What does Google say about SEO?

How can you leverage Google Search Console's performance report to boost your click-through rates?

Google Oct 31, 2023 ★★

Google recommends using the Performance Report in Google Search Console to improve your pages' click-through rate. This report allows you to identify pages that receive many impressions but few clicks, so you can optimize their content to increase th...

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

Why Are Google Events Disappearing from Rich Search Results?

Google Oct 24, 2023 ★★

Several SEO professionals have noticed the disappearance of events in Google's rich results. A phenomenon that appears to date back to the end of September, according to the first messages mentioning the situation on the social network X, and the Sem...

Domain Age & History Featured Snippets & SERP AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Social Media

Can you block Googlebot in certain countries without risking a penalty?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2023 ★★★

On X, John Mueller responded to a user that it was not possible to block a site from appearing in search results for a specific country, particularly the USA. Google's Senior Search Analyst also referred his interlocutor to a Search Engine Roundtable...

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

What Does the Search Console's 'Hostload Exceeded' Message Really Reveal About Your Page Quality?

John Mueller Oct 24, 2023 ★

During last weekend, the Search Console regularly displayed the following failure message when requesting URL indexing: "Failure: hostload exceeded", which could lead some to believe the problem came from their host. In response to users' concerns, w...

Algorithms Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam Search Console

Is Google's Default Blur Mode Going to Hurt Your Image Search Rankings?

Emma Higham Oct 24, 2023 ★★

Blur mode is the default setting for users who have not activated the SafeSearch filter. This mode automatically blurs explicit images such as adult content or graphic violence in search results.

Domain Age & History Content Images & Videos

Does Google automatically filter your content for minors with SafeSearch?

Daniel Waisberg Oct 24, 2023 ★★

For Google accounts of people under 18 years old, SafeSearch is set to Filter mode by default when Google's systems detect that the user may be under 18. This mode filters explicit content including pornography, violence, and blood.

Content

Is your content being invisibly filtered by SafeSearch without you knowing it?

Emma Higham Oct 24, 2023 ★★

SafeSearch is designed to detect explicit content such as pornography and violence in Google Search. This parameter provides additional control over search results with filtering options, blurring, or displaying explicit results.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Does Google really filter content automatically without your consent, and how much are you actually missing?

Emma Higham Oct 24, 2023 ★★

Google has built-in systems that automatically filter mature content in certain image results and even in autocomplete suggestions, independent of individual SafeSearch settings.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Images & Videos

Is Google really filtering explicit results based on your search intent?

Emma Higham Oct 24, 2023 ★★★

When SafeSearch is disabled, Google uses language understanding to interpret search intent. If a query can have multiple meanings, Google ensures it provides explicit results only when this is clearly what the user wants.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO International SEO

Should you stop using the site: operator to verify Google indexation?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2023 ★★★

The site: operator in Google Search does not work reliably for verifying whether a page is indexed. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It is not the recommended method for checking a page's indexation status.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO

Why does Google prioritize HTML rendering over screenshots for indexing?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2023 ★★★

The HTML rendering in Google Search Console is the most important thing to examine, because it's what Google Search actually uses to index the page's content. The screenshot is just a convenient secondary feature.

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Should you really stop relying on Google Cache to verify how your content is indexed?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2023 ★★

Using the cache search function to verify how Google sees a page's content also creates problems and is not a reliable approach.

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO Web Performance

Is the URL Inspection Tool Really the Only Way to Verify Whether a Page Is Indexed?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2023 ★★★

To find out if a page is indexed, you must use the URL Inspection Tool directly in Google Search Console. This tool shows whether a page is indexed, what its canonical URL is, and what the HTML code looks like as indexed by Google Search.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing Domain Name Search Console

Does Google's Search Console live test really replace Google's cache for verifying your updates?

Martin Splitt Oct 18, 2023 ★★★

The URL inspection tool allows you to run a live test to see if a fresh crawl would show different content, for example after updating a page.

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

Does Google Really Replace Your Search Queries to Boost Ad Revenue?

Danny Sullivan Oct 10, 2023 ★★

In a recent article, since removed, Wired claimed that Google was deleting queries to replace them with other, more profitable queries. These rather serious allegations did not go unnoticed by Danny Sullivan, who responded by indicating that Google d...

Domain Age & History Discover & News AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Local Search

How Does Google Handle Fake Obituary Spam and What SEO Lessons Can We Learn?

Danny Sullivan Oct 10, 2023 ★★★

On X, SEO Chris Silver Smith pointed out the alarming increase in automated fake obituaries in search engines redirecting to inappropriate content, using the example of his brother-in-law who passed away just days earlier. Stating that he hadn't seen...

Domain Age & History Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Penalties & Spam Local Search

Is Google Search Console really enough to verify your content's indexation?

Google Oct 09, 2023 ★★

Google Search Console is the recommended tool to verify whether Google can see your website's content. There are several approaches to perform this verification, but they are not all equivalent in terms of reliability and accuracy.

Content Crawl & Indexing AI & SEO Search Console

Should you remove HowTo structured data from your pages now that Google has stopped displaying rich results?

John Mueller Oct 05, 2023 ★★★

Google has ceased using HowTo structured data to display rich results. It is not necessary to remove this markup from existing pages, but it will no longer have any effect on how results are displayed in search results.

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO Local Search

Should you abandon FAQ schema markup on your website after Google's restriction?

John Mueller Oct 05, 2023 ★★★

Structured FAQ data is now displayed only for government sites, health sites, and sites recognized as authoritative. For other sites, this markup will have no effect on display.

Domain Age & History Structured Data AI & SEO

Should you really let your CMS handle your structured data?

John Mueller Oct 05, 2023 ★★

It is recommended to use a CMS, hosting platform, or plugin that allows you to easily add and remove structured data. New types will be introduced and others may disappear over time.

JavaScript & Technical SEO