John Mueller

★★ Can image metadata really enhance your SEO performance?

Google indexes certain image metadata, primarily to understand the licensing and copyright information displayed in Google Images. This metadata is not a ranking factor but remains useful for providin...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really nofollow your menu links to optimize crawling?

To prevent Google from following internal menu links, the nofollow attribute can be used. However, in most cases, it is unnecessary to hide these links. If a page should not be indexed, it's better to...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are mobile interstitials truly all penalized by Google?

Google penalizes intrusive full-screen interstitials on mobile. Serving a reduced interstitial (lower third) to organic visitors and a full-screen version to other channels is acceptable, provided Goo...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does your favicon take months to get indexed on Google?

A favicon can take several months to appear in search results, particularly if the site uses subdomains for each language instead of being indexed at the root. Google recommends reporting persistent c...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that using nofollow on internal menu links can control PageRank?

To prevent signal transfer to certain internal menu links, using the nofollow attribute is appropriate. However, in most cases, it is not necessary to hide these links; a no-index on the destination p...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why isn't optimizing a single SEO factor ever enough to outpace a competitor?

Google employs a multitude of factors for ranking. A site can perform well despite certain weaknesses if other aspects are excellent. To improve ranking against a competitor, you need to optimize the ...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that Google ignores GDPR interstitials without penalizing your SEO?

Legally mandated interstitials (privacy policy, cookie consent) are recognized and ignored by Google, provided they are displayed over the HTML content (div overlay) and not instead of the content (re...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it really enough to just have an alt attribute for your graphics and infographics?

For graphics and charts included in a blog article, Google recommends adding them as images with a descriptive alt attribute that contains critical information. It is not necessary to convert the grap...

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

★★ Should you really separate your site into thematic subdomains for SEO?

Separating a site into thematic subdomains (sports, politics, etc.) is generally not useful for SEO. The exception is adult content: SafeSearch requires a distinct subdomain to effectively filter this...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What is the optimal number of internal links per page for SEO?

There is no magic number of internal links per page. Using the same link multiple times on a page is acceptable. The key is to have a clear site structure that allows Google to understand the hierarch...

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

★★★ Do outgoing links to authoritative sites really boost your Google ranking?

Adding outgoing links to authoritative sites (Wikipedia, CNN, etc.) does not improve a page's ranking. Google does not consider that a site becomes better simply because it links to quality content. T...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really aim for a perfect 100 on PageSpeed Insights to rank well?

The PageSpeed Insights score is not a magic number that you must absolutely reach 100. It is a combination of speed factors designed to identify weaknesses. In the future, Google will rely on Core Web...

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

★★★ Do YouTube two-click embeds really hurt video SEO?

YouTube video embeds with placeholder (two-click for privacy) do not inhibit indexing if the VideoObject schema is used. Google can thus recognize the video and display it in results even without seei...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does a completely flat site structure really hurt SEO?

Creating a completely flat structure where all pages are at the same level and link to each other prevents Google from understanding the relationship and relative importance of the pages. A balanced h...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are GSC impressions really counted if the link isn't loaded?

An impression is recorded only if the link to the site is actually loaded on the search results page visible to the user. Clicking 'Load More' in a knowledge panel loads new links, generating new impr...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it possible to mark a main page with FAQ schema, or is a dedicated page necessary?

It is technically possible to mark a main page with FAQ schema instead of a dedicated page, but the FAQ content must be visible on the page. Completely hiding FAQs is problematic; an accordion with vi...

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