What does Google say about SEO?

Is the death of third-party cookies threatening your e-commerce conversions?

John Mueller Dec 19, 2023 ★★

Chrome is progressively removing third-party cookies, notably affecting e-commerce payment processes and comment or login systems. It is recommended to test your site to verify if it is affected.

E-commerce AI & SEO

Does Google really ignore text generated through the CSS 'content' property—and why should you care?

Google Dec 19, 2023 ★★★

Content added to a page through the CSS 'content' property is generally not indexed by Google. This information has been officially documented by the Google Search team.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO PDF & Files

Can timezone errors in structured data really destroy your local SEO visibility?

Google Dec 19, 2023 ★★

Timezones can have a significant impact in structured data, even when you're simply using a date. It's important to account for them correctly.

AI & SEO

Is your site losing visibility because Googlebot is interpreting all your dates in US Pacific time?

Google Dec 19, 2023 ★★★

By default, Googlebot uses the US Pacific timezone (Pacific Time) to interpret dates and times in structured data.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Did Google really move the robots.txt testing tool and why does it matter for your site?

John Mueller Dec 19, 2023 ★★

The robots.txt testing tool has been updated in Search Console. It is now located under Settings and provides an overview of all your subdomains.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Search Console

Is Google really cutting down the Page Experience Report to just Core Web Vitals and HTTPS?

John Mueller Dec 19, 2023 ★★

The Page Experience Report in Search Console has been simplified to provide an overview of Core Web Vitals and HTTPS status. Core Web Vitals measure the speed and interactivity of a web page.

Domain Age & History HTTPS & Security AI & SEO Web Performance Search Console

Should you still worry about crawl budget now that Google is removing the crawl frequency parameter?

John Mueller Dec 19, 2023 ★★★

The crawl frequency parameter is being removed from Search Console because it's no longer necessary. Google's systems have improved to automatically determine an appropriate and sustainable crawl frequency.

Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Is Google finally giving you the structured data transparency you've been waiting for?

John Mueller Dec 19, 2023 ★★

Search Console now offers reports and tests for new types of structured data, from course information to vacation rental listings.

AI & SEO Search Console

Does Google really index iframe content as part of the parent page — or treats it as completely separate?

Google Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

Google attempts to associate content from a subpage embedded via iframe with the main page during indexing, but this is not guaranteed since both are normal HTML pages. To ensure a subpage is indexed only as part of the main page, use the meta robots...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Should you really prioritize a hierarchical structure for large websites?

Gary Illyes Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

For large websites, a hierarchical structure is generally preferable. It allows different sections to be treated differently, particularly for crawling. For example, having a 'news' directory for news content allows search engines to crawl these page...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing Discover & News AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Pagination & Structure

Should you translate your URLs to boost international SEO rankings?

Gary Illyes Dec 18, 2023 ★★

Using the content language in URLs, including non-English characters like Chinese, has no major impact on SEO. However, using the content language in URLs can sometimes be useful for search and for users.

Content AI & SEO Domain Name International SEO

Are double slashes in URLs really hurting your SEO performance?

Gary Illyes Dec 18, 2023 ★★

From a technical standpoint (RFC 3986), double slashes in URLs don't pose a problem because the slash is a valid separator that can appear multiple times. However, from a usability perspective, it's not ideal and can confuse certain crawlers.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Is your video being penalized by Google for appearing below the fold, and how can you fix it?

Martin Splitt Dec 18, 2023 ★★

The 'Video outside viewport' error means that a user searching for a video must scroll to find it after landing on your page. The simplest solution is to move the video to the top of the page so it's visible immediately upon loading.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Mobile SEO Search Console

How can you successfully transfer your image rankings to new URLs without losing search visibility?

Google Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

To transfer image rankings to new URLs, update the img elements to point to the new URLs and redirect the old image URLs to the new ones. Since images are crawled less frequently, reprocessing across all search systems will take time.

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

Should you really worry about 404 errors on your website?

Martin Splitt Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

404 errors are part of the web and are normal on a website. You shouldn't fear them. The only thing to monitor is whether a page considered important suddenly becomes a 404, in which case you need to fix it. Otherwise, there's nothing to worry about.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO Pagination & Structure

Is returning HTTP 200 on a 404 page really cloaking or just a soft 404?

Gary Illyes Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

Returning an HTTP 200 status code for pages that should be 404 is generally considered a soft 404, not cloaking, and doesn't lead to penalties. However, it's undesirable. Solutions: configure a proper 404 code, use a JavaScript redirect to a page wit...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Redirects

Should you force your sitemap file indexation in Google?

Gary Illyes Dec 18, 2023 ★★

A sitemap file can be indexed, but forcing its indexation is pointless. This doesn't harm your site but brings no benefit either. If you want to prevent its indexation or effectively remove it from search results, add an HTTP header with the robots n...

Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security AI & SEO PDF & Files Search Console

Should you worry when Googlebot crawls your API endpoints and generates 404 errors?

Martin Splitt Dec 18, 2023 ★★

If Googlebot finds API path URLs in your raw JSON, it can crawl them and generate 404 errors. This is not a concern. If you want to avoid this, use robots.txt to forbid crawling of these URLs. When Googlebot gets a 404, the content will not be indexe...

Content Crawl & Indexing JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Is web accessibility really a Google ranking factor or just a smoke screen?

Martin Splitt Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

Accessibility isn't exactly important for rankings, but it is for users. Some accessibility features like image alt attributes are useful for Googlebot. Generally speaking, building a useful website means taking accessibility into account to reach as...

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Images & Videos

Does Google really penalize paid link purchases, or is it just a myth?

Google Dec 18, 2023 ★★★

Nothing has changed regarding paid links in a very long time. You need to consult Google's anti-spam policies, particularly the section on link spam. Buying links remains a violation of guidelines.

JavaScript & Technical SEO Links & Backlinks Penalties & Spam