What does Google say about SEO?

Should you remove the meta keywords tag from your website?

Gary Illyes Jan 25, 2024 ★★★

Google has never used the meta keywords tag for ranking and will never use it. This meta tag has no effect on Google Search.

AI & SEO

Should you really change your domain name to boost your SEO rankings?

Lizzi Sassman Jan 25, 2024 ★★

Unless you have a truly terrible domain name, it's generally not worth migrating to a new domain for SEO reasons. The impact of your domain name on rankings is minimal.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Why is Google's SEO Starter Guide absolutely crushing it with users?

Lizzi Sassman Jan 25, 2024 ★★

The SEO Starter Guide is the most visited page on Google Search Central after the homepage and the former Structured Data Testing Tool page. It achieves a 91% satisfaction rate, well above the 75% baseline.

Domain Age & History PDF & Files

Has mobile compatibility really become a non-issue for SEO?

Gary Illyes Jan 25, 2024 ★★

Mobile compatibility is no longer a priority topic in the guide because it is automatically integrated into modern CMS templates. Beginners no longer need to worry about it.

AI & SEO Mobile SEO

Can you really trust modern CMSs to handle title tags automatically without any manual oversight?

Gary Illyes Jan 25, 2024 ★★

Modern CMSs like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace automatically create the HTML title element correctly. Users don't need to check the HTML code to ensure the title is properly present.

Content JavaScript & Technical SEO

Do you really need Google Analytics or Google Ads to rank better in search?

Gary Illyes Jan 25, 2024 ★★★

Using any other Google product will not influence a site's ranking in Google Search. There is no SEO advantage to using Google services.

Domain Age & History E-commerce

Should you ditch optimized HTML templates in favor of unique content?

Lizzi Sassman Jan 25, 2024 ★★

There is no perfect HTML template that works for all websites. Google recommends creating unique content rather than trying to follow a standardized page structure.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Should You Worry About Migrating Your Domain from www to non-www for SEO?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

On Mastodon, in response to a user wondering why their site's URL change, involving 301 redirects, was being poorly handled, John Mueller stated that switching from the www subdomain to the non-www version had very little impact in terms of SEO. Here...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects

Is there really no way to force Google to re-index your entire website at once?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

There is currently no way to trigger a complete recrawl and reprocessing of an entire website all at once. Google does not offer a mechanism to request the re-indexation of an entire site simultaneously.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Google automatically reindex major changes on your website?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

When you make major changes to a website, search engines will generally update these elements automatically over time, without any additional action on your part.

AI & SEO

Why can a simple 301 redirect make all the difference during a website redesign?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

If you change the address or URL of a page, use redirects from the old to the new address. This is an essential best practice when making structural modifications.

Domain Age & History Domain Name Pagination & Structure Redirects

Should you really use a 404 or 410 status code for deleted pages?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

If you delete pages, make sure your server returns a correct 404 or 410 status code to signal to search engines that the page no longer exists.

Domain Age & History

Why is linking your new pages from your existing website absolutely critical for Google indexing?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

If you're adding new pages, make sure they are linked from your existing website. This practice helps Google discover them and index them.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Does Google really crawl some pages more often than others, and how can you influence this?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

Important pages tend to be checked more often by search engines and will therefore be updated more quickly than less important pages.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO

Are XML sitemaps really essential for getting your website indexed by Google?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★

Ideally, use XML sitemaps to help search engines. Most websites support them by default, so you may not have to do anything special.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO PDF & Files Search Console

Should you really link your new pages from high-authority pages to accelerate indexing?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★★

If new pages are important, create links to them from other important pages on your site. This internal linking strategy accelerates their discovery and indexing.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Links & Backlinks Pagination & Structure

Why does Google recommend showing critical changes on your existing pages instead of creating new URLs?

John Mueller Jan 23, 2024 ★★

For crucial changes like a new phone number, display this information on your existing important pages. This ensures faster updates by Google.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Local Search

Do Author Signatures Really Improve Your Content's SEO Rankings?

Google Jan 16, 2024 ★★★

In a recent statement on X, the Google Search Liaison account debunked a misconception regarding the supposed influence of author signatures/bios on search engine rankings, an erroneous idea propagated by a major publication. The clarification provid...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Should You Really Worry About Hacked Pages That Stay Indexed for Months?

John Mueller Jan 16, 2024 ★★★

Following an attack that resulted in the creation of thousands of pages in Japanese and Chinese, a hacking technique known as the "Japanese keyword hack," a user asked for help on Reddit. After providing some technical advice, John Mueller added this...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks

Should You Really Disavow Spammy and Toxic Backlinks Pointing to Your Site?

John Mueller Jan 16, 2024 ★★★

On Reddit, a site owner expressed concern after noticing hundreds of thousands of backlinks from AI-generated blog articles pointing to their site. In response, John Mueller stated that these links could be ignored, adding that they probably weren't ...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks PDF & Files Penalties & Spam