John Mueller

★★ Should you really rewrite all your product listings to rank well?

Having unique product descriptions (different from those provided by the manufacturer) is a good practice that helps Google differentiate pages. However, it is not critical, especially if other aspect...

Apr 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why do you need to wait 28 days to see the SEO impact of your Core Web Vitals optimizations?

Field data from Core Web Vitals (Chrome User Experience Report) takes about 28 days to update after changes on the site. The changes are not immediate but appear gradually with a subtle rise over time...

Apr 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do links on forums and UGC sites still hold any SEO value?

Most sites using user-generated content (like Quora) apply no-follow to their links. Therefore, it is rare to gain any SEO advantage. Google may consider the massive addition of links on forums as bor...

Apr 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Search Console's average position really reflect the reality of your rankings?

The data from the search performance report in Google Search Console is based on actual search results displayed to users, not theoretical numbers....

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google really calculate average position when multiple URLs rank for the same query?

The average position is calculated based on the highest position of a URL from your site. If multiple URLs from your site appear in the search results, Google uses the one that is ranked highest to ca...

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why are your impressions so low in the Search Console?

If you observe a significantly lower number of impressions than expected for certain queries, it's generally a sign that your site was only visible for a small portion of the total impressions....

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why do your Search Console data fluctuate so much from one query to another?

The metrics in the search performance report are based on real search results, but these real results can vary greatly from one search to another....

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can images really boost your positions in traditional web results?

For web results, keep in mind that your site can also appear in images within normal search results....

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why do your Google rankings change based on who is searching and where they are?

You won't always see the same ranking when checking for yourself, usually due to personalization, geographic targeting, or temporary visibility in search results....

Apr 21, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why Does Google Ignore CSS-Displayed Images for Indexing Purposes?

John Mueller reminded us on Twitter that Google only indexes an image if it is displayed using an <img> tag. Images displayed via CSS (particularly background images) are not taken into account, nor a...

Apr 19, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Split Your YMYL and Non-YMYL Content Across Two Separate Websites to Improve Your SEO?

We're familiar with the concept of "YMYL: Your Money, Your Life" sites and their significance, particularly during recent Google "core updates," in the realm of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Tr...

Apr 19, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Core Web Vitals Really Take 28 Days to Impact Your SEO Rankings?

John Mueller explained in a webmaster hangout that Core Web Vitals "scores" (LCP, CLS, FID) would not be calculated in real-time (unlike filters such as Panda or Penguin, for example) starting next Ma...

Apr 19, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you create a robots.txt blocked intermediary site to manage thousands of redirects?

To manage thousands of redirected domains (e.g., domain marketplace), create an intermediary site where all domains redirect, block this site with robots.txt, and then redirect to the main site. This ...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really focus on optimizing entire pages instead of individual passages?

Passage ranking helps Google identify important parts of very long pages. However, it is essential to continue optimizing the entire page, not just individual sections. For SEO-optimized sites, it may...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Core Web Vitals on desktop really have no impact on Google rankings?

For now, only mobile user experience (mobile Core Web Vitals) will be used as a ranking factor, and only in mobile search results. Desktop results will not take Core Web Vitals into account. Other pag...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does HTTP authentication provide better protection for your staging site than robots.txt or noindex?

To prevent Google from crawling and indexing a staging site, use authentication instead of robots.txt or noindex. The advantage: if you accidentally push staging to production with authentication acti...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is crawl budget really something to worry about for your website?

Crawl budget only becomes a real concern for sites with hundreds of thousands or millions of pages. For sites with a few thousand or tens of thousands of pages, Google can crawl everything, even in a ...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can we really control the appearance of sitelinks in Google?

Sitelinks appear algorithmically based on user needs, not through specific markup. This is not something that can be directly optimized or forced to appear. If Google shows sitelinks, one can then con...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can you really use review structured data for reviews copied from a third-party site?

If you copy reviews from a third-party site and display them on your own site (with permission), you can treat them as testimonials but cannot use 'review' structured data. Review structured data can ...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does switching CMS really destroy your organic search rankings?

Switching CMS (e.g., from Squarespace to WordPress) will likely affect your ranking, positively or negatively depending on the quality of the migration. Google does not only look at text but at everyt...

Apr 16, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available