John Mueller

★★★ Does blocking a folder via robots.txt kill the PageRank transfer to your strategic pages?

Completely blocking a folder with robots.txt prevents Google from knowing the content of the pages. If external links point to these blocked pages, Google cannot indirectly transfer those links to the...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really stop optimizing for synonymous keywords?

Thanks to advancements in machine learning, Google understands synonyms (like 'hotel' and 'accommodation') very well. It is unnecessary to mention all variations of words on the same page, as Google k...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What impact can changing your site's design or content have on your rankings?

Any change on a site (adding or removing text, modifying internal linking, changing the layout with different headings) must be reflected in the rankings. Retaining the URLs makes migration easier as ...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can adult sites actually display rich results on Google?

All types of rich results that Google offers are not intended for adult content sites. If an adult site uses schemas, the systems recognize the adult content and simply do not display the rich results...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do domain extensions (.com, .fr, .uk) really influence the value of backlinks?

Google does not assign different weights to links based on the extension (.com, .au, .uk). Differentiation is based on the type of link and its contextual importance: does it provide substantial infor...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do you really need the address change tool to migrate between subdomains?

The address change tool in Search Console mainly helps when changing a domain name to transfer signals at the domain level. It is not necessary for a migration between subdomains of the same domain (f...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are Web Stories really indexable like regular pages?

Web Stories are canonical AMP pages (without an alternative HTML version). They can be indexed individually like regular content. Google does not yet display them in all countries in specific features...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does every change to content or design really affect SEO rankings?

Any change on a website (adding/removing text, modifying internal linking, changing layout affecting headers) must be reflected in rankings. Keeping the same URLs helps preserve signals, but Google mu...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google maintain SafeSearch filtering even after migrating to clean content?

If the new domain previously hosted adult content, it may be listed in Google's SafeSearch filter. The update will occur automatically as it sees the new content, but it takes time to switch to a norm...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google rewrite your titles to manipulate your click-through rates?

Google sometimes rewrites page titles based on user queries to better match what they are searching for. This occurs if the title is generic, duplicated across multiple pages, or simply a list of keyw...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do domain migration problems amplify the impact of Core Updates?

A site with residual domain migration issues can be doubly affected by a core update: the combination of remaining migration problems and the impact of the update explains the observed fluctuations....

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that Google rewrites your title tags, and how can you ensure your original version gets displayed?

If Google frequently rewrites your titles, improving them to better match user intent increases the chances that Google will show your original title. A better title generates more clicks and can indi...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does hidden text for accessibility really harm your site's SEO?

Invisible titles for accessibility (voice navigation) are not treated as problematic cloaking. This is very common on the web. At worst, Google may consider this text less relevant because it is invis...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does cleaning up your URL structure really enhance the ranking of your strategic pages?

When poor pages (tags similar to categories) rank better than good ones, cleaning up the structure helps: reducing internal links to these pages, using rel=canonical, or redirecting to the desired pag...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are site migrations really as risky as they seem?

Serious technical issues during site migrations are extremely rare according to Google’s internal analyses. However, Google admits that it needs to manage these migrations better to prevent webmasters...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really use the address change tool when migrating between subdomains?

The address change tool in Search Console assists during a domain name change to transfer signals at the domain level. It is not needed for moving between subdomains of the same domain (e.g., m.exampl...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do links from old press releases really drag down your backlink profile?

Press releases accumulate links over time, but these are very dated links from news archives. Even if the number of links seems high, these links are less useful as they have become very irrelevant....

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does content originality really ensure top rankings on Google?

The original source of content is not always the most relevant for users. For instance, someone might copy a Google blog article and add in-depth analysis that could be more useful for certain searche...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do AMP errors really affect your Google ranking?

If Google detects AMP errors, the pages are not valid and will not be kept in the AMP cache nor treated as AMP alternates. There is no effect on ranking, but you are not fully leveraging your AMP page...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does SafeSearch really filter the entire domain if only a part contains adult content?

Google applies SafeSearch filters to a broad URL pattern across a site. If the majority of a domain contains adult content with a small non-adult part, Google is likely filtering the whole domain as a...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available