What does Google say about SEO?

Are Core Web Vitals really a Google ranking factor for SEO?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2024 ★★

Core Web Vitals are less about site discoverability (traditional SEO aspect) and more about user experience once they arrive on your site. It's a way to ensure a friction-free journey to accomplish a task, rather than a factor for initial marketing o...

AI & SEO Web Performance

Is Google really patient with JavaScript rendering, or should you worry about speed?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2024 ★★

Regarding rendering, Google is very patient with page loading. Although there may be a correlation between server slowness and slow page visibility, it is difficult to determine precisely which element is causing speed issues for site owners.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Web Performance

Has Google really transformed the web ecosystem with Core Web Vitals, or is it just marketing hype?

John Mueller Mar 28, 2024 ★★

Google acknowledges that integrating Core Web Vitals into its ranking algorithm has raised awareness among more people about web performance problems and has contributed to measurable improvements in metrics over time, making the overall web ecosyste...

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

Why Are Google’s New Anti-Spam Policies a Game Changer for SEO?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

Google has released new policies regarding spam that allow for more effective handling of behaviors that may negatively impact search results.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

How is Google aiming to eliminate unnecessary content with this new update?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

The March 2024 Core Update aims to enhance search quality by eliminating content created solely for the purpose of gaining clicks, while promoting the display of content that is genuinely useful to users.

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content

Why doesn't Googlebot always see the same HTML as users?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

There are two types of HTML: the original HTML and the rendered HTML. If the necessary JavaScript resources for rendering are blocked for Googlebot, the engine will only see the original HTML, not the final content visible to users.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Should you really be concerned about blocking JavaScript for SEO?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

If a necessary JavaScript file for rendering is blocked for search engines (for example via robots.txt), Google will only index the initial HTML, not the content generated by JavaScript after execution.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files

Could consent banners be messing with your SEO indexing?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★

The content of compliance banners (like Cookie Management Tools (CMP) or age confirmation prompts) may sometimes be indexed by Google, especially if the HTML data volume of these banners is significant and they appear at the top of the HTML code acro...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why is rendering a major challenge for SEO?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★

Rendering is probably the process that consumes the most resources at Google, making it the most challenging step to overcome for indexing, similar to the difficulties of crawling and indexing.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why does Googlebot ignore user interactions?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

Googlebot does not engage in user interactions such as clicking or scrolling. Content that requires these actions (infinite scroll, 'load more' buttons) will not be indexed. It is recommended to use traditional pagination.

Content Crawl & Indexing Pagination & Structure

Could using noindex in the initial HTML actually sabotage your SEO?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

Placing a noindex tag only in the initial HTML (before rendering) in the hope that only the rendered HTML will be indexed does not work: it will completely prevent the rendering process from being executed.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

How can you optimize pages for robust indexing without JavaScript?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

The best solution to ensure indexing is to place important information directly in the initial HTML, before any JavaScript processing, so that it remains accessible even if rendering fails or is blocked.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Why is the indexing of your pages still a mystery to Google?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

Google does not communicate specific criteria or deadlines for indexing a page, as this varies depending on the pages and content. It is recommended to focus on the entire site rather than specific pages, and Google does not necessarily index all con...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Is Server-Side Rendering Essential for Optimizing Large Websites?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★

For large websites, it is advisable to use Server-Side Rendering (SSR) to generate HTML on the server side and deliver important information right from the initial HTML.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO

Is it true that Google can overlook misleading update dates on websites?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★

Google notes that many websites use fake update dates (like '2024 update year') that add no real value for users. Google sometimes tries to ignore this misleading information.

Why should you use the img tag instead of a CSS background-image for SEO?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

For an image to be indexed in Google Images, you need to use the HTML img tag instead of a CSS background image (background-image). CSS images have a much lower chance of being selected by Google, especially for product images.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing E-commerce Images & Videos

Why Doesn't the Author Info Location Affect SEO Rankings?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★

When it comes to indicating the author of a piece of content, it's not about a technical element or the precise positioning of components on the page. What matters is the content itself and the unique expertise, not the exact location of the link to ...

Domain Age & History Content Links & Backlinks

How does Google decide if a video is the main content of a page?

Google Mar 28, 2024 ★★★

Google only indexes in video mode pages where the video is the main content. Videos are not considered main if they are found in blog articles that complement the text, additional videos on product pages, or pages listing multiple category videos.

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

Can You Actually Publish Content at Scale Without Risking a Google Penalty?

John Mueller Mar 26, 2024 ★★★

On X, John Mueller clarified that publishing content at scale is not considered spam by Google, as long as the content in question meets quality standards. In the past, Google had already indicated that there was no problem with publishing thousands ...

Domain Age & History Content Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure Penalties & Spam

Should You Worry About SEO Impact When Switching from www to non-www URLs?

John Mueller Mar 26, 2024 ★★

On Reddit, John Mueller explained that changing a site's canonical URLs from www to its non-www version doesn't have a major impact on the site's ranking in search results. However, he specified that such a change could cause a slight temporary fluct...

Algorithms Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure