John Mueller

★★★ Does Googlebot really ignore your multilingual site's accept-language header?

Googlebot almost never crawls with a defined accept-language header, or sometimes uses 'en' (English). If a site serves different content based on the user's accept-language header, Google will only s...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google choose a canonical URL in the wrong language for your multilingual content?

If Google selects a canonical page in a different language (e.g., Portuguese chosen instead of Japanese), when the pages are indeed in distinct languages, the issue likely stems from poor server confi...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why is Google showing fewer of your FAQs as rich results?

Google is less frequently displaying FAQ rich results than before because many sites have added this markup. Google must balance the results and cannot show FAQs for every search result. The system se...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it normal for the Rich Results report in Search Console to remain empty despite valid markup?

The 'Rich Results' report in Search Console can remain empty for about a week after adding a site or implementing structured data, even if the markup is detected as valid by the live test. Some Search...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really modify the lastmod of the sitemap to speed up recrawling after fixing missing tags?

After correcting pages missing title and meta description tags, the recommended method to speed up recrawling is to update the 'lastmod' date in the XML sitemap. This is not gaming: these pages have g...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why are your rich results disappearing from regular SERPs while they technically work?

To determine if the absence of rich results is due to a technical issue or quality assessment, perform a 'site:' query for your domain. Google typically shows rich results in these queries even if the...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why are your FAQ rich snippets disappearing despite technically valid markup?

If FAQ rich snippets suddenly disappear while the structured data is technically valid, it generally indicates a reassessment of the overall quality of the site by Google's algorithms, not a technical...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really be worried about a 503 error on your site for a few hours?

A 503 error (service temporarily unavailable) for a short period (20 minutes to a few hours) does not lead to any penalties or downgrading. Google sees the 503 as a normal and temporary signal, keeps ...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that structured data makes a difference based on whether it's implemented with a plugin or manually?

Google accepts structured data implemented via a WordPress plugin, theme, manual code, or JavaScript after the page loads, with no preference. Only the validity of the final structured data counts. Fo...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are H1 and H2 tags really important for Google ranking?

Headings (H1, H2, etc.) help Google understand the content of a page better, but they are not the only ranking factor. A page can rank for keywords present only in H2 and not in H1. The level of the t...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google always show your images in search results?

Google tries to display an image for certain pages in search results while maintaining a reasonable balance in the number of images shown. The same page may have an image for certain queries but not f...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really set all your outbound links to nofollow to protect your SEO?

Setting all outbound links of a site to nofollow is not recommended and will not diminish the site's relevance. Google encourages creating links naturally on the web. Applying nofollow systematically ...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do penalties on outbound links really impact your site's ranking?

When a manual action concerns unnatural outbound links, Google simply devalues those outbound links. This does not affect the ranking of the site itself in search results. If a significant drop in tra...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can temporary technical bugs really sink your Google ranking for good?

Temporary technical problems (redirects that come and go, URLs that change and then revert) do not cause any lasting negative sentiment from Google's systems. Once the issue is resolved and the pages ...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How long does it take to recover traffic after a 301 redirect bug?

After a URL change with 301 redirects, if the new URLs have been crawled and then disappeared due to a bug (redirecting to 404), Google sees them as deleted and removes them from the index. Reindexing...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it really necessary to wait for indexing before redirecting a URL in 301?

There is no need to get a new URL indexed by Google before implementing a 301 redirect to it. Google will recognize the new URL and automatically focus on it after the redirect is set up. Prior indexi...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google ignore certain URL parameters and how does it choose its canonical version?

If a URL contains interchangeable textual parameters (e.g., product name) while maintaining a fixed ID, and the page displays normally as long as the ID is present, Google considers the textual parame...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really automatically ignore irrelevant URL parameters?

Google's systems automatically detect URL structures with parameters generating many similar URLs (filters, colors, sizes). They identify unimportant parameters and ignore them to concentrate on canon...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do soft 404s really trigger deindexing without a penalty?

A soft 404 is not considered a bad practice or a penalty. It is simply the signal that Google interprets to understand that these pages should be removed from the index. The objective is achieved: Goo...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are errors 405 and soft 404 truly handled the same way by Google?

HTTP 405 errors (access denied) and soft 404 errors (HTML pages that look like normal pages instead of actual errors) are treated equivalently in the long run by Google. Both lead to the removal of pa...

Aug 11, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available