Gary Illyes

★★ How does Google really weigh canonicalization signals?

Google employs machine learning to automatically calculate and adjust the weights of various canonicalization signals. Manual weight adjustments were too complex as altering one signal unpredictably a...

Dec 10, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does canonicalization really impact Google rankings?

Canonicalization is completely independent of ranking. The signals used to choose the canonical URL (like presence in the sitemap) do not serve to improve that page’s position in search results....

Dec 10, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really be concerned about your site's crawl budget?

The vast majority of websites do not need to worry about crawl budget. It concerns only a substantial but minority segment of the web ecosystem....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really worry about the crawl budget if it's under a million URLs?

If your site has fewer than a million URLs, you generally don't need to worry about crawl budget. This figure serves as a reference baseline....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Crawl Budget Really a Thing or Just an SEO Myth?

Crawl budget is the number of URLs that Googlebot can and must crawl. The instructions come from the crawl scheduling system, which estimates which pages need to be recrawled and which sections requir...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Google really limiting its crawl deliberately to spare your servers?

Google has enough crawling capacity to crash parts of the Internet, but deliberately chooses to crawl as slowly as possible while discovering enough content not to harm sites....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can Googlebot really stop crawling your site due to server error codes?

Googlebot automatically slows down if the site sends 429 or 50x codes, or if response speed significantly decreases. Crawling can even stop completely if these signals persist....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you spot a genuine crawl budget issue on your website?

To identify crawl budget issues, check for URLs that have never been crawled in your server logs and monitor refresh rates. If certain sections aren’t refreshed for months despite modifications, it’s ...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does removing low-quality content really improve the crawl budget?

Removing or pruning less useful content from your site enables Googlebot to focus its time on higher quality pages that are actually beneficial to users....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you sacrifice server speed to save on crawl budget?

If your servers can handle it, avoid sending 429 or 50x error codes and ensure that your server responds quickly. This positively influences Googlebot's crawl....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really mean it when they say every URL counts toward your crawl budget?

Every crawled URL counts against the crawl budget: alternate language versions, CSS files, images. Even 170 language variations of a page all consume budget; they are not exempt....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really apply the same ranking rules to all websites?

Google applies the Honest Results policy to maintain fairness. It doesn't matter if you are a small or large publisher, if you spend $1 or millions on Google Ads, or if you work at Google or know Goog...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google refuse to answer your SEO questions in private?

Google cannot answer SEO questions in private (email, DM) because it would create an unfair advantage. Questions must be asked publicly on Twitter, in webmaster help forums, or during public office ho...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does spending more on Google Ads really boost your SEO?

The amount spent on Google Ads or other Google products (Cloud, etc.) has no influence on SEO questions or organic ranking. The Honest Results policy strictly prohibits it....

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Who really decides on exceptions to Google's Honest Results policy?

Exceptions to the Honest Results policy only concern issues that significantly impact Google users. These decisions are made by Search leadership, not by individual engineers, and are never based on t...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you still report spam to Google if reports are never handled individually?

Google encourages the submission of spam reports through the dedicated form. These reports are analyzed as a whole to identify trends, not individually. Google is looking for scalable solutions to add...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Search Console really provide an SEO advantage to its users?

Search Console is a Search product, thus covered by the Honest Results policy. Google cannot give unfair advantages even for verification or use of Search Console, as they do not have the capacity to ...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does escalating a request with Google really impact your SEO?

Escalating a request through management hierarchy (my boss will talk to your boss) does not bypass the Honest Results policy. It may even create a negative bias and more frustration. The policy is cle...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Office Hours truly the best channel to ask your SEO questions to Google?

John Mueller's Office Hours (roughly weekly) are the recommended channel for asking SEO questions. You can post on YouTube or join the video call directly. The recordings are then published. Links ava...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that Google refuses to give direct SEO answers?

Google cannot always give direct answers to SEO questions, but providing general direction can be very helpful. Seeing the path to take may be sufficient for a webmaster to debug an issue on their sid...

Dec 09, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available