What does Google say about SEO?

Is Hummingbird Really an Anti-Spam Algorithm or Does It Serve an Entirely Different Purpose?

John Mueller Nov 21, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Hummingbird, launched in 2013, was not an algorithm specifically dedicated to fighting spam. This is clearly true, since Hummingbird (just like its legitimate successor RankBrain) places greater emphasis on sema...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Penalties & Spam Social Media

Can You Really Mix Multiple Structured Data Formats on the Same Page?

Gary Illyes Nov 21, 2016 ★

A user asked on Twitter whether it was possible to use multiple structured data formats such as Microdata, RDFa, or JSON-LD on the same web page. Gary Illyes replied that it posed no problems, but another Googler indicated that you just need to make ...

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Social Media

Does Domain Registration Length Really Impact SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Nov 14, 2016 ★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that purchasing (or renewing) a domain name for a longer or shorter period is not considered a relevance criterion by Google. The rumor suggests that the longer you renew an address, the more Google "trusts" the site...

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Social Media

Should You Still Worry About Hidden Content in Accordions and Tabs for SEO?

Gary Illyes Nov 14, 2016 ★

Until now, Google had indicated that hidden but "potentially visible" content, for example in tabs or accordions, was taken into account and analyzed, but with a lower weight in the algorithm. Gary Illyes hinted on Twitter that, as part of its Mobile...

Algorithms Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO Pagination & Structure Social Media

Does Your Domain Extension (.com, .fr, .edu, .paris) Really Affect Your Google Rankings?

John Mueller Nov 14, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller and Gary Illyes have both recently indicated (for the 3,687th time 😉) that Google does not assign a lower or higher score to a site based on its extension (.com, .fr, .edu...), and in particular the new extensions (.music, .paris, .books...

Content AI & SEO Domain Name

Are Mobile First Indexing and Mobile-Friendliness Really Two Different Things?

Gary Illyes Nov 14, 2016 ★★★

Gary Illyes clarified that the Mobile First indexing project is separate from the mobile-friendliness criteria Google uses to determine whether a site is compatible or not. The two subjects have nothing to do with each other.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Should You Really Worry About the HTML Lang Attribute for International SEO?

John Mueller Nov 14, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller has indicated that Google completely ignores the HTML "lang" attribute ("lang=fr" for example). It's the Hreflang attribute that is taken into account.

Content International SEO

Are Backlinks Still Essential to Rank on Google in 2024?

Gary Illyes Nov 14, 2016 ★★★

Gary Illyes indicated that if Google didn't take backlinks into account (particularly for calculating a page's PageRank) in its algorithm, the search results returned would be of much lower quality. This is a way of explaining that links are still at...

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

How Does Google's Page Layout Algorithm Actually Penalize Ad-Heavy Websites?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated in a hangout that the Page Layout algorithm, which penalizes pages offering too many ads relative to editorial content, was being updated in an automated fashion and not launched on specific dates as Panda or Penguin were still...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Search Console

Should You Request Frequent Recrawls of Your Site to Improve Your SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that if you request (for example via Search Console) that Googlebot recrawl a site, it will not negatively impact a site. And if the search engine's robots crawl a site more often, it doesn't necessarily mean that a ...

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Social Media Search Console

Do Rich Snippets Really Mean Google Considers Your Site High Quality?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2016 ★★

John Mueller indicated that the fact that "rich snippets" (stars, reviews, in particular) are displayed for a site does not necessarily mean that all Google algorithms consider that site to be of good quality. It just means that the criteria for this...

Algorithms Content Structured Data AI & SEO Local Search

Should You Really Worry About Google's Announced Algorithm Changes Coming This Year?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2016 ★

John Mueller recently hinted during a hangout that Google could launch numerous new features on the search engine and its algorithm before the end of the year. But without any specifics. So, saying that or nothing, basically...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO

Should You Still Disavow Links That Have Gone Nofollow or Disappeared?

John Mueller Nov 07, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that if a link has disappeared or has switched to nofollow, it is no longer necessary to include it in a disavow file. This indeed seems logical.

Content AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Social Media

Should You Really Worry About RankBrain and Machine Learning for Your SEO?

Gary Illyes Oct 24, 2016 ★★

Gary Illyes indicated at the Pubcon conference that we shouldn't overdo it with RankBrain and machine learning algorithms. These systems haven't "taken over" the search engine's overall algorithm and that's not their purpose. They're just one signal ...

Algorithms Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Do You Really Need a Dedicated XML Sitemap for Your AMP Pages?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that using the AMP standard on your site does not require creating a specific XML Sitemap for this format. A "classic" Sitemap is sufficient and Google will find the AMP version through the "rel=amphtml" option.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO PDF & Files Social Media Search Console

Does Switching to HTTPS Really Boost SEO Even with a Basic Certificate?

Gary Illyes Oct 24, 2016 ★★

Again, Gary Illyes told Search Engine Land that the "boost" (if it exists...) given in search engine rankings to HTTPS pages is granted regardless of the quality or validity of the certificate used by the site in question. In fact, the only criterion...

Domain Age & History HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Domain Name

How Long Should You Really Keep a 301 Redirect Active?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller said it last year: a 301 redirect should be kept in place for at least a year, if not longer. In fact, the idea is primarily to measure traffic to the old URL. As soon as it becomes zero or close to zero, the 301 redirect can be removed.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Does Google Really Penalize Sitewide Links and Blogrolls?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated that "sitewide" backlinks (for example, links placed in the footers of all pages of a website, identically) or in blogrolls (to the right or left of the editorial area, in the form of "interesting links") are not necessarily co...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Links & Backlinks

Why Does Google Prefer JSON-LD for Structured Data?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2016 ★★★

John Mueller indicated that the JSON-LD format was Google's favorite for implementing structured data markup. While it certainly accepts all other formats, he recommends JSON-LD.

Content Structured Data AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Does Google Really Use a Global Authority Score to Rank Websites?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2016 ★

John Mueller also explained during a hangout that Google doesn't use a relevance criterion resembling a "global authority score for a website". Google may use global scores associated with a website, but he didn't specify which ones. And in any case,...

Content AI & SEO