John Mueller

★★★ How does Google measure Core Web Vitals on your AMP and non-AMP pages?

Google tracks Core Web Vitals data from real users. If users access the AMP version via Search and the non-AMP version directly, Google can follow both versions separately. For ranking purposes, Googl...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can a low-quality page really taint your entire site?

Google tries to evaluate each URL individually and in detail. However, the pages on a site link to each other. If a main page is of low quality, it affects the others because they revolve around it. A...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Could Google hide one of your sites if they look too similar?

For two distinct sites without duplicate content, Google should rank them individually. If multiple very similar domains exist, Google may show only one. With two unique sites, they should appear sepa...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Google penalties really work page by page without fixed levels?

Google does not have predefined levels of penalties (level 1, 2, 3). The evaluation is as granular as possible, page by page. Depending on the site, some sections may be demoted while others are not. ...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google Discover traffic seem to vanish overnight?

Traffic from Google Discover can be highly volatile, quickly shifting from a significant amount to zero. Google's algorithms determine whether content should appear in Discover. This is not tied to a ...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can machine learning really replace text for SEO-ing your images?

Google can use machine learning to extract information from images (objects, actions). However, this does not replace other SEO factors. It's an auxiliary signal that can help differentiate similar im...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google determine the order of images on a single page?

Google uses several factors to rank images: page titles, file names, captions, alt text, and image quality. For several images on the same page, Google may display them in a different order based on p...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Google really penalizing wide or inconsistent e-commerce categories?

For e-commerce categories, consistency is key. A 'blue jackets' category should contain only blue jackets. If a category includes random products (e.g., 'blue' with socks and jackets), Google will str...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google penalize dynamic content on e-commerce pages?

For e-commerce pages with automatically changing products, Google considers this normal. The key is that individual products should be findable via persistent links. If the products match the category...

Feb 05, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Avoid Publishing a Video and Its Transcript on Your Site for Fear of Duplicate Content?

John Mueller also explained in a webmaster hangout that the definition of "duplicate content" does not apply to content available on one side in text form on a web page and on the other side in a vide...

Feb 01, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do You Really Need to Pass All 3 Core Web Vitals to Get an SEO Boost?

John Mueller also explained in a webmaster hangout that, as part of the rollout of the "Page Experience / Core Web Vitals" project next May, all 3 KPIs (FID, CLS, LCP) will need to be met with positiv...

Feb 01, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Google Updates Really Impact Google Discover?

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that when the search engine implements an update to its algorithm, it also affects the Discover feature on mobile, which is an integral part of the se...

Feb 01, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Press Relations Really Compliant with Google's Link Building Guidelines?

John Mueller reminded us on Twitter that conducting quality Press Relations to obtain links is not a problem—quite the contrary: "I love some of the things I see in public relations, it's a shame they...

Feb 01, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google favor a pyramid structure over a flat architecture?

A pyramid website structure helps Google better understand the context and relationships between pages than a flat structure. With a flat structure where all pages are at the same level, Google cannot...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do cookie banners really affect your Core Web Vitals score?

Google does not differentiate between GDPR-compliant cookie banners and other page elements for speed calculation. Even if legally required, a CMP banner that slows down loading or causes layout shift...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that Google never disconnects your old pages during a migration?

During a migration, Google does not de-index the old page before re-indexing the new one. The process works via canonical change: Google sees the redirect, checks that the content is identical, and sw...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really transfer all signals in bulk during a complete site migration?

During a complete site migration, if Google can recognize that all indexable content has been moved, it transfers all signals in bulk to the new domain. This is more efficient than a partial migration...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is the meta keywords tag really pointless for SEO?

Google does not use the meta keywords tag at all. No modern search engine utilizes it. You can do whatever you want with this tag; it has no impact on SEO....

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the meta description really influence your ranking on Google?

The meta description tag is used as a guide to generate the snippet displayed in search results, but it is not a ranking factor. It can influence the click-through rate if it accurately describes the ...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do structured review data really enhance your SEO?

Structured review data is used to display rich results in search, but does not constitute a ranking factor. Adding additional optional fields does not improve positioning; only required fields are nee...

Jan 29, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available