What does Google say about SEO?

How Many Redirect Chains Can You Have Before Hurting Your SEO Performance?

John Mueller Jan 27, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Reddit that redirect chains should be avoided, particularly more than 5 successive redirects on a website, as Googlebot will not follow them beyond this number.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Redirects

Are Reciprocal Links Really Penalized by Google?

John Mueller Jan 27, 2020 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that reciprocal links (A links to B which links back to A) are not necessarily bad, but if they are part of a system designed to manipulate the algorithm (link schemes), they can be penalized.

Algorithms Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media

Does Google Really Understand Emojis and Are They Useful for SEO?

John Mueller Jan 27, 2020 ★★★

A user asked John Mueller whether Google understood the meaning of emojis (emoticons). The Googler responded affirmatively, providing an example of a search using the "banana" emoji as a query. The results indeed provided information about bananas. J...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos Local Search

Can fake visits truly harm your organic rankings?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Sending fake traffic from a competitor to a website does not harm SEO or search rankings.

Should you really replace underscores with dashes in your URLs?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

There is no need to change all URLs containing underscores into dashes. The positive effect is minimal compared to the work required and the risks of site re-indexation.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name

Is it really necessary to redirect HTTP to HTTPS, or is the preferred domain enough?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Using the preferred domain is sufficient when a website has similar content on HTTP and HTTPS. However, 301 redirects are recommended to ensure that only the correct versions are indexed.

Content Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Redirects

Do links really point to your canonical URLs instead of your actual pages?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Google sees links as existing between canonical pages. All link signals are combined and associated with the canonical page on both sides.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Are automatic translations really penalized by Google?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Google does not consider translations as duplicate content. However, automatic translations without manual review are classified as auto-generated content, which may affect the perceived quality of the site.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO International SEO

Why do indexing numbers vary between Search Console and mobile reports?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

It is normal for total indexing reports and mobile usability reports to show differences, as the latter focuses on a specific part of the total indexed.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO Search Console

Can HTML comments really harm your site's SEO?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

HTML comments do not affect SEO except in extreme cases of excess comments slowing down page load times.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should you really prefer banners over automatic redirects for geographic targeting?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Using a banner is a good way to guide users to the correct language or regional version of the site without automatically redirecting them, which also aids in indexing.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should you really worry if your archives are accessible only after 10 clicks?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

It’s not a problem if old news is accessible after many clicks from the homepage because important pages are often recrawled.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing

Will using Google Translate to translate your site harm your SEO?

John Mueller Jan 24, 2020 ★★★

Pages automatically translated with Google Translate are considered automatically generated content if there is no manual review.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Does the URL Inspection Tool really uncover all the indexing issues on your pages?

Google Jan 23, 2020 ★★★

The URL Inspection Tool reveals if a URL can appear in Google search results, any potential issues related to structured data, and provides information on how the page was discovered. It also indicates whether an alternative version of the page has b...

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

How do live testing tools and reindexing requests really work in Google Search Console?

Google Jan 23, 2020 ★★★

The tool allows you to live test a URL to see if any issues remain after correction and to submit a reindexing request to Google for a modified page. The conditions for indexing include compliance with webmaster guidelines, which are accessible only ...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Domain Name

Does the Search Console URL Inspection Tool really solve your indexing issues?

Google Jan 23, 2020 ★★★

The URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console is essential for diagnosing why a page is not appearing as expected in search results. It allows you to check the current indexing status of pages, test a URL live, request Google to reindex a page, an...

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

Should you really remove the 'follow' meta directive from your pages?

John Mueller Jan 22, 2020 ★★★

Google disregards the 'content=follow' meta directive as it is the default value. Removing or keeping this directive has no impact on SEO.

Content

Should you really redirect unavailable product listings, or is it enough to just display an error message?

John Mueller Jan 22, 2020 ★★★

Redirecting to a replacement product is recommended to maintain SEO value. If there is no replacement, indicate unavailability or use noindex or 404 tags, depending on available resources.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce

Should you eliminate IP-based redirects for international SEO?

John Mueller Jan 22, 2020 ★★★

Avoid IP-based redirects as they stop Googlebot from seeing specific country versions. Prefer an informative banner to guide users to the appropriate version.

Crawl & Indexing Redirects International SEO

Can controversial titles actually harm your site's SEO?

John Mueller Jan 22, 2020 ★★★

Using titles with controversial terms can lead to unexpected appearances in queries but does not affect the overall value or relevance of the site.

Content AI & SEO