John Mueller

★★★ Are Multiple Redirect Chains Really Hurting Your SEO?

Redirect chains (http → www → https) do not pose a problem. Googlebot follows up to 5 redirects in a day and then continues to the next ones. Once the final URLs are known, Google focuses on them. The...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it really necessary to duplicate the text of infographics for Google to index them?

Google treats infographics as standard images. If important text is embedded within the image, it is recommended to also provide this content in textual form in an article or post to ensure better ind...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that you don’t need to mark up your entities for them to appear in Google's rich results?

For an entity to appear in rich results (e.g., mobile games), Google must recognize it as such across the entire web, not just on one site. No special markup is required; Google identifies entities by...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Schema.org that's not visible: should you really markup content that doesn't generate rich results?

Certain types of Schema.org help Google understand the context of a page without generating visible rich results. However, adding obvious high-level markup (e.g., WebPage on a webpage) does not provid...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do you really need to transcribe your podcasts to rank on Google?

For audio content (podcasts, etc.) to be indexed and ranked in web search, a text transcription must be provided. Google does not yet perform automatic voice recognition to index raw audio. Transcript...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Google Ads scripts really slow down your site in the eyes of PageSpeed Insights?

Google's speed testing tools (PageSpeed Insights) are agnostic to the origin of scripts. If a Google Ads script slows down a page, it will be flagged even if it comes from Google. Users don't care abo...

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

★★ Do intrusive interstitials really have a measurable impact on your SEO?

There is no indicator in Search Console to measure the impact of intrusive interstitials. It is a light ranking factor used in the algorithm. The impact does not apply to the entire site but rather to...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do image metadata really influence rankings in Google Images?

Google indexes certain image metadata, primarily to display licensing and copyright information in Google Images. This metadata does not constitute a ranking factor but is useful for providing legal i...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it really necessary to have a dedicated page for each video to rank on Google?

When Google detects a video on a page, it displays a thumbnail for that page. If multiple videos are on the same page, it becomes challenging for Google to determine which video is the most important....

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

★★ Is it really necessary to wait before reacting to ranking fluctuations?

When faced with ranking fluctuations, Google recommends allowing the situation to stabilize, engaging with other webmasters, and then working on improving the overall quality of the site to make it mo...

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

★★★ Has PageRank really become a minor signal in Google's algorithm?

PageRank is just a small part of Google's overall algorithm. The evaluation of backlinks takes into account the context (surrounding text, anchor, quality of the source page, content of the source pag...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ 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

★★★ Could separating each step of a site migration save you weeks of SEO diagnostics?

During a domain merge or migration, Google recommends separating the different steps (changing the domain, URL structure, CMS, design) to easily identify the source of any potential issues. Merging co...

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

★★★ 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

★★ 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 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