John Mueller

★★★ Can negative reviews really penalize your Google ranking?

Google may take into account a very bad online reputation if all signals point overwhelmingly in that direction. A few negative reviews among many positive ones will not affect ranking. The algorithm ...

Aug 04, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does my site get included in the Chrome User Experience Report without signing up?

Inclusion of a site in the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) is automatic, based on a sample of Chrome traffic. There is no manual registration required. Sites can also collect their own Core Web V...

Aug 04, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★★ Are Links Still the Most Important Ranking Factor in SEO?

Statement from John Mueller (who seems to be the only SEO spokesperson at Google who hasn't gone on vacation 🙂): "links are definitely not the most important ranking factor"....

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★★ Does Google Really Use Analytics Data to Rank Websites in Search Results?

John Mueller explained for the 458,965th time on Twitter that Google does not use data provided by Analytics for its search algorithm......

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★★ Do Negative Online Reviews Actually Hurt Your Google Rankings?

During a hangout with webmasters, a user asked whether the fact that certain web pages contain negative reviews about a site could have a negative impact on that site's ranking in Google search result...

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is the Concept of "Link Juice" Really Obsolete for Modern SEO?

John Mueller went all out on Twitter, responding to a user who asked a question about internal linking, criticizing articles that talked about "link juice": "If I were you, I'd forget everything you'v...

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★★ Can Differentiating Interstitials by Traffic Source (Direct vs. SEO) Be Considered Cloaking?

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that it was possible to display different interstitials for direct traffic on one hand and for SEO traffic and Googlebot on the other: rather intrusiv...

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Use Images Instead of HTML/JavaScript Charts for SEO?

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that using images (PNG, JPG or other formats) was preferable (with a properly filled ALT attribute) when displaying charts on screen compared to other...

Aug 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do Google's new JavaScript guides on links and navigation really change the game?

Google has expanded its documentation for JavaScript sites, adding information on links, the History API, URL fragments, and 404 pages. These resources are recommended for developers of JavaScript-bas...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why did Google postpone mobile-first indexing, and what are the risks if your website isn't ready?

Google announced a change to the timeline for mobile-first indexing, extending the transition until the end of March 2021. This additional timeframe allows websites to adjust their pages for mobile-fi...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why is Google retiring the Structured Data Testing Tool, and what could you potentially lose?

Google will deprecate the general Structured Data Testing Tool to focus on the Rich Results Test, specifically designed to diagnose what can appear in search results. This decision aims to reduce conf...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Core Web Vitals thresholds actually reflect high-quality user experience?

The thresholds used for the Page Experience benchmark are based on high-quality user experience, and their feasibility is verified against data from the Chrome User Experience Report. Tools such as Li...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Could Page Experience Really Shift Your Google Rankings?

Google has announced that the Page Experience benchmark will become a ranking factor in search. This benchmark combines Core Web Vitals (loading speed, interactivity, stability) with other existing si...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you consider Web Stories as part of your SEO content strategy?

Web Stories are a short, informative content format based on AMP that allows the creation of standard HTML pages directly on your own site. They can appear in Google Search, Google Images, and Discove...

Jul 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How Can You Successfully Migrate Your Website Without Losing Your Organic Rankings?

John Mueller provided some insights on Reddit regarding website migration. First of all, if there are changes, they will primarily come from a new CMS and/or new content, not from a domain name change...

Jul 27, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can we truly measure the SEO impact of intrusive interstitials?

There is no method to accurately measure the SEO impact of an intrusive interstitial. It is a soft factor used in mobile ranking, with no indicator in Search Console. The impact varies according to co...

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 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

★★★ 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