John Mueller

★★★ How Does Google Really Handle Hyphens in Keywords and Search Queries?

John Mueller explained on Twitter that Google can interpret an expression containing a hyphen in several different ways, depending on the context. For example, "wifi" and "wi-fi" will be understood th...

Mar 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do e-commerce sites really need a different SEO approach than others?

E-commerce sites are treated just like regular websites by Google. All the standard SEO best practices apply. Additionally, set up Google Shopping via Merchant Center (free in most countries) to enhan...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you canonicalize or index your product variants separately?

For product variants (different colors, sizes), you can choose to canonicalize them to a single page or index them separately. If the differences are significant and sought after by users, it is prefe...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are the Quality Rater Guidelines really Google's secret instruction manual for its algorithm?

The Quality Rater Guidelines provide insights into what Google expects from websites, particularly for YMYL sites. Raters do not create algorithms but provide insights. Consulting these guidelines hel...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Subdomains vs subdirectories: Does Google really distinguish between them for SEO?

Google treats subdomains and subdirectories the same way for SEO. The choice should be based on what is easier to maintain technically. Geographical targeting is configured in Search Console in both c...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Could duplicate content on product listings actually cost you your rankings?

Having duplicate content (like manufacturer descriptions) on product pages does not make the page bad. It is a common situation. Google will simply choose a version to index from the internal duplicat...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does URL structure really affect Google rankings?

Google does not count the number of slashes in URLs. The depth of the directory structure does not affect ranking. Use the URL structure that suits your users. Google treats URLs as identifiers, not a...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is the Change of Address Tool in Search Console really essential for migrating a site?

The Change of Address tool in Search Console speeds up migration but is not critical. Many successful migrations occur without this tool. The main thing is to properly configure the redirects and ensu...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you precisely control what appears (or doesn't) in your featured snippets?

To prevent certain paragraphs from appearing in search result snippets, use the data-nosnippet tag. For content that absolutely must not be indexed (legal reasons), block the JavaScript that loads thi...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can you display different ads between the AMP version and the canonical version without risking a penalty?

AMP pages can differ from the canonical HTML version in terms of monetization (ads). Advertisements can vary between versions without issue, as long as the main content and images remain equivalent....

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you prove your medical expertise to meet Google's YMYL requirements?

For medical sites (YMYL - Your Money Your Life), Google is very demanding. You must demonstrate real expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EAT). The content must be created or validated by legiti...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does the structure of your sitemaps really affect Google crawl?

The structure of sitemap files (number of URLs per file, file names) does not affect how Google crawls URLs. Google treats all sitemaps together in the same database. Organize your sitemaps according ...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Mobile-first indexing: Does Google really use the same signals for desktop and mobile?

With mobile-first indexing, Google indexes content only once with the mobile crawler and uses this version along with all its signals as the basis for both desktop AND mobile ranking. This primarily c...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do hreflang errors really block the indexing of your international pages?

Hreflang errors in Search Console simply mean that Google is not currently using these annotations. They do not prevent indexing or site visibility. If you haven't set up hreflang manually, check with...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really avoid geographic IP redirects on your site's country versions?

For geographic IP redirects, apply them only to the generic homepage (www), not to the country-specific versions. This way, the generic page can be crawled, and hreflang annotations are visible, while...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really worry if Google is only indexing the canonical version?

When Google follows a rel=canonical tag, only the canonical version is indexed. Google will not index signals from other variants (e.g., red shoes vs blue shoes). Only the canonical page will be consi...

Mar 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Google My Business really a must-have for local SEO?

For local businesses, everything related to Google My Business is truly valuable as it requires the provision of all necessary metadata: opening hours, clear address, name, service descriptions. We ca...

Mar 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you prioritize 'remarkable actions' over link building for better visibility?

Perform magical and extraordinary things that make people write about you - local news sites, radio - even without a direct link. People can then search for your name and find you online. Step out of ...

Mar 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why can't new local sites aim for national queries right off the bat?

If you're starting with a new business, you won't rank number one for generic national queries. You have a small niche to work with. First, focus on getting people nearby to find you, then grow gradua...

Mar 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why Do You Have to Wait 28 Days to See Your Core Web Vitals Scores?

John Mueller explained in a webmaster hangout that Google tools used to "score" Core Web Vitals metrics (LCP, FID, CLS) need, for any given web page, to collect data (from the Chrome User Experience R...

Mar 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available