the original document, there have been many...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Social Media

Does a Google Manual Action Leave a Permanent Mark on Your SEO History?

Gary Illyes Mar 02, 2020 ★★

Gary Illyes (Google Zurich) stated on Twitter that a site that gets "caught by the patrol" and receives a manual action starts from scratch in terms of "trust" once the penalty is removed and the "cleanup" work has been completed: "if you request a r...

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Penalties & Spam Social Media

Should you really require a technical audit before any SEO intervention?

Google Feb 26, 2020 ★★★

Before allowing an SEO consultant to modify your website, it is advisable to ask them to conduct a technical and research audit. This audit should provide a prioritized list of improvements to be made, based on the actual data from your site, avoidin...

Content AI & SEO

Why can't any serious SEO expert guarantee a top spot on Google?

Google Feb 26, 2020 ★★★

Be wary of an SEO expert who promises unrealistic guarantees of first position ranking on Google. No one can guarantee this, and often those who do use practices contrary to Google's guidelines, which can lead to the permanent removal of your pages o...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Do guarantees of SEO rankings always hide risky practices?

Google Feb 26, 2020 ★★★

It is important to be wary of so-called SEO experts who guarantee high rankings on Google, as these promises often involve the use of practices that go against Google's webmaster guidelines, such as creating unnatural links or doorway sites. This cou...

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you really require a complete technical audit before letting an SEO expert touch your website?

Google Feb 26, 2020 ★★★

Before allowing an SEO candidate to modify anything on your site, ask them to conduct a technical and research audit. This audit should provide a prioritized list of necessary improvements based on your site's data, avoiding unnatural practices that ...

Content AI & SEO

Should an SEO consultant really focus on their clients' business objectives?

Google Feb 26, 2020 ★★★

A good SEO consultant doesn't solely focus on search engine rankings; they aim to support your business goals by enhancing how your company is perceived online. Effective optimization requires a complete understanding of the business objectives, clie...

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is Word Count Really a Ranking Factor for SEO on Google?

John Mueller Feb 24, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that publishing content with the same word count as content ranking #1 on Google is not a criterion that will guarantee good rankings. Generally speaking, the word count of a text is not a Google relevance criterion.

Content AI & SEO Mobile SEO Social Media

How Does Google Interpret an H1 Tag Placed on an Image?

John Mueller Feb 24, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller indicated, again on Twitter, that if an H1 tag is positioned on an image, it's the ALT attribute of the image that is taken as the H1 text.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Local Search Social Media

Should you really hide navigation links on an e-commerce site?

John Mueller Feb 21, 2020 ★★★

Rather than hiding links or using only JavaScript techniques to manage extensive catalogs, it's advisable to make some content accessible via 'rel=nofollow' tags or canonical tags, rather than simply hiding these links.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Web Performance

Does Googlebot really crawl millions of pages on very large sites?

John Mueller Feb 21, 2020 ★★★

There is no strict limit on the number of pages that Googlebot will crawl on a site. If a site is recognized as important, Google may crawl up to millions of pages, but this behavior can vary based on the recognition of the quality and importance of ...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Googlebot really execute all your JavaScript, or is it just bluffing?

John Mueller Feb 21, 2020 ★★★

Googlebot executes JavaScript to index the final content rendered by it. However, if the analysis shows that the rendering of JavaScript does not lead to major changes, Googlebot may process the page without executing JavaScript to conserve resources...

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