John Mueller

★★ 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

★★ 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

★★ 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

★★ Should you really update all backlinks after a domain migration?

After a domain migration, updating external links pointing to the old site helps Google with canonicalization. If Google hesitates between the old and new version, external links to one version help i...

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

★★ 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

★★★ Do AMP errors really harm Google rankings, or is it just a myth?

AMP errors on pages do not have a negative effect on ranking. However, they prevent Google from processing these pages as valid AMP, thus hindering caching and rapid serving. It's a usability issue, n...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you implement paywall schema when conducting A/B tests with multiple variations?

For A/B tests of paywalls with variations, implement the paywall markup corresponding to what all users see (the common denominator). Google does not need 100% exact markup for each page; recognizing ...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How long does it really take for a domain migration to stabilize in Google?

It takes time for Google's signals to stabilize after a site migration. It’s not instantaneous: Google must gather all signals associated with the pages, a process that can take several months, even f...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really not care who published the original content?

Google does not try to determine who is the original owner or author of copied content. It is not always the original source that is most relevant to users. Sometimes, a version with additional analys...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does redirecting your old pages to an archive really help preserve SEO?

To archive old pages that have accumulated backlinks, they can be redirected to an archive section. The redirect signals to Google to transfer the links to the new destination....

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

★★★ Does Google really rewrite your titles to boost clicks without affecting rankings?

Google sometimes rewrites page titles based on the search query to better align with user intent. This does not change the ranking: it's solely to improve the click-through rate by presenting a more r...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you block pages receiving backlinks with robots.txt?

If a page is blocked by robots.txt, Google does not know its content and cannot indirectly transfer external links to the main content of the site. It is important to avoid blocking important pages th...

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

★★★ 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

★★ Is it true that hidden text for accessibility is penalized by Google?

Invisible titles used for accessibility (like 'main navigation' for screen readers) are very common on the web. Google does not treat them as spam cloaking. At worst, Google may view this text as less...

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

★★★ 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

★★★ Should you stop optimizing for synonyms and geographical variations?

With the development of machine learning, Google understands synonyms (accommodation/hotels) much better. It is not necessary to mention all the variations of words on a page; Google understands that ...

Dec 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available