What does Google say about SEO?

Does JavaScript really slow down your site's indexing by Google?

Martin Splitt Jun 12, 2019 ★★★

Websites heavily rendered on the client side with JavaScript are not penalized, but their indexing may be delayed as they are first placed in a rendering queue. For quicker rendering, it is advisable to consider dynamic or server-side rendering.

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

Is it true that HTML and CSS are actually more effective than JavaScript for SEO?

Martin Splitt Jun 12, 2019 ★★★

It is generally better to use HTML and CSS because they are more resilient than JavaScript. The use of JavaScript should be done responsibly, thus favoring a better user experience and SEO.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

How Does the Mobile First Index Transition Work Based on Your Site Architecture?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the transition to the Mobile First Index happens based on the domain name. So if a site uses addresses with subdomains (example: blog.example.com) and the address www.example.com transitions to MFI, all its asso...

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Can Dynamic Rendering Hurt Your SEO Due to Timeout Issues?

Martin Splitt Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

Martin Splitt explained on Twitter that when a site uses dynamic rendering, it's important to ensure that the page rendering time isn't too long, to avoid a timeout on the search engine side, which would lead to poor page analysis and consequently af...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance Social Media

Is HTTPS Really an SEO Ranking Factor You Can't Afford to Ignore?

Gary Illyes Jun 11, 2019 ★

Gary Illyes explained on Twitter that it's really important to consider whether a site is HTTPS as a non-negligible relevance criterion for the search engine. He notably explained that "this signal affects enough queries that I wouldn't ignore it." H...

Domain Age & History HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Social Media

Does Paid Advertising on Bing Really Influence Organic Rankings?

Google Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

We also occasionally discuss Bing in this section (and that's a good thing). Frédéric Dubut, one of the search engine's leaders, explained on Twitter that purchasing Microsoft Ads advertising has no impact on the search engine's organic results. He a...

AI & SEO Social Media

Should You Still Be Using the Disavow File in 2024?

Google Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

The same Frédéric Dubut explained at the recent SMX Advanced event that, while using the disavow file was almost useless for Google, he still recommended its use for Bing to report links considered toxic...

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

Is it true that Google penalizes duplicate content?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

Duplicate content isn't necessarily bad if users find it interesting. However, Google may struggle to decide which page to show if a user specifically searches for that content. Generally, this doesn't affect the perceived quality of the site, but Go...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should you really multiply Schema.org properties to boost your SEO?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

Adding additional properties with schema.org can help Google better understand the content of pages, but it does not directly improve rankings. It is essential to first meet the requirements for the desired search features.

Domain Age & History Content Structured Data AI & SEO

Is it really necessary to create dedicated author pages to enhance your website's EAT?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★

Author pages are not explicitly necessary for EAT, but it is important to show users that authors are experts. This can be done within the article itself or via links to a biography. Quality raters do not directly affect rankings; they help improve t...

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How many links can you place on a page without facing SEO penalties?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

There is no strict limit to the number of links on a page, but in practice, a very high number can decrease the value of each link due to the dilution of PageRank. A reasonable number of links that benefit users is recommended.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you still enable server-side rendering for search engine bots?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★

Using server-side rendering for bots is acceptable, but it is often beneficial to consider doing so for users as well to enhance page loading speeds. Over time, fewer bots will require this type of rendering as they improve their ability to process J...

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

Why is cloaking an absolute red line for Google?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

It is crucial that the main content is identical for both users and search engines to avoid cloaking. Consequently, the information displayed in search results must match what the user sees on the page.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Penalties & Spam

Should you really combine hreflang and self-referencing canonicals?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

Hreflang tags can be used with self-referencing canonicals to indicate which page versions should be displayed. Canonicals help Google determine the primary version of a URL. This is not mandatory, but it facilitates the processing of hreflang tags.

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Should you really return a 404 error for expired job listing pages?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

When a listing expires, it is appropriate to let the page return a 404 error. This signals to Google that the page is no longer available and prevents it from being indexed.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should You Really Report Your Competitors' Rich Snippet Abuses?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

If you notice competitors abusing rich snippets, you can report this using Google's rich snippets spam report form. Once confirmed, Google may remove a site's ability to display these snippets.

Structured Data AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Local Search Search Console

Should you really limit yourself to job postings and live videos with Google’s Indexing API?

John Mueller Jun 11, 2019 ★★★

Google's Indexing API is reserved for job postings and live videos, and using it for other types of content is not recommended. This will not affect ranking but may not offer the expected benefits for other pages.

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

Does Google really apply the same quality score to all websites?

John Mueller Jun 06, 2019 ★★★

Google evaluates a website's quality as a whole and does not make distinctions based on the type of site.

AI & SEO

Does the 301 really determine which URL Google will canonize?

John Mueller Jun 06, 2019 ★★★

Google uses various factors to select the best canonical URL from a group. A 301 is a strong signal, but it is not always the only determining factor.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Should you really implement 301 redirects for your images when changing domains?

John Mueller Jun 06, 2019 ★★★

For a domain change, Google recommends using 301 redirects for images to maintain the accumulated quality signals.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Redirects