What does Google say about SEO?

Why does Google show backlinks you've disavowed in Search Console?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★★

Even when external links are blocked via the disavow file or robots.txt, they will still appear in Search Console, as they remain identified by Google even if they do not transmit any SEO signals.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Search Console

Do you really need a specific robots.txt to appear in Google Discover?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★

No specific directive like a robots.txt is needed for Google Discover. The pages visible in Discover are simply normal pages indexed by Google.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO

How does flexible sampling solve the paywall indexing puzzle?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★★

For sites with a paywall, using 'flexible sampling' in the directives allows you to manage how content should be indexed, ensuring that titles and descriptions are correctly understood by Google.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO

Does loading speed really affect your Google ranking?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★★

The technical performance of a page, especially its loading speed, influences its ranking in search results, particularly on mobile. Optimizing speed using techniques like lazy loading can enhance SEO scores.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Web Performance Search Console

Is it true that Google News and Discover operate on the same index or are they two distinct circuits?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★★

Content in Google News must be in the Google News index, while Google Discover can display any page indexed by Google. Both services operate independently, although they may appear related.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News Local Search

Could links between the language versions of a site harm regional targeting?

John Mueller May 02, 2019 ★★

Using links between different language versions of sites is not problematic, but excessive optimization with targeted anchors should be avoided to prevent confusion in Google's regional targeting.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks International SEO

Is it true that Google doesn’t penalize duplicate content?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★★

Google does not manually penalize sites for duplicate content unless there is a manual action indicated in Search Console. The quality assessment of pages is done algorithmically, and duplicate content is treated on a page-by-page basis to determine ...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Penalties & Spam Local Search Search Console

Does HTTPS really slow down Googlebot's crawling on your site?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Switching to HTTPS and HTTP/2 is generally seamless for Google’s crawling. However, if an increase in download time is observed, it may indicate an unoptimized server configuration following a server change.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Web Performance

Do keywords in the URL really still affect your ranking?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Keywords in the URL have minimal impact on ranking. The crucial element is the internal linking structure. Optimizing the readability of URLs is only advised during the creation of a new site.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Why does Google still show old URLs for image landing pages despite redirects?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Redirects from image landing pages to the images themselves can disrupt temporary search results. Google sometimes continues to display the old URL in response to specific searches, despite an effective redirect.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos Domain Name Local Search Redirects

Is your mobile content truly complete, or are you unknowingly sabotaging your desktop rankings?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★★

With the shift to mobile-first indexing, it is crucial that mobile content is complete to avoid negatively impacting the overall ranking, including for desktop searches.

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

Do nofollow social links really influence Google rankings?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Links from social networks, often nofollow, are not used for ranking but are helpful for traffic diversity and can appear in search results if the profile is public.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Is your site experiencing excessive crawling that uncovers structural flaws?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Excessive crawling by Google of non-essential pages may indicate poor site structure. Checking server logs helps diagnose and properly adjust unwanted crawl behaviors.

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

Do old backlinks really lose value over time?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Old links, while still valid, may lose impact proportionally to the evolution of the web and the expansion of new content.

Domain Age & History Content Links & Backlinks

Should You Still Create Video Sitemaps to Index Your Multimedia Content?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★★

Video sitemaps are still recommended to help Google properly recognize and index videos associated with pages.

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

How does Google decide between a homepage and an internal page in search results?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★★

Google often seeks to strike a balance between displaying the homepage or a more targeted internal page for a specific query. The structure of the page and its integration into the site play a significant role in this decision.

Domain Age & History Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Local Search

Should you index your return and payment policy pages?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Return and payment policy pages are important for user transparency, but their visibility in search results depends on specific searches and their perceived relevance.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Do comments on a page really influence Google rankings?

John Mueller May 01, 2019 ★★

Comments on a page are considered content that can contribute to rankings in Google. They enrich the content of the page if they are relevant.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Do Blockquote Tags Really Impact SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Apr 23, 2019 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Reddit that content embedded within a "blockquote" tag (quote element) is not treated in any specific way by search engine algorithms...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Local Search

What Does "I Don't Know" Really Mean When Google Spokespeople Say It?

John Mueller Apr 23, 2019 ★★

John Mueller explained at BrightonSEO that when someone at Google answers a question by saying "I don't know", it doesn't necessarily mean they don't know. It can also mean they don't know how to incorporate that answer into Google's internal communi...

Content AI & SEO