John Mueller

★★★ How will the new Index Coverage Report in Search Console transform your indexing diagnostics?

Google has significantly updated the Index Coverage Report in Search Console to better inform website owners about issues affecting indexing. For instance, the previous generic error type 'crawl anoma...

Jan 27, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google emphasize the distinction between crawling and indexing?

Crawling is the process by which Googlebot explores web pages by following links to discover other pages. Indexing is the process by which Google's systems process and understand the content of these ...

Jan 27, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are links really the cornerstone of Google's SEO?

Google uses links to find new pages and to better understand their context on the web. While Google employs many different factors in its search, links are an integral part of the web....

Jan 27, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can HTML Button Links Really Sculpt PageRank Without Google Detecting Them?

John Mueller explained in a webmaster hangout that links implemented through HTML Button code (sometimes referred to as "PRG Pattern" for "Post/Redirect/Get Pattern") are not seen and therefore not ta...

Jan 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Change Your Dedicated Mobile Site's Technical Configuration When Moving to Mobile-First Indexing?

John Mueller reminded us on Twitter that when a website is not responsive and has a dedicated mobile version (two different URLs for the desktop site and the mobile site), nothing special needs to be ...

Jan 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Really Avoid Google Tag Manager for Implementing Structured Data?

John Mueller advised on Twitter to integrate structured data tags directly into your pages and not to use Tag Manager for this purpose. Simply because direct integration is "generally easier to monito...

Jan 25, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Discover really apply the same quality standards as traditional search?

Google Discover uses many of the same quality algorithms as web search. Broad Core updates that affect search generally also impact Discover....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can mobile pop-ups really kill your SEO?

Intrusive interstitials on mobile are a ranking factor that can slightly lower a site's position, but will not completely remove it from the results if it remains relevant....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is brand search really a Google ranking factor?

Google does not use brand search as a direct ranking factor. However, having a unique brand ensures guaranteed traffic because the site will be displayed when users specifically search for that brand....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really sacrifice speed for quality content when launching a new site?

For a new website, it's recommended to first create fantastic content, and then gradually improve speed. Speed should not be the top priority at the expense of content quality....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does a slow server really slow down crawling without affecting rankings?

If Google detects that a server is becoming slower, crawling will slow down, but this will not affect the site's visibility in search results or Discover....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does mobile-first indexing really impact your site's rankings?

The transition to mobile-first indexing has no direct effect on rankings. The potential impact comes from the fact that Google might not have access to certain content if it is missing from the mobile...

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really limit Discover traffic based on server capacity?

Google imposes no traffic limits coming from Discover based on server capacity. If a site is deemed relevant to users, it will be displayed without visitor restrictions....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does mobile-first indexing really require a mobile-friendly site?

For mobile-first indexing, Google does not care whether the site is mobile-friendly. However, mobile-friendliness is separately used as a ranking factor for positioning....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Will Core Web Vitals really revolutionize your SEO?

Google plans to use Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor starting in May 2021. It is recommended to focus on the three main metrics....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can Google Analytics slow down your site enough to hurt your SEO?

Google makes no exceptions for Google Analytics regarding speed. If a site is slow because of Analytics, it will be considered slow. It is possible to implement Analytics in an optimized way or to mea...

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you gauge a site's authority when Google won't provide a clear method?

Google does not provide public documentation on measuring a site's authority, and there likely isn't a simple method for assessing this concept....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really use anchors (#) instead of parameters (?) to track your URLs?

For internal tracking, it is preferable to use anchors (#) in URLs instead of parameters (?). Google ignores everything that follows the # symbol and focuses on the main part of the URL....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really analyze video content to detect duplication with articles?

Google does not perform textual analysis of videos to compare them to blog articles. A video and an article with the same content are considered different formats addressing different user intents....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does switching from HTTP to HTTPS with 301 redirects really lose SEO juice?

A 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS within the same domain does not cause any loss of SEO value. This is the recommended approach for properly setting up the HTTPS version of a site....

Jan 22, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available