What does Google say about SEO?

Does your domain extension (TLD) really impact your search rankings?

Gary Illyes Jul 20, 2023 ★★

Choosing between an expensive domain (like a $10,000 .com) and a cheaper one is primarily a business and branding decision rather than an SEO decision.

Domain Age & History AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does a .coffee or .tech domain really boost your search rankings?

Martin Splitt Jul 20, 2023 ★★

Using a TLD that matches your keywords (such as .coffee for a café) provides no inherent SEO advantage from Google's perspective.

Domain Age & History JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Why can't you detect manual actions before buying an expired domain?

Martin Splitt Jul 20, 2023 ★★

You can only verify if a domain has a Google manual action after registering it in Search Console, which represents a risk when buying expired domains.

AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name Penalties & Spam Search Console

Should You Really Avoid Changing Your 301 Redirects Too Frequently?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

On Reddit, John Mueller explained that it is possible to cancel a permanent 301 redirect, but that he doesn't recommend doing this to redirect content elsewhere in the short term: "I would prefer that you determine what you want in the long term and ...

Content AI & SEO Pagination & Structure Redirects

Do Core Web Vitals Really Impact Your Rankings in Google's Helpful Content System?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

Google has clarified how Core Web Vitals are used in its helpful content ranking system.

Content Web Performance

Why is Google shutting down its mobile-friendly testing tool?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

The mobile-friendly testing tool and its API will be removed from Search Console by the end of 2023.

JavaScript & Technical SEO Mobile SEO Search Console

Is Google Really Replacing FID with INP in Core Web Vitals—And What Does It Mean for Your Rankings?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

Interaction to Next Paint (INP) will officially become a metric that is part of the Core Web Vitals.

AI & SEO Web Performance

Can you finally edit code directly in Google's rich results test tool?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★

Search Console has launched an update to the rich results test that enables code editing, making it faster and easier to test and fix structured markup corrections.

Domain Age & History Structured Data Featured Snippets & SERP Search Console

Can you really get better content insights from Search Console without connecting Google Analytics?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★

Search Console Insights is now available for users who don't have Google Analytics connected to their account.

AI & SEO Search Console

Is Google really phasing out mobile-friendliness as a separate ranking signal?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

Google is removing mobile-friendliness as a distinct ranking factor separate from Core Web Vitals.

Mobile SEO Web Performance

Should you worry about Google removing the mobile usability report from Search Console?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★★

The mobile usability report will be removed from Search Console by the end of 2023.

Mobile SEO Search Console

Does Google's Search Labs let you test new AI features before everyone else gets them?

John Mueller Jul 18, 2023 ★★

Google has launched Search Labs, a platform where users can register to test new products and ideas that Google is exploring, particularly in the field of generative AI.

E-commerce AI & SEO JavaScript & Technical SEO Domain Name

Does Google really let you test unreleased search features? What can Search Labs teach you about the future of SEO?

Google Jul 13, 2023 ★★

Google has launched Search Labs, a platform where users can register and test new products and ideas currently being explored by Google. This initiative allows users to discover new Google search innovations before their public release.

Crawl & Indexing E-commerce AI & SEO

Is Search Labs really locked down in the US, and what does that mean for your SEO strategy?

Google Jul 13, 2023 ★★

At launch, Search Labs is available only to users located in the United States. This initial geographic limitation concerns access to experimental features offered in the program.

AI & SEO

How can you optimize your content for Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE)?

Google Jul 13, 2023 ★★★

Search Labs includes the Search Generative Experience (SGE), a new feature that uses generative artificial intelligence to provide more information and context to user searches. This technology aims to enrich the search experience with AI-generated c...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

Can Relevance Really Outweigh All Other SEO Ranking Factors?

John Mueller Jul 11, 2023 ★★★

On Mastodon, John Mueller clarified that no ranking factor can compensate for a lack of relevance or users' lack of interest in a website. As the Google employee states: "it's easy to forget that a site doesn't rank on its own, but ranks based on its...

Domain Age & History Content AI & SEO

How Will Bing Chat's New #nosearch Feature Change the Way AI Answers Your Questions?

Google Jul 11, 2023 ★★★

On Twitter, several users complained about Bing Chat's tendency to provide answers sourced from the web, even when simply coding or solving a math problem. In response, Mikhail Parakhin, Corporate Vice President of Bing Search, announced the upcoming...

AI & SEO Social Media

Should You Place Your Blog Posts in a /blog/ Subfolder or at the Root of Your Site?

John Mueller Jul 11, 2023 ★★

On Reddit, John Mueller responded to a user who was wondering whether it was better to place their blog articles in a /blog/ directory or if it was possible to put them at the root. His response: "Google doesn't care. Do whatever you want. Sometimes ...

Content Discover & News AI & SEO Domain Name Pagination & Structure Local Search

Does a 403 error on mobile really block your entire site from being indexed by Google?

John Mueller Jul 11, 2023 ★★★

If Googlebot crawls a site with a mobile user agent and receives an HTTP 403 code, it signals there is nothing to index, so Google indexes nothing. The URL inspection tool in Search Console allows you to verify this problem.

Domain Age & History Crawl & Indexing HTTPS & Security Mobile SEO Domain Name Search Console

Do 404 errors and 301 redirects really hurt your SEO rankings?

Gary Illyes Jul 11, 2023 ★★★

404 errors are completely harmless, just like 301 redirects. You should choose the solution best suited to your specific scenario without worrying about negative SEO impact.

AI & SEO Redirects