What does Google say about SEO? /
John Mueller is one of Google's most active spokespeople on search engine optimization topics. As a Search Advocate, he regularly answers the SEO community's questions during Google Search Central sessions and on social media. His statements are a prime source of information for understanding how Google Search works and the best practices to follow.
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★★★ Should You Disavow UTM Parameters to Improve Your SEO Rankings?
John Mueller explained that blocking URLs containing UTM parameters does not contribute to improving crawling or rankings on Google Search. He instead recommends maintaining clean and consistent URLs,...
Mar 05, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Is Crawl Budget Just a Myth Invented by SEOs?
On Reddit, John Mueller responded to a question about crawl budget, specifically whether a large number of 301 redirects leading to 410 errors could exhaust this crawl budget. John Mueller stated that...
Mar 05, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why Are 'Help' Subdomains Replacing Homepages in Google Results?
Google is currently investigating an issue affecting adult sites. According to observations shared by an in-house SEO, the 'help' subdomain appears to be ranking in place of the homepage in the SERPs....
Feb 27, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is Using Google's Indexing API Putting Your Site at Risk of Being Flagged as Spam?
Between misuse of Google's Indexing API and spam, there's apparently only a small step that John Mueller is willing to take. On X, the famous Google employee clarified once again that this API is comm...
Feb 27, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Really Fix All 404 Errors Detected in Search Console?
John Mueller clarified that validating 404 error fixes in Search Console is primarily a tracking tool that allows publishers to check whether missing pages exist, especially if they were accidentally ...
Feb 20, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Disavowing Toxic Links Actually Improve Your SEO Rankings?
On Reddit, John Mueller stated that simply disavowing toxic links listed in Semrush reports wouldn't be enough to recover your rankings in the SERPs. On numerous occasions, Google has advised against ...
Feb 20, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google Really Penalize Overly Complex Multilingual Websites?
On Reddit, John Mueller responded to a question regarding modifications to a large-scale website. The site in question contains 10 languages and 20 cultural codes. A modification that can therefore pr...
Feb 06, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Drop Canonical Tags for Noindex on Syndicated Content?
On X, an SEO expert asked John Mueller what happens to the signals associated with a syndicated article on a partner platform once Google considers the partner as canonical. "Does this mean that all t...
Feb 06, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can You Actually Force Google to Reindex Your Entire Website All at Once?
In a video, John Mueller answers the question: Is there a mechanism to request the reindexing of an entire website all at once? According to him, there is no method to trigger a complete recrawl and r...
Jan 30, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is word count really a Google ranking factor?
Contrary to popular belief, Google does not consider word count as a ranking factor. The SEO Starter Guide was reduced from 8,500 to 3,000 words without this being considered problematic for SEO....
Jan 25, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really use a 404 or 410 status code for deleted pages?
If you delete pages, make sure your server returns a correct 404 or 410 status code to signal to search engines that the page no longer exists....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why can a simple 301 redirect make all the difference during a website redesign?
If you change the address or URL of a page, use redirects from the old to the new address. This is an essential best practice when making structural modifications....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google automatically reindex major changes on your website?
When you make major changes to a website, search engines will generally update these elements automatically over time, without any additional action on your part....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really crawl some pages more often than others, and how can you influence this?
Important pages tend to be checked more often by search engines and will therefore be updated more quickly than less important pages....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Are XML sitemaps really essential for getting your website indexed by Google?
Ideally, use XML sitemaps to help search engines. Most websites support them by default, so you may not have to do anything special....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is there really no way to force Google to re-index your entire website at once?
There is currently no way to trigger a complete recrawl and reprocessing of an entire website all at once. Google does not offer a mechanism to request the re-indexation of an entire site simultaneous...
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Worry About Migrating Your Domain from www to non-www for SEO?
On Mastodon, in response to a user wondering why their site's URL change, involving 301 redirects, was being poorly handled, John Mueller stated that switching from the www subdomain to the non-www ve...
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why is linking your new pages from your existing website absolutely critical for Google indexing?
If you're adding new pages, make sure they are linked from your existing website. This practice helps Google discover them and index them....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really link your new pages from high-authority pages to accelerate indexing?
If new pages are important, create links to them from other important pages on your site. This internal linking strategy accelerates their discovery and indexing....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Why does Google recommend showing critical changes on your existing pages instead of creating new URLs?
For crucial changes like a new phone number, display this information on your existing important pages. This ensures faster updates by Google....
Jan 23, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
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