Gary Illyes

★★★ Should you really prioritize a hierarchical structure for large websites?

For large websites, a hierarchical structure is generally preferable. It allows different sections to be treated differently, particularly for crawling. For example, having a 'news' directory for news...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you translate your URLs to boost international SEO rankings?

Using the content language in URLs, including non-English characters like Chinese, has no major impact on SEO. However, using the content language in URLs can sometimes be useful for search and for us...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are double slashes in URLs really hurting your SEO performance?

From a technical standpoint (RFC 3986), double slashes in URLs don't pose a problem because the slash is a valid separator that can appear multiple times. However, from a usability perspective, it's n...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is returning HTTP 200 on a 404 page really cloaking or just a soft 404?

Returning an HTTP 200 status code for pages that should be 404 is generally considered a soft 404, not cloaking, and doesn't lead to penalties. However, it's undesirable. Solutions: configure a proper...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you force your sitemap file indexation in Google?

A sitemap file can be indexed, but forcing its indexation is pointless. This doesn't harm your site but brings no benefit either. If you want to prevent its indexation or effectively remove it from se...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you still report bad backlinks to Google in 2024?

Bad link reports submitted to Google are used to improve algorithms overall. Google does not take individual actions on each report. This information is available on Google's official blog....

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why is Google displaying your special characters as gibberish in search results?

If special characters aren't displaying correctly in search results, it's likely due to a mismatch between the encoding Google detects and the one you intended. You must specify the encoding in your H...

Dec 18, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is technical SEO really still essential for search rankings?

Technical SEO aspects are always very important. If Googlebot cannot access the site, if rendering fails severely, or if there are no words/tokens on the page, Google cannot do much for you....

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are You Wasting Time on Obscure Technical SEO Details Instead of Mastering the Basics?

Instead of obsessing over strange technical details, website owners should focus on the fundamentals: understanding how the internet works step by step, how search functions, and identifying where the...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Search Console really the solution to fix all your SEO problems?

Search Console and webmaster tools are very effective at recognizing technical problems. They can help with ranking issues, but are particularly useful for diagnosing technical problems....

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really prioritize your homepage first when it comes to crawling and indexing?

For Google, the homepage is the most important page on your site. It's the page users land on when they type your domain name directly. Google will try very hard to crawl and index this page. If it's ...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does duplicate content really always come from exact copy-paste?

The vast majority of canonicalization issues stem from content duplicated exactly word-for-word. This can be caused by incorrect site configuration, for example failing to return a 404 when a random U...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are user feedback signals more revealing than traffic metrics when assessing page quality?

The volume of negative feedback and irrelevant comments can be a faster indicator of page quality than traffic metrics. When irrelevant content has been removed, negative feedback has also disappeared...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does a truly unique perspective really hold the key to ranking in saturated niches?

To break through in a saturated niche, try to offer something unique or your own perspective on the subject. If you write about topics where few people are speaking, it suddenly becomes much easier to...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really treat all crawl errors the same way?

For crawl errors: 404 errors can generally be ignored if the URL shouldn't serve content. Conversely, 500 errors must absolutely be checked because they indicate server problems that affect crawling....

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do you really need to match your title tag and H1 for SEO success?

Page titles and H1 tags can be identical or different, it doesn't matter. They should simply be related to the page content, but they don't need to be exactly the same....

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you be using generative AI to write your SEO content?

Generative AI tools can be incredibly useful when facing writer's block, for quickly creating a page structure, or for suggesting word variations in your text. The problem isn't the tool itself but ho...

Nov 21, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really remove search features based on clicks alone?

Google does not base its decision to remove a search feature solely on engagement metrics. Multiple aspects must be considered, not just interaction rates in isolation....

Nov 07, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really prioritize user satisfaction, or is maximizing ad revenue the hidden agenda?

Google's ultimate objective is to make users satisfied with search results, defined as users finding what they were looking for, whether it's a recipe or specific information....

Nov 07, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google decide which features are worth evaluating in its algorithm?

Google prioritizes evaluating features that trigger frequently in search results. Features that display rarely are sidelined to give them time to mature or become more widely deployed....

Nov 07, 2023 ⚡ Analysis available