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
★★★ Are poorly implemented canonicals really sabotaging your link equity?
Google tries to follow canonical tags when implemented, but this can vary depending on the similarity of the pages. Non-indexed pages with canonicals may potentially lose links or not be maintained in...
John Mueller May 16, 2019
★★ Do RSS feeds really replace XML sitemaps for indexing in Google News?
Google uses RSS feeds for indexing in certain Google News products. This can be confusing for those who traditionally use XML sitemaps....
John Mueller May 16, 2019
★★★ How does Google really explore your pages to index them?
Google explores the internet by following links from one page to another. After capturing the content of the pages, Google must understand their subject and usefulness to index them correctly....
Martin Splitt May 15, 2019
★★ Why does Google still limit the Indexing API to job postings?
The Indexing API is currently limited to job postings. Google is gathering feedback to potentially extend it to other areas....
John Mueller May 10, 2019
★★★ What are the implications of Googlebot denying API permissions for your site's crawlability?
Browser APIs requiring permissions, such as geolocation or webcam access, are denied by Googlebot....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★ Should you really abandon dynamic rendering for SSR?
Dynamic rendering is a short-term workaround for sites where bots cannot execute JavaScript, but in the long run, it's better to switch to server-side rendering (SSR) or SSR with hydration....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★★ Is it true that Googlebot really keeps up with the latest version of Chrome for rendering?
Googlebot's rendering engine will be updated regularly, closely following the desktop version of Chrome, with a few weeks' delay....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★ Does server response time really dictate how often Googlebot crawls your site?
Google considers server response time when determining how many concurrent requests to make, thus affecting crawling....
Martin Splitt May 10, 2019
★★ Should you reduce your page size to boost your crawl budget?
The size of responses influences the time it takes for Google to retrieve pages, but reducing page size does not significantly increase the number of pages crawled by Google....
John Mueller May 10, 2019
★★★ Is it true that Googlebot really ignores all cookies between requests?
Googlebot does not retain cookies between two requests, meaning it views the page as a logged-out user....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★★ Does crawl budget really consider JavaScript and XHR resources?
Crawl budget also applies to all resources loaded during page rendering, including JavaScript files and XHR requests....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★★ Does Googlebot really use the stable Chrome rendering engine for JavaScript rendering?
Googlebot now uses the stable Chrome rendering engine. This means that compatibility with modern JavaScript features has improved, notably with new APIs like Intersection Observer....
Martin Splitt May 10, 2019
★★★ Is Google Cache a Reliable Indicator of Actual Indexing?
The Google cached page does not always reflect the current indexing of a page. Cache latencies may not affect ranking....
John Mueller May 10, 2019
★★★ Is Googlebot evergreen: how does switching to an always-up-to-date Chrome change the game for JavaScript SEO?
Googlebot now uses an always up-to-date version of Chrome for web page analysis, meaning better support for modern JavaScript....
Martin Splitt May 10, 2019
★★★ Does scroll-triggered lazy loading really prevent Googlebot from indexing your content?
Using lazy loading based solely on scrolling may not load content with Googlebot, as it does not interact with pages in the same way as users....
Zoe Clifford May 10, 2019
★★★ Is it still necessary to modify your JavaScript for Google to crawl it?
Modern JavaScript features, including Let, Const, and new array methods, are now usable with Googlebot. The use of polyfills specifically to maintain compatibility with Googlebot is no longer necessar...
Martin Splitt May 10, 2019
★★★ Does mobile-first indexing really cover more than 50% of sites — and what does it mean for you?
More than 50% of the sites in Google's index are now indexed with mobile-first to better represent how users browse the web....
Martin Splitt May 09, 2019
★★★ Does Googlebot really find your site through links or manual submission?
Googlebot continuously crawls the web by following links. To make your site known, you can either establish inbound links or submit your site through Search Console....
Martin Splitt May 09, 2019
★★★ How can you leverage the Index Coverage Report to fix your indexing errors?
The Index Coverage Report from Search Console helps identify indexed pages and potential issues, facilitating the rapid resolution of errors....
Martin Splitt May 09, 2019
★★★ Does Googlebot really use a modern version of Chrome to crawl your site?
Googlebot now uses a modern version of Chrome and will continue to be updated to stay current....
Martin Splitt May 09, 2019
🔔

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.