John Mueller

★★ 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 create a separate page for each video instead of grouping them together?

When multiple videos are present on a page, Google only displays a single video thumbnail. For important videos, it's better to create a separate landing page for each video, so that each video has it...

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 still disavow spammy links pointing to your site?

If spammy sites are linking to your site, Google is likely already ignoring them. The disavow tool can be used if you are really concerned, but in most cases, disavowing these low-quality links is not...

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

★★★ 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

★★ 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 aim for 100/100 on PageSpeed Insights to rank well?

The PageSpeed Insights score is a set of metrics used to identify weaknesses, not a magic number to optimize to 100%. In the future, Google will rely on Core Web Vitals rather than this overall score....

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 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

★★ 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 pop-under ads really penalize your organic SEO?

Pop-under ads are considered a very old technique, poorly supported by modern browsers. Google assesses page quality by considering the visibility of the main content. The SEO impact depends on the im...

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

★★★ 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

★★★ Should you really set noindex for low-content user profile pages?

User profile pages with little content generally do not drag a site down. Google focuses on important pages. Noindex is only useful if profiles are exploited by spammers or if their massive volume (mi...

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

★★ Is it true that Google advises against using reverse proxies for migrating from a subdomain to a subfolder?

To migrate from a subdomain structure to a subfolder, Google recommends using classic 301 redirects instead of a reverse proxy. Redirects are well controlled and avoid technical complexity and outage ...

Jul 24, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can deep linking to a mobile app really boost your website's SEO?

Linking a website to a mobile app through deep linking does not confer any direct positive ranking effect to the website. Simply creating links to quality content (app or otherwise) does not automatic...

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

★★★ 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