What does Google say about SEO?

Should you really block the indexing of internal search in e-commerce?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Google recommends not indexing internal search result pages on an e-commerce site. This can lead to an explosion in the number of indexed URLs without useful content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce Domain Name

Does embedding a YouTube video in a foreign language hurt your page's SEO?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★

Embedding a YouTube video in English on a Swedish site does not harm SEO. Google will associate the video with your page without penalizing it for a language difference.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos International SEO

Can single-page websites really rank well in SEO?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Single-page websites can rank well in search results if they cover the subject thoroughly. However, it is generally more advantageous to expand an existing site rather than create multiple single-page sites.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing

Should you really disavow spammy backlinks inherited from a purchased site?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Backlinks created suspiciously by a previous administration of your site can be disavowed if you cannot clean them up. However, removing such links from your disavow file should not have major negative impacts, as the algorithms attempt to ignore spa...

Algorithms AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Penalties & Spam

Is internal duplicate content really harmless for SEO?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Duplicate content within your own site does not lead to a penalty. It is typically viewed as natural and common.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Is Google really evaluating your site's quality constantly?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★

Google is constantly assessing website quality using various signals, meaning that algorithm updates are not the only times when a site's quality is measured.

Algorithms AI & SEO

Is Google's Sandbox a real phenomenon or just an SEO myth?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

There is no Sandbox at Google. For new sites, Google must gather relevant signals before determining their exact ranking.

Domain Age & History

Does loading speed really affect Google rankings?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Improving your site's loading speed positively impacts not only potentially the ranking but also the user experience, as slow pages can discourage visitors.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Why do some algorithm updates go unnoticed while others shake the entire industry?

John Mueller Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Algorithm updates at Google are constant. Some updates are more visible than others for certain websites, leading to discussions in the SEO industry.

Algorithms AI & SEO

Is Google Search Console really enough to boost your SEO visibility?

Daniel Waisberg Nov 13, 2019 ★★★

Daniel Waisberg recommends using Google Search Console to optimize your website's performance in Google's search results by monitoring traffic, fixing issues, and helping users find your site.

AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Should You Build Your XML Sitemap from a Third-Party Crawl or Use an Integrated Solution?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2019 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Reddit that it wasn't a good thing to create an XML Sitemap file based on a site crawl by a third-party tool, as URLs can be missed and this can affect server response time during the crawl.

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

Is There a Specific Loading Time You Should Target to Rank Well on Google?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2019 ★★★

In a video from the #AskGoogleWebmasters series, John Mueller and Martin Splitt explain that there is no "ideal page loading speed" for Google. Basically, ranking is done between "values" like "very good" or "very poor," nothing more. Tools like thos...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos Web Performance Search Console

Should You Block Parameterized URLs in Robots.txt or Rely on Canonical Tags Instead?

John Mueller Nov 12, 2019 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that you should not use the robots.txt file to deindex parameterized URLs in favor of those same URLs without parameters, because the search engine cannot canonicalize pages and you thus lose the links gathered by th...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure PDF & Files Social Media

Do mixed HTTP/HTTPS contents really affect your Google ranking?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★★

Mixed content can pose a security issue. While it does not directly affect SEO, it is advisable to resolve it to avoid impacting the user experience, as some elements may not display correctly.

Content AI & SEO Local Search

Does Googlebot really ignore Chrome's security restrictions?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★★

Chrome's security changes, such as blocking mixed content or not supporting TLS 1.0/1.1, do not apply to Googlebot. These security measures do not directly influence Googlebot's crawling ability on sites.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security

Is it true that Google penalizes duplicate content?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★

Duplicate content is often misunderstood. Google does not automatically penalize sites with duplicate content but tries to choose the most appropriate content to display in search results. The key is to showcase the unique value of your content.

Content AI & SEO Local Search

Is your mobile version truly ready for Mobile-First indexing?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★★

After the shift to Mobile-First indexing, content is primarily indexed from the mobile version. If the mobile version isn't correctly set up, it can cause visibility issues for certain URLs in search results.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name

How does Google actually assess a site's reliability?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★

To enhance a site's reliability, it is essential to ensure the quality and verifiability of the information. Information about the author and source citations can help, but they are not a formal requirement from Google.

AI & SEO

Does linking to hacked sites really harm your SEO?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★

If your site contains links to compromised websites, it's important to take measures to secure and verify your links, but having these links should not directly penalize you in search results.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Could a 302 redirect sabotage your responsive migration?

Google Nov 06, 2019 ★★

When transitioning from separate mobile URLs to a responsive design, it is advisable to use 301 redirects instead of 302 to avoid caching issues that could send users to the wrong version.

AI & SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name Web Performance Local Search Redirects International SEO