What does Google say about SEO?

Why does Googlebot keep crawling 404 pages long after they've been deleted?

Martin Splitt Aug 21, 2024 ★★

Googlebot continues crawling hacked pages returning 404 for a certain period because sometimes pages are deleted by mistake or return with legitimate content. This doesn't harm the site in Google Search and Googlebot will eventually move on to other ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Do UTM parameters with medium=referral really kill the SEO value of a backlink?

Martin Splitt Aug 21, 2024 ★★

UTM parameters in a link with medium=referral do not remove SEO value from a backlink. However, it is recommended to canonicalize the target page to the URL without the UTM parameter to facilitate reporting and tracking.

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

Should you worry when robots.txt shows up as a soft 404 in Search Console?

Google Aug 21, 2024 ★★

It is normal for the robots.txt file to appear as a soft 404 in Google Search Console. The robots.txt file generally does not need to be indexed, there is nothing to do in this case.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files Search Console

Can modifying your title tags and meta descriptions really shift your Google rankings?

Google Aug 21, 2024 ★★

Modifying a page's meta titles and descriptions can cause changes in search results. Changing the title or headings can affect rankings, while modifying the meta description can change snippet display. This is normal and often done intentionally by S...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Can poor quality links or traffic harm your site's reputation?

Martin Splitt Aug 21, 2024 ★★★

Sending traffic or links from questionable sources to a site will not make that site suspect. No one can choose or control where traffic or links come from. Google Search will not judge a site's reliability on this basis.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Does Google really fail to index most of your website pages—and is that actually a problem?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

Google will almost never index the entire content of a website. This is not an error and it's not necessarily a problem that requires special attention. It's a normal behavior of Google's indexing system.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why are your pages stuck in 'Discovered - currently not indexed' status?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

When Googlebot discovers a URL through a sitemap or link, it adds it to a to-do list of URLs to visit and potentially index later. The 'Discovered - currently not indexed' status simply means Googlebot hasn't had time to crawl this URL yet because it...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Search Console

Should you really wait for Google to index your pages, or is there a smarter way?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★

Sometimes, the 'Discovered - currently not indexed' status is simply a matter of patience. Googlebot will eventually crawl the URL when it has the resources, and the page will then move to 'Crawled - currently not indexed' status or be indexed.

Crawl & Indexing Domain Name

Should you really worry about pages Google refuses to index?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★

Most sites will have pages that won't be indexed, and this is generally acceptable. It's not a problem in itself as long as the pages that matter to you are properly indexed.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Does Googlebot really slow down when your server struggles, and what does that mean for your indexation?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

Googlebot adapts its crawl speed to avoid overwhelming servers. If a server becomes slow or responds with errors during crawling, Googlebot will reduce its pace and crawl fewer pages simultaneously, spreading the process over a longer period.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Web Performance Search Console

How can you spot the server problems that are slowing down Google's crawl of your site?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

It is recommended to check the Crawl Stats report in Google Search Console, particularly the Reply section, to verify whether your server is responding slowly or with HTTP 500 errors when Googlebot attempts to crawl your pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Search Console

Do server problems really only impact massive websites, or can smaller sites suffer too?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★

Server performance issues that impact crawling generally concern websites with very large quantities of pages (millions or more), but they can also affect smaller sites. It is advisable to consult your hosting provider to resolve these issues.

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

Is Google refusing to index your 'Discovered' pages? Here's why.

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

The most common reason why pages remain in 'Discovered - currently not indexed' status is content quality. When Google detects a pattern of low-quality or poor content on pages, those pages can be removed from the index or remain in 'Discovered' stat...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is Google really ignoring entire sections of your site because of a low-quality pattern?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

If Google Search detects a pattern of URLs with low-quality content on your site, it can decide to skip these URLs entirely, leaving them in 'Discovered' status. Googlebot knows these pages exist but chooses not to process them.

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

Does internal linking alone really guarantee your undiscovered pages will get indexed?

Martin Splitt Aug 20, 2024 ★★★

If you want pages with the status 'Discovered - currently not indexed' to be indexed, you should rework the content to improve its quality and ensure your internal linking connects this content to other parts of your existing content.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Does Googlebot Really Collect Your Links Instead of Following Them?

Gary Illyes Aug 13, 2024 ★★★

Contrary to what Google states in its official documentation, Googlebot doesn't follow links in real-time but collects them for later processing. This clarification was shared by Gary Illyes in the Search Off The Record podcast: "On our site, we keep...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

Should You Ditch JavaScript for SEO Because of Google's Rendering Costs?

Martin Splitt Aug 13, 2024 ★★

On LinkedIn, Martin Splitt explained that crawling and rendering, particularly JavaScript pages, represented a potentially significant cost for Google, while specifying that there was no need to worry about rendering being expensive.

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

Are URL Parameters Really Threatening Your Site's Google Crawlability?

Gary Illyes Aug 13, 2024 ★★★

Gary Illyes warned that URL parameters could cause crawling issues for Google, particularly by generating an infinite number of URLs for a single page: "technically, you can add an almost infinite number of parameters to any URL, and the server will ...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name

Does intensive crawling really guarantee a high-quality website?

Gary Illyes Aug 08, 2024 ★★★

Google may crawl a site more extensively for various reasons (quality content, hacks, new URLs, calendar scripts). High crawl volume does not automatically mean the site is high quality. Conversely, reduced crawling may indicate low-quality content o...

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

Does forcing Google to crawl more pages actually boost your search rankings?

Gary Illyes Aug 08, 2024 ★★★

Forcing Google to crawl more of your website (for example via robots.txt) won't make your site rank better in search results. Content quality must come first for Google to naturally increase crawl frequency.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO