What does Google say about SEO?

Do image redirects really preserve rankings in Google Images?

John Mueller Jan 11, 2019 ★★★

If image URLs change, setting up redirects is effective in preserving rankings in Google Images.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Images & Videos Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects Search Console

Should you really avoid changing your image URLs to maintain their visibility in Google Images?

John Mueller Jan 11, 2019 ★★★

Changing image URLs affects visibility in Google Images, and redirects help maintain ranking.

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

Do footer and sidebar links really impact SEO?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Links present in the footer or sidebar of websites, even if repeated on every page, are treated by Google in a standard manner. They are taken into account for crawling, indexing, and ranking.

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

Does Google really detect your language variations without this tag?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

The hreflang element is used to inform Google about the different linguistic and geographical versions of a page. It is recommended to specify these tags to avoid language matching errors in the SERPs.

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

Is Geo-Targeting Really Necessary for Your Local SEO Strategy?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Geo-targeting is relevant if your content is specifically intended for users in a certain country and you have important local information to share. Otherwise, it is not necessary for general online services.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Local Search Social Media International SEO

Do recurring backlinks in footers and sidebars truly impact your rankings?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Backlinks found on multiple pages of a site, such as those in a sidebar or footer, are common and Google is capable of processing them. They will appear in Search Console as being counted for crawling, indexing, and ranking.

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

Are Your Regional Canonical Tags Sabotaging Your Visibility on Google?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★

Inconsistencies in the use of canonical tags, especially when prices and content vary by region, can lead to incorrect displays in search results. An appropriate check and setup of canonicals and regional indicators are necessary.

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

Can multiple price tags really disqualify your product rich snippets?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★

When multiple prices are shown for a product in structured data (for example, different currencies), this can be deemed invalid by Google's systems, which will choose not to display this information in SERPs.

Structured Data E-commerce Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Local Search

Does Google really apply different quality filters based on the industry?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Google's algorithms can be more critical regarding a site's quality based on its subject, especially in sensitive areas like medicine. It is crucial to maintain high content quality and adhere to Google's quality guidelines.

Algorithms Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Are free SSL certificates just as good as paid ones for Google ranking?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Google makes no distinction between paid and free SSL certificates, like those from Let's Encrypt. As long as the certificate is valid and recognized by browsers, it is sufficient to be considered secure by Google.

HTTPS & Security AI & SEO

Should you really combine noindex and canonical, or just choose one?

John Mueller Jan 10, 2019 ★★★

Combining a noindex tag with a canonical indication can be redundant. It is often more effective to choose either noindex or canonical, depending on the intention you have for the page.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing

Do Foreign Language Backlinks Really Hurt Your SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Jan 07, 2019 ★★★

John Mueller explained on Twitter that backlinks pointing to your site from pages or websites that are not available in your language (in your site's language) are not automatically considered "unnatural" and therefore will not be penalized/ignored o...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Social Media International SEO

How do search engines actually handle specific directives in the robots.txt file?

Google Jan 07, 2019 ★★★

For once, we're talking here (with great pleasure) about Bing in the "SEO news". Microsoft's search engine indeed indicated on Twitter that if, in a robots.txt file, there exists a section of specific Bingbot directives (User-agent: bingbot or User-a...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files Social Media

Do you really need to regularly update your content to rank?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

For sites whose content requires frequent updates (like news blogs), a lack of updates can affect traffic and user engagement, which can indirectly impact SEO. However, for sites where the content doesn't change often (like corporate sites), the impa...

Domain Age & History Content

Should you really use the 410 code to remove obsolete content?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

Removing pages with content that is no longer relevant (like expired job offers) and returning an HTTP 410 code is good practice. This helps optimize crawl resources for active pages and improves the indexing of updated information.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security

Should you really avoid 301 redirects for expired pages to categories?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★

Using a 301 redirect to redirect an expired page to another category page is not recommended. A 301 redirect means that the content has permanently moved, which is not the case when it no longer exists.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Redirects

Does the geographic location of a website manager really affect Google rankings?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

Managing a site from a country other than where the business is located does not affect SEO as long as the content is of good quality. Search engines do not take into account the geographic location of the person managing the site when determining ra...

Content

Is page speed really just a minor ranking factor in SEO?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

Page loading speed is an SEO factor, but it's interpreted relatively and is just a small part of the ranking algorithm. What matters is ensuring that pages do not take excessive time to load compared to industry norms.

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Do structured data really secure rich snippets?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

Implementing structured data does not guarantee that Google will display rich snippets. Several factors influence this decision, including the relevance of the content to the user query.

Content Structured Data Pagination & Structure Local Search Search Console

Should you react immediately after a drop in rankings following a Google update?

Google Jan 04, 2019 ★★★

Google's algorithm updates can affect the rankings of certain pages. However, there are no specific actions to take following a ranking drop post-update; it often involves a reassessment of the overall quality and relevance of existing content.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO