What does Google say about SEO?

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

Why does the Search Console display a noindex that’s missing from the source code?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

If a page lacks a noindex meta tag but is marked as such in the Search Console, this could be due to an old crawl. One method to speed up the proper indexing is to use the URL inspection tool and submit for indexing from the live test tool.

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

Does mobile-first indexing really influence your rankings on Google?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

Mobile-first indexing does not immediately affect rankings. If traffic changes are noted after the transition, it may be due to normal global ranking algorithm updates and not specifically mobile-first indexing.

Algorithms Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Should you still use rel=next/prev for pagination?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

For good SEO, it's important to have standard HTML links between paginated pages, in addition to rel next and prev elements. This allows Google to properly understand the pagination structure.

Domain Age & History Links & Backlinks Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Should you really remove review markup if your page displays no ratings?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★

If you have no reviews to display, do not use review markup. Warnings in Search Console mean that the page will not show rich results but are not critical.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Local Search Search Console

Main domain or subdomain: has Google really made a clear decision for SEO?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★

Choosing between a new domain or a subdomain for new content mainly hinges on strategy rather than SEO. It's advisable to integrate new content into the existing site to enhance overall value.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does using hreflang for identical multilingual content weaken your authority?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

Using hreflang for English pages targeting different countries is possible but ineffective. This can dilute authority if you duplicate content across multiple countries, so a strategic approach to target markets is preferable.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO International SEO

Does geotargeting in Search Console really improve local rankings without harming international visibility?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

Applying geotargeting in Search Console helps to better position a site in a specific country if users are actively searching for local content. However, it does not negatively impact rankings in other countries.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Local Search Search Console International SEO

Is the Google News sitemap really the fastest way to index fresh content?

John Mueller Dec 11, 2018 ★★★

Using the Google News sitemap is generally the fastest method for Google to quickly index content, as its size is limited, allowing for rapid retrieval after a ping.

Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Search Console

How Should You Structure Your FAQ to Leverage Question/Answer Structured Data?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google launched structured data markup for "Question/Answer" type pages last week. The search engine took the opportunity to update its recommendations for this type of markup. An important piece of information was thus added (and confirmed on Twitte...

Domain Age & History Content Structured Data AI & SEO Domain Name Social Media

Do Keywords in URLs Really Impact Your Google Rankings?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★★

John Mueller reminded us (once again) on Twitter that the presence of keywords in a URL has very little impact on SEO. Matt Cutts had also said the same thing back in the day.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Domain Name Social Media

Why Does Google Ignore Your Canonical Tags Despite Proper Implementation?

Google Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

A Googler indicated on a webmaster forum that even if canonical tags were properly integrated on a website, other signals such as inconsistent redirects could hinder their consideration by the search engine, which would not, in this case, take the de...

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Are Timestamps Really Crucial for Indexing Your Content?

Google Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google recommends using appropriate tags to indicate the original creation date as well as any updates to an article, notably for news articles. Time zone errors or the absence of a date mention on the page can lead to indexing issues.

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

Is it true that URLs blocked by robots.txt can still be indexed?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google may not index certain URLs marked for exclusion in robots.txt files when they contain valuable data, such as live tickers in the case of sports news sites.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name PDF & Files

Is it true that Google penalizes duplicate content?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Duplicate content within a site is not necessarily an issue as long as it provides value. When content is found elsewhere on the web, only one of these contents will be displayed in Google Search to avoid repetitions.

Content AI & SEO

How does Google actually differentiate duplicated content across multiple sites?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

When multiple sites publish the same content, Google tries to choose which one to display by relying on various signals such as Page Rank and internal/external links. Canonical links must be correctly used to indicate the original source.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Links & Backlinks Local Search

Should you really isolate different types of content in subdomains?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google recommends using subdomains for content that is different or distantly-related to the rest of the site, making it easier for algorithms to distinguish and process.

Algorithms Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Should you really duplicate all desktop content on mobile for mobile-first indexing?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google is gradually transitioning to mobile-first indexing and recommends ensuring that mobile and desktop versions of your pages have similar content, particularly in terms of text, internal links, and structured data. Once this change is made, it i...

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

Do Core Updates really alter the quality of your content, or just its relevance?

John Mueller Dec 10, 2018 ★★★

Google's Core Updates can change the perception of content relevance without implying that the content is of lower quality. Google encourages sites to consult its quality guidelines to evaluate and adjust the relevance of their content.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos