John Mueller

★★ Does the favicon really influence CTR in the SERPs?

The favicon mainly assists users who already know the site in recognizing it in the SERPs, but it likely does not influence the behavior of generic users who are unfamiliar with the brand....

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really invest in a reverse proxy to mask Google's hacking warnings?

Rather than investing in a complex architecture to limit the display of a hacking warning, it is better to prevent hacking or to quickly fix it. Google has difficulty in isolating the warning to just ...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really invest in a reverse proxy to hide Google's hacking warnings?

Regarding hacking warnings in search results, Google recommends focusing on preventing hacking and quick remediation rather than setting up complex infrastructures to limit the exposure of warnings....

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it really possible to show different interstitials based on traffic source without SEO risk?

Google devalues mobile pages displaying intrusive full-screen interstitials. Showing a partial interstitial (e.g., lower third) to organic visitors while displaying a full screen to other channels is ...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you use alt text for infographics instead of converting them to HTML?

For graphs and infographics, it is recommended to integrate them as images with a descriptive alt attribute containing critical information, rather than converting these elements to HTML. Google prima...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you still use disavow or has Google truly automated the ignoring of spam links?

Spam links from low-quality sites are likely already ignored by Google's algorithms. The disavow is an option if you are truly worried, but in most cases, it is not necessary....

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you ignore mobile errors in Search Console if the live test comes back clean?

If the live Mobile-Friendly test in Search Console detects no issues, but errors persist in the reports, it is likely that Google was unable to process the CSS during certain crawls. In such cases, yo...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do you really need to duplicate your infographics' content in text for Google?

For infographics, it is recommended to also provide the text or the essential content in textual format (in an article or other format), as Google primarily treats infographics as images and not as te...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it really necessary to wait for ranking fluctuations to stabilize before taking action?

Google continuously makes changes to search results. When a site experiences ranking fluctuations, it's advised to let the situation stabilize, consult with other webmasters, and then improve the site...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do pop-under ads really hurt your SEO rankings?

Google evaluates a page's quality by looking at whether the top of the page is visible. Pop-under ads are an old technique, and their impact depends on their implementation. It is advisable to first a...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is PageRank still a top-ranking factor that you should keep an eye on?

Google still uses PageRank, but it is just one of many ranking factors. Focusing only on PageRank or links is ineffective, as many other elements influence the overall ranking....

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why can a site that steals your content rank better than you?

Google uses many ranking factors. A competing site that copies content can still rank better if other signals (speed, UX, backlinks, overall structure) are better. You need to improve the site as a wh...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do domain migrations and mergers really cause SEO penalties?

Merging or redirecting domains does not trigger a webspam penalty. Simple one-to-one migrations stabilize quickly (a few days/weeks), but content mergers take much longer. It is recommended to separat...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google choose which sitelinks to display under your search results?

Sitelinks are automatically generated by Google when it understands the site's structure and important subpages. A clear hierarchy (main pages, subpages) helps Google identify and display the right si...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does the FAQ schema work if the answers are hidden in an accordion?

For the FAQ schema, the content must be visible on the page. It is acceptable to display questions with expandable answers, but hiding the entire FAQ block would be problematic. The presence of visibl...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do negative reviews on third-party sites really penalize your Google rankings?

The presence of an external review page (even negative) appearing in the SERPs for a brand query does not affect the ranking of the main site. Users may get lost on this page, but it does not harm the...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Ads really penalize the speed of your pages in PageSpeed Insights?

Google's speed testing tools are agnostic to the origin of scripts. If a Google Ads script slows down a page, the tool will report it without special treatment. Users care about speed, not about the s...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you still use the disavow file against automated UGC spam?

Automated scripts creating spam links in profiles/forums are a very old pattern that Google can recognize and ignore. Manual cleanup on the site (nofollow, noindex) is preferable to the disavow file f...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that the highest number in Search Console is usually the right one?

In cases of discrepancies between statistics with and without country filters in Search Console, the highest displayed number is typically the most accurate, due to the way data sampling operates in t...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really choose a subdirectory over a subdomain for your microsite?

For a microsite related to the main content, Google recommends a subdirectory rather than a subdomain. The subdirectory simplifies technical maintenance (CMS, redirects, Search Console, sitemap) and s...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available