What does Google say about SEO? /
Google Search Console stands as the essential tool for SEO professionals seeking to optimize their website's organic visibility. This free platform delivers invaluable data on organic performance, indexation status, technical errors, and user behavior in search results. Official Google statements regarding Search Console are critical for properly interpreting coverage reports, performance data, URL inspection tools, and sitemap management features. SEO practitioners rely on these official positions to diagnose indexation issues, identify optimization opportunities, and monitor organic traffic evolution. Mastering functionalities like Core Web Vitals reports, structured data validation, internal and external link analysis, and page experience signals has become essential for modern SEO strategies. Understanding official recommendations helps avoid metric misinterpretation, optimize crawl budget efficiently, and make strategic decisions based on reliable data to sustainably improve SERP rankings. Whether troubleshooting mobile usability issues, monitoring manual actions, or analyzing search queries that drive traffic, Search Console insights combined with Google's official guidance provide the foundation for data-driven SEO decision-making and continuous performance improvement in an ever-evolving search landscape.
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★★ Does Google really estimate the Core Web Vitals of low-traffic sites?
For sites lacking sufficient traffic in the Chrome User Experience Report, Google cannot display Core Web Vitals data in Search Console. However, the site will not be excluded from search results: Goo...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★ Can removing pages from a sitemap actually limit their crawling by Google?
Sitemaps help Google crawl better, but do not limit what is crawled. Removing pages from a sitemap does not prevent Google from crawling or indexing them. Google crawls the site normally even without ...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★★ Why does Google only crawl a fraction of your known pages?
Google has only crawled a portion of known URLs from a site since its inception. If Google crawls 20,000 pages out of 100,000 known (via sitemap), only those 20,000 can be indexed. This number increas...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★★ Does geotargeting really depend solely on ccTLD and Search Console?
For geotargeting, Google mainly uses the geographic top-level domain (ccTLD) or the geotargeting setting in Search Console. Links and the server's IP address are only used when Google lacks clear info...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★ Should you include all your pages in a general sitemap?
General sitemaps must include all your pages. News sitemaps are limited to the last 1000 articles and are specifically meant for Google News, but can be used by any website. Including all URLs in a si...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★★ Why does Google suddenly show more non-indexed URLs in Search Console?
Google now prominently displays discovered but non-indexed URLs in Search Console. This is not a change in indexing itself but in the way this information is reported. Google has always been selective...
John Mueller Jun 12, 2020
★★★ Does Domain Age Really Impact Your Google Rankings?
Responding to a question on this topic, John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google does not rank "old sites" - those on domain names created long ago - any better these days. No changes to the trea...
John Mueller Jun 08, 2020
★★ Should You Ditch Search Console's URL Parameters Tool in Favor of Robots.txt?
John Mueller explained on Twitter that the URL parameters handling tool in Search Console does not replace a "clean" use of robots.txt to block crawling on complex URLs with parameters, and that robot...
John Mueller Jun 08, 2020
★★ Why does Google emphasize textual context in Search Console feedback?
When sending Search Console feedback, attach a detailed textual explanation in addition to the screenshots. The Search Console team can use Google Translate to understand Japanese if English is imposs...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
★★★ How are FAQ clicks really counted in Search Console?
In Search Console, an FAQ click is counted only when the user clicks on the main URL of the page. If the user clicks on an internal link in the FAQ answer, it’s the destination URL that receives the c...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
★★ Should you really submit all paginated pages in the XML sitemap?
For a large site with pagination, it is not necessary to send all pagination pages (page 2, 3, 100…) in the XML sitemap. Google recommends only submitting important pages. Since the rel=next/prev attr...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★ Is your brand disappearing from the SERPs for no apparent reason: can Google feedback really fix it?
If a site disappears from search results for its brand name without an identifiable reason (no manual penalty in Search Console, no obvious spam links), use the 'Send feedback' button at the bottom of...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★ Is it true that all sites indexed after July 2019 default to Mobile-First Indexing?
Sites created and indexed after July 2019 are supposed to be automatically in Mobile-First Indexing. If Search Console still displays 'desktop Googlebot', it is likely a display bug in the tool, as se...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★★ Why does Google refuse to show your FAQs in rich results despite perfect markup?
The display of FAQs in rich results is determined by the algorithm, not the webmaster. If the markup is correct and error-free in Search Console, no further action is possible. Content quality remains...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
★★ Are Search Console tools really enough to solve your indexing problems?
To resolve indexing issues, check the registration in Search Console, submit an indexing request via the URL Inspection Tool, and send an XML sitemap. If the problem persists, provide detailed screens...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
★★ Why do the numbers from Analytics, Search Console, and My Business never match?
Google's various tools (Analytics, Search Console, My Business) are distinct systems with different goals and calculation methods. The numbers don't always match; that's normal. Consult the help pages...
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
★★★ Why doesn't Google display your FAQ rich results even with perfect markup?
The display of FAQ rich results in the SERPs is determined by Google's algorithm, not by the webmaster. Even if the structured data is correct and error-free in Search Console, Google may choose not t...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★ What really causes your sitemap to fail in Search Console and how can you effectively resolve the issue?
If submitting a sitemap fails in Search Console, the best action is to use the 'Send Feedback' feature in Search Console with a detailed description (ideally in English, but Japanese works too via Goo...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★★ Why doesn't Google canonicalize URLs with fragments in sitelinks and rich results?
Google normally canonicalizes URLs with fragments (#) in standard search results, but not in sitelinks or rich results (like FAQs). In these cases, the URL with the fragment is recorded as it is in th...
Anonyme (金谷武明) Jun 04, 2020
★★ Is it really necessary to report spam URL by URL to assist Google?
Although tedious, submitting each spam URL through the report form helps Google detect patterns and remove spam networks at scale. Each report contributes to improving anti-spam systems....
金谷武明 Jun 04, 2020
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