What does Google say about SEO? /
The Crawl & Indexing category compiles all official Google statements regarding how Googlebot discovers, crawls, and indexes web pages. These fundamental processes determine which pages from your website will be included in Google's index and potentially appear in search results. This section addresses critical technical mechanisms: crawl budget management to optimize allocated resources, strategic implementation of robots.txt files to control content access, noindex directives for page exclusion, XML sitemap configuration to enhance discoverability, along with JavaScript rendering challenges and canonical URL implementation. Google's official positions on these topics are essential for SEO professionals as they help avoid technical blocking issues, accelerate new content indexation, and prevent unintentional deindexing. Understanding Google's crawling and indexing processes forms the foundation of any effective search engine optimization strategy, directly impacting organic visibility and SERP performance. Whether troubleshooting indexation problems, optimizing crawl efficiency for large websites, or ensuring proper URL canonicalization, these official guidelines provide authoritative answers to complex technical SEO questions that shape modern web presence and discoverability.
Quick SEO Quiz

Test your SEO knowledge in 5 questions

Less than a minute. Find out how much you really know about Google search.

🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ Site Architecture: Is it really necessary to choose between flat and deep?
It's essential to avoid an architecture that's too flat (everything at the same level) or too deep (too many clicks). Finding a balance facilitates crawling, indexing, and ranking. There are no strict...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Does hreflang really protect against duplicate content?
Hreflang helps Google recognize which URL to display but does not eliminate the detection of duplicate content. Google indexes a canonical version and exchanges the displayed URL based on the user's l...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Why does it sometimes take Google a year to reindex certain pages on your site?
For pages that change rarely and appear infrequently in search results, it may take longer for them to be crawled again and updated in Google's index, sometimes up to a year or more....
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★ Should you really automate the generation of your XML sitemap?
Mueller strongly recommends automating the sitemap because every small change should reflect quickly. A sitemap generated by crawling your own site is acceptable but less optimal: Google will also cra...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★ Should you really be concerned about internal PageRank on noindex pages?
On a normal e-commerce site, there’s no need to worry about the flow of PageRank between listed pages and noindex pages. Google systems handle this well. The major impact is on crawling (filtered URLs...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Should you really avoid canonicals pointing to page 1 on paginated pages?
If all paginated pages (2 to 10) have a canonical pointing to page 1, Google deindexes pages 2-10 and their unique content. Items that are only present on these pages will be lost to the index....
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★ How does Google handle the indexing of duplicate images across different websites?
Google tries to merge identical images found on different URLs into its index by establishing a single canonical URL, although differences in the content or metadata of the images can sometimes lead t...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Why does Google deindex your pages and how can you fix it?
If the number of indexed pages decreases, it’s generally because Google believes it’s not worth indexing all pages individually. This could indicate a site-wide quality issue rather than a specific te...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Should you index the internal search pages of your site?
If internal search pages resemble categories, indexing them can make sense. If they consist of random user searches, it’s better to use noindex or robots.txt. Mueller prefers noindex because robots.tx...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Should you really abandon the desktop version of your site with mobile-first indexing?
Once switched to mobile-first indexing, Google uses only the mobile version for indexing, context, and understanding of URLs. If budget is limited between desktop and mobile, prioritize mobile. But do...
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★ Should you choose dashes or pluses in URLs for better SEO?
Using pluses (+) or dashes (-) in URLs has no impact on crawling or ranking. Dashes are preferred for technical convenience (to avoid spaces in tools), but both work identically for Google....
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ Does Google automatically remove indexed pages that are no longer needed?
Google does not automatically remove pages that are no longer relevant unless a 'noindex' tag is applied or if they are manually removed via the Search Console's removal tools....
John Mueller May 01, 2020
★★★ How do internal links really shape the topical relevance of your pages?
Links allow crawlers to explore the pages of your website and understand the structure and architecture of information. They are essential for search engines to determine which pages are relevant to a...
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Do full-screen hero images really block the indexing of your pages?
Full-page 'hero' images do not impact indexing if the content is in the DOM without requiring scrolling....
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Should you ditch HTML5 canvas to ensure your content gets indexed?
Using JavaScript to replace HTML5 text content with canvas text commands is not recommended. Google does not plan to index content in canvases. It is better to build a standard HTML page to ensure the...
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Do full-page hero images really harm Google indexing?
Hero images that require scrolling do not pose an issue for indexing as long as the complete content is present in the DOM....
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Should you really multiply sitemaps when you have a lot of URLs?
If you have a large number of URLs, it is advisable to use multiple sitemap indexes to organize your URLs more effectively. This allows Google to process and discover the URLs optimally....
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Are Your JavaScript Links Wrecking Your Crawl Budget, and How Can You Fix It?
Use semantic HTML markup for links and ensure your links point to a correct URL. Avoid using pseudo-protocol URLs like 'javascript:' because they are not followed by crawlers. Make sure that links inc...
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Does Googlebot really follow all the JavaScript links on your site?
Googlebot can follow links produced by JavaScript, provided they are generated with appropriate anchor tags. Non-standard elements, such as spans with onclick, will not be followed....
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
★★★ Is it really necessary to split your sitemap into multiple files to index a large site?
If you have a large number of URLs to index, it is acceptable to divide your sitemap into multiple sub-sitemaps as long as you adhere to Google's limit of 50,000 URLs per sitemap file....
Martin Splitt Apr 29, 2020
🔔

Get real-time analysis of the latest Google SEO declarations

Be the first to know every time a new official Google statement drops — with full expert analysis.

No spam. Unsubscribe in one click.