What does Google say about SEO?

Does Disavowing Toxic Links Actually Improve Your SEO Rankings?

John Mueller Feb 20, 2024 ★★★

On Reddit, John Mueller stated that simply disavowing toxic links listed in Semrush reports wouldn't be enough to recover your rankings in the SERPs. On numerous occasions, Google has advised against using the link disavow tool, suggesting it could d...

Content Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Search Console

Should You Really Fix All 404 Errors Detected in Search Console?

John Mueller Feb 20, 2024 ★★★

John Mueller clarified that validating 404 error fixes in Search Console is primarily a tracking tool that allows publishers to check whether missing pages exist, especially if they were accidentally deleted or in case of technical issues. Validating...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Redirects Search Console

Should You Really Optimize for Users Rather Than for Google?

Danny Sullivan Feb 20, 2024 ★★

On X, Danny Sullivan emphasized that Google Search primarily wants what internet users want. In other words: he advises focusing on what can please users who land on a page rather than trying to satisfy the search engine at all costs.

Domain Age & History Content E-commerce AI & SEO

Can you really pay Google to improve your crawl frequency or search rankings?

Gary Illyes Feb 15, 2024 ★★★

Google accepts no payment to crawl a site more frequently or to rank it higher in search results. Anyone claiming otherwise is mistaken.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why does Google break down its search engine into exactly three distinct phases?

Gary Illyes Feb 15, 2024 ★★★

Google Search operates in three main steps: crawling (discovering URLs and exploring the internet), indexation (understanding the page content and its relationship with other pages, then storing this information in a searchable way), and results serv...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Domain Name Pagination & Structure

Is indexation really the mechanism by which Google understands your pages?

Gary Illyes Feb 15, 2024 ★★

Indexation is how Google understands what a page is about and its relationship with other pages on the Internet, while storing this information in a way that allows it to be searched efficiently.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing

Can page attributes really boost your visibility in Google search results?

Gary Illyes Feb 15, 2024 ★★

There are different attributes you can add to your pages to increase your website's visibility in Google search results.

Domain Age & History

Does content quality alone really guarantee a strong Google ranking?

Gary Illyes Feb 15, 2024 ★★★

Having a website well-ranked on Google, particularly at the top of search results, depends heavily on the quality of your pages' content. For example, large amounts of nonsensical text will produce poor search results.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

What are the three essential pillars that shape Google Search results?

Gary Illyes Feb 14, 2024 ★★

Google Search operates on three main components that make up its functionality. These three building blocks are essential for grasping how Google processes and ranks web content in its search results.

Content AI & SEO

Are Core Web Vitals Really a Google Ranking Factor?

Danny Sullivan Feb 13, 2024 ★★

On X, Danny Sullivan from Google's Search Liaison team "attempted" to provide some clarification to a recurring question by stating that he "did not confirm" that page experience and Core Web Vitals were direct ranking factors, adding that Google exa...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Web Performance

How does Google really use signals and ranking factors in its systems?

Danny Sullivan Feb 13, 2024 ★★★

On X, Danny Sullivan used a metaphor to clarify the use of the terms "signals," "factors," and ranking "systems": "signals/factors are like fuel; systems are the machine that uses them," specifying in passing that signals and factors refer to the sam...

Domain Age & History AI & SEO

Should You Stop Optimizing for E-E-A-T Since It's Not a Ranking Factor?

Danny Sullivan Feb 13, 2024 ★★★

On X, Google's Danny Sullivan indicated that the quality raters guidelines, and more specifically a section concerning E-E-A-T, would likely be clarified in the near future. Although Google has repeatedly stated that E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor o...

Algorithms Content AI & SEO PDF & Files

Why are redirects essential when modifying a URL in SEO?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

When changing a URL or migrating a site, redirects are practically mandatory. Without a redirect, Google treats the old and new URLs as completely different pages, and the new URL starts from scratch with no transferred evaluation.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Should you always use 301 redirects during a website migration?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

For a complete site migration, Google primarily recommends server-side redirects (301). This setup allows the use of the change of address tool in Search Console, making the migration clearer for Google.

AI & SEO Redirects Search Console

Should you prioritize certain types of redirects to boost your SEO?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

Google supports 4 types of redirects in order of preference: server-side redirect (301/302), meta refresh, JavaScript location, and crypto-redirect. Server-side redirects are the most recommended, followed by meta refresh, and then JavaScript.

JavaScript & Technical SEO Redirects

Should you really keep redirects for such a long time?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

Google recommends maintaining redirects for a minimum of 1 year. This duration allows Google to crawl the URLs multiple times and confirm that the migration is permanent. Sites with infrequent crawling might need this entire year.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects

Is it risky to use Google's removal tool during a migration?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

You should never use the Search Console URL removal tool to delete old URLs during a migration. This would transfer the removal status to the new URLs, preventing them from appearing in search results.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Domain Name Redirects Search Console

Why do rankings really fluctuate during a website migration?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★

During a website migration, temporary fluctuations or drops in rankings can occur, especially for large sites. If redirects are properly configured, rankings recover over time as Google crawls and processes each URL individually.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects

Why doesn’t Google notify us during a spam update?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★★

Google generally does not send a notification when a site is affected by a spam update. Notifications for manual actions are sent only if a manual intervention is made. Most of Google's ranking systems operate automatically based on algorithms.

Algorithms JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam

Does Google actually revisit old URLs that were previously detected?

Google Feb 08, 2024 ★★

Google occasionally re-crawls URLs that were detected in the past, even if they no longer exist. For temporary pages, it is possible to use the 'unavailable_after' meta robots tag in addition to standard 404 errors.

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