What does Google say about SEO?

How many links can Google really crawl per page without harming your SEO?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

Google can manage a significantly higher number of links per page than 1,000. The limit should be guided by user-friendliness rather than Google’s capabilities.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Why do your rankings and featured snippets consistently crash after publication?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

Rankings and optimized snippets can fluctuate quickly after publication due to an initial evaluation from Google. It is crucial to maintain the overall quality and relevance of the site to achieve better stability.

Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

How can you monitor your crawl budget when Google doesn't provide accurate data?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

Google does not provide specific information on crawl budget. However, the crawl rate statistics in Search Console offer a useful indication, especially the average page loading time.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Search Console

Should you really fix all the broken external links pointing to your site?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

External links pointing to 404 pages are normal and should not be a major concern unless it is easy to redirect them to a relevant active page, especially during planned content moves on a site.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Should you really disavow dubious backlinks, or does Google ignore them automatically?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★★

Links from automatically created sites are generally ignored by Google and do not need to be disavowed. If you wish to dissociate from certain links, using the disavow file is safe and poses no risk to your site.

AI & SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files

Should you really update the modification dates in structured data?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★★

It is best to provide the correct last updated date via structured data tags to help Google understand recent changes on the page. The date in the sitemap helps with recrawl priority.

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

Do redirect loops really disrupt Googlebot's crawling?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

Multiple redirects causing a loop, particularly involving login pages, can prevent Googlebot from successfully crawling a site. The mobile compatibility test can show how Googlebot manages these redirects.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Mobile SEO Redirects

Do videos really enhance the SEO of news websites?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

Google does not necessarily prefer videos over images for the SEO of news websites. The impact is typically noticeable in the display format of search results.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Images & Videos Search Console

Should you really create a separate URL for each product variant?

John Mueller Dec 14, 2018 ★★

It is often more strategic to reduce the number of distinct product pages by grouping similar variants under one URL, unless a particular variant is especially popular or significant.

Domain Age & History E-commerce AI & SEO Domain Name

Should you really use PageSpeed Insights with Lighthouse to diagnose speed?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★★

PageSpeed Insights has been updated to include the Lighthouse analysis engine. Google recommends using this tool to gain insights into page speed and potential improvements.

Domain Age & History Web Performance

How can you bypass cloaking to index restricted content without risking penalties?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★★

To avoid cloaking, allowing access to a few pages per month for users coming through search or displaying an initial summary can be a solution. This allows indexing of restricted content without resorting to cloaking.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Penalties & Spam Local Search

Is dynamic rendering truly aligned with Google's anti-cloaking rules?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★

Dynamic rendering must be properly implemented to avoid cloaking. If the content expected by the user is not available, this can be considered cloaking. The goal is to ensure that Googlebot sees the same content as the user.

Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Is page speed truly a conversion driver or just an SEO myth?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★★

The loading speed of pages directly affects user experience. Long loading times result in a significant loss of users. Therefore, optimizing page speed is crucial for improving conversion rates.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

Why is my site losing positions when its content hasn't changed?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★

Google ranks results based on what users are actually searching for. A ranking drop can be explained by an adjustment to better align results with user intentions.

AI & SEO

How does Google truly prioritize your spam reports?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★★

Spam reports are prioritized and processed based on their importance. Google aims to integrate solutions into its algorithms to address spam on a large scale rather than handling it on an individual basis.

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

Should you really index all your past events or go for a massive noindex?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★

There is no SEO issue with having a large number of noindex pages. It is relevant to keep old events indexed if it meets user needs.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing

Does mobile-first indexing really require distinct annotations for separate URLs?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★

Sites with distinct URL versions for mobile and desktop need to have clean annotations for each version. Mobile-first indexing does not eliminate desktop indexing instantaneously.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Domain Name

Should you really abandon ranking techniques to achieve high rankings?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★★

To rank well on competitive keywords, the service or product must genuinely meet users' expectations. The focus should be on user relevance rather than artificial ranking techniques.

Content E-commerce

Should you really submit your sitemap every time you make a page change?

Google Dec 13, 2018 ★★

Submitting sitemaps to Google is generally sufficient when a new page is updated. It is not necessary to do this for every minor change, as Google will automatically update its sitemap information.

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

Should you really ignore manual actions targeting just a few isolated URLs?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

Google's manual actions typically target specific URLs for spam-related reasons. This should not affect the ranking of the rest of the site. Manual actions expire over time, so there is no urgency to address them if the entire site is not affected.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam