What does Google say about SEO?

How long does it take for Google to reassess the quality of a site after an update?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★

Significant updates to a site can be recognized quickly by Google, but for changes in overall quality, this can take several months. Major algorithm updates are not necessary for Google to reassess an updated page.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should you isolate your forums on a subdomain to protect your SEO?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★

Forums can be integrated into a website if the content is well moderated, but in cases where comprehensive quality control is difficult, it might be wise to place them on a subdomain or separate domain to avoid affecting the perceived quality of the ...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does page speed really boost your Google ranking?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★

While page speed is a factor, it is not the only criterion for ranking. Sites can seriously slow down due to heavy advertising content, thereby affecting user experience and possibly indirectly influencing ranking potential.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Web Performance

Does the canonical tag really centralize PageRank as we think it does?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★★

Using a canonical tag to consolidate similar content can help centralize PageRank on one page. However, if Google does not regard the designated page as the most relevant, it may choose another URL as canonical.

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

Do Google Spam Reports Really Make a Difference?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★

Spam reports can be submitted to Google via a dedicated form, and although correcting these issues may be slow, Google regularly evaluates these reports to improve its algorithms and remove notorious spam tactics.

Algorithms AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Search Console

Do RSS feeds really replace XML sitemaps for indexing in Google News?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★

Google uses RSS feeds for indexing in certain Google News products. This can be confusing for those who traditionally use XML sitemaps.

Crawl & Indexing Discover & News E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files Search Console

Why does Google sometimes ignore your canonical tags?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★★

Google may not always follow the provided canonical tag if there are conflicting signals, such as internal and external links pointing to different pages, which can lead Google to assign a different page as canonical.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks

Can link signals really influence Google's canonicalization?

John Mueller May 16, 2019 ★★★

The factors Google evaluates to determine the canonical page include internal links, external links, and HTTPS signals. It is important that these signals are consistent for Google to choose the page designated by the webmaster.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security Links & Backlinks

How do search engines really catalog web content?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

A search engine is a platform that crawls the content of the internet to catalog it and provide the right information to users. It is comparable to a library where one asks the librarian to find the right book on a specific topic.

Content AI & SEO

How does Google really explore your pages to index them?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

Google explores the internet by following links from one page to another. After capturing the content of the pages, Google must understand their subject and usefulness to index them correctly.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks

Do you really need to optimize for Google’s 200+ ranking factors?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

Google uses over 200 signals to determine the relevance of search results for a user. This includes the title, meta description, actual page content, images, links, etc.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos Links & Backlinks

Is it really enough to have 'quality' content to rank on Google?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

For good SEO, the content of your site must serve a clear purpose for the user, meet their needs, and be optimized with the words used by your users.

Content AI & SEO

Are Meta Tags and Page Titles Really Crucial for SEO?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

Meta tags and page titles are crucial for SEO as they provide snippets that capture users' attention in search results.

Domain Age & History Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO

Is web performance really a crucial SEO lever or just a comforting myth?

Martin Splitt May 15, 2019 ★★★

Performance not only improves the speed of your site but also its visibility. Google favors sites that provide a fast user experience, particularly through server-side rendering for quicker content display.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance Search Console

Does Paying for Google Ads Give You Access to Privileged SEO Support?

Danny Sullivan May 13, 2019 ★★★

Danny Sullivan reminded on Twitter that Google does not provide "SEO support based on business relationships (Editor's note: for Google Ads customers). It would be unfair to those who don't advertise."...

Discover & News AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media

Should You Enter SEO Contests to Test Your Skills and Strategy?

John Mueller May 13, 2019 ★★★

John Mueller let loose on Twitter about SEO contests, which he doesn't seem particularly fond of: "SEO contests are rather useless. They never reflect real performance, they generate a ton of spam that negatively affects the entire ecosystem, they ar...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Web Performance Social Media Search Console

Does Googlebot really use the stable Chrome rendering engine for JavaScript rendering?

Martin Splitt May 10, 2019 ★★★

Googlebot now uses the stable Chrome rendering engine. This means that compatibility with modern JavaScript features has improved, notably with new APIs like Intersection Observer.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Is it true that Googlebot really keeps up with the latest version of Chrome for rendering?

Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019 ★★★

Googlebot's rendering engine will be updated regularly, closely following the desktop version of Chrome, with a few weeks' delay.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is it still necessary to modify your JavaScript for Google to crawl it?

Martin Splitt May 10, 2019 ★★★

Modern JavaScript features, including Let, Const, and new array methods, are now usable with Googlebot. The use of polyfills specifically to maintain compatibility with Googlebot is no longer necessary.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Does crawl budget really consider JavaScript and XHR resources?

Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019 ★★★

Crawl budget also applies to all resources loaded during page rendering, including JavaScript files and XHR requests.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files