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.
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★★★ 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
★★ Should you really prioritize URL parameters to manage internal searches?
Google recommends using URL parameters (for example, ?q=term) instead of paths to indicate searches in URLs. This helps Google better recognize and optimize the crawl....
John Mueller May 03, 2019
★★★ Should you still fill in the priority and frequency in your XML sitemaps?
Google does not consider priorities or refresh frequencies in sitemaps. The last modified date is crucial....
John Mueller May 03, 2019
★★★ Is Google really excluding your desktop images from rankings with mobile-first indexing?
If a site has switched to mobile-first indexing, Google will use the mobile version for indexing. Images must be correctly integrated into the mobile version to be indexed....
John Mueller May 03, 2019
★★★ Do sitemaps with lastmod really speed up the indexing of your content?
Use the sitemap file with the last modified date indicated to inform Google of changes on a page, in order to achieve a quick update in search results....
John Mueller May 03, 2019
★★★ Why does Google show backlinks you've disavowed in Search Console?
Even when external links are blocked via the disavow file or robots.txt, they will still appear in Search Console, as they remain identified by Google even if they do not transmit any SEO signals....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ Should you really leave pagination indexed on large websites?
For sites with numerous articles, it is advised to use a strong internal linking structure or to leave pagination indexed if the articles are not linked elsewhere. This ensures that Google can crawl a...
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ How does flexible sampling solve the paywall indexing puzzle?
For sites with a paywall, using 'flexible sampling' in the directives allows you to manage how content should be indexed, ensuring that titles and descriptions are correctly understood by Google....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★ Do PDFs without internal navigation really harm your indexing?
PDF files lack navigation, which can pose challenges for indexing. For pages without integrated navigation, make sure they are well-linked to other parts of the site to optimize their visibility....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ Does Google really follow links on your noindex pages?
Google does not guarantee that links on noindex pages will never be followed. It is possible that Google may temporarily crawl links even if the page is noindexed, especially if the links have a high ...
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★ Do you really need a specific robots.txt to appear in Google Discover?
No specific directive like a robots.txt is needed for Google Discover. The pages visible in Discover are simply normal pages indexed by Google....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ Which Dates Does Google Actually Use to Rank Your Pages?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google can take into account two types of dates: the one indicated in the XML Sitemap ("lastmod" field or last modified date) which corresponds to the last modif...
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★ Can internal linking really replace an optimized site architecture?
To maximize the indexing of articles, it is advisable to establish relevant cross-links between the articles. This reduces the importance of link depth in the site's structure....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ Is it true that Google News and Discover operate on the same index or are they two distinct circuits?
Content in Google News must be in the Google News index, while Google Discover can display any page indexed by Google. Both services operate independently, although they may appear related....
John Mueller May 02, 2019
★★★ Is your mobile content truly complete, or are you unknowingly sabotaging your desktop rankings?
With the shift to mobile-first indexing, it is crucial that mobile content is complete to avoid negatively impacting the overall ranking, including for desktop searches....
John Mueller May 01, 2019
★★★ Should You Still Create Video Sitemaps to Index Your Multimedia Content?
Video sitemaps are still recommended to help Google properly recognize and index videos associated with pages....
John Mueller May 01, 2019
★★ Does HTTPS really slow down Googlebot's crawling on your site?
Switching to HTTPS and HTTP/2 is generally seamless for Google’s crawling. However, if an increase in download time is observed, it may indicate an unoptimized server configuration following a server ...
John Mueller May 01, 2019
★★ Is your site experiencing excessive crawling that uncovers structural flaws?
Excessive crawling by Google of non-essential pages may indicate poor site structure. Checking server logs helps diagnose and properly adjust unwanted crawl behaviors....
John Mueller May 01, 2019
★★ Should You Ditch the Noindex Directive in Robots.txt Before It's Too Late?
John Mueller and Gary Illyes recently discussed on Twitter the use of "Noindex:" in the robots.txt file. Let's remember that as of today, this feature works, but it is not maintained by Google and is ...
John Mueller Apr 23, 2019
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