John Mueller

★★ Do subdomains or subdirectories really matter for SEO according to Google?

Google has no SEO preference between subdomains (blog.site.com) and subdirectories (site.com/blog). Mueller recommends consolidating everything under the same hostname for easier tracking, but technic...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★ Does the target="_blank" attribute affect SEO rankings?

The fact that a link opens in a new tab or in the same tab has no SEO impact. It is an editorial decision without consequences for SEO....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google deindex your blog articles after an update?

When previously indexed articles are deindexed after an algorithm update, it is usually not a technical issue but a problem of perceived quality. Google decides that indexing fewer pages from this sec...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do mobile and desktop search results really display the same pages?

Search results can vary between mobile and desktop, which may influence how often a page appears in results depending on the type of device. However, Google strives to maintain a certain level of cons...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does it sometimes take Google a year to reindex certain pages on your site?

For pages that change rarely and appear infrequently in search results, it may take longer for them to be crawled again and updated in Google's index, sometimes up to a year or more....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is responsive design really the only viable solution for unifying desktop and mobile?

Mueller strongly recommends switching to responsive design to maintain a single version of the site. This avoids having to choose between desktop and mobile, and simplifies maintenance....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does hreflang really protect against duplicate content?

Hreflang helps Google recognize which URL to display but does not eliminate the detection of duplicate content. Google indexes a canonical version and exchanges the displayed URL based on the user's l...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do Expired Domains Really Buy Back Their SEO Past?

When a site goes down and then the owner renews it, Google's algorithms try to be helpful by restoring the previous state. This 'help' can persist for several months to several years. Do not rely on e...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google automatically remove indexed pages that are no longer needed?

Google does not automatically remove pages that are no longer relevant unless a 'noindex' tag is applied or if they are manually removed via the Search Console's removal tools....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really choose between a fresh start and redirections during a partial migration?

To migrate the best content to a new domain without transferring bad signals, you must choose: either start completely fresh (no redirects/links/reused content) or redirect (and accept the transfer of...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google handle the indexing of duplicate images across different websites?

Google tries to merge identical images found on different URLs into its index by establishing a single canonical URL, although differences in the content or metadata of the images can sometimes lead t...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google sometimes display 5 results from the same site on the first page?

Google generally limits to 2-3 results per site for generic queries. If the algorithm detects that the user is looking for a specific site, more results from that site may appear. This is not necessar...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really be concerned about internal PageRank on noindex pages?

On a normal e-commerce site, there’s no need to worry about the flow of PageRank between listed pages and noindex pages. Google systems handle this well. The major impact is on crawling (filtered URLs...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you worry about the 'site being moved' message in the Search Console's address change tool?

The address change tool in Search Console displays 'site being moved' as just a UI reminder for a defined period, not as an indication of a problem. The key is to maintain the redirects for at least 6...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really keep your old domains to safeguard your brand?

Mueller strongly recommends keeping old domain names indefinitely, even without content, to avoid a third party purchasing the domain and associating your brand with undesirable content....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do external links really harm your pages' rankings?

Google does not consider natural, non-paid external links to harm a page's ranking. They help Google understand the context and position of a page relative to the rest of the web....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google overlook your navigation and sidebars during crawling?

Google focuses on the main content of the page rather than navigation, sidebars, or footers. This reflects user behavior that centers on what is unique to each page....

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can content A/B testing really harm your SEO without you knowing?

Temporarily changing content (e.g., H1) will be indexed by Google if crawled, with potential SEO impact. Testing every two weeks makes tracking very difficult because the timing of reprocessing is unp...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really abandon the desktop version of your site with mobile-first indexing?

Once switched to mobile-first indexing, Google uses only the mobile version for indexing, context, and understanding of URLs. If budget is limited between desktop and mobile, prioritize mobile. But do...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is EAT really unnecessary for SEO if Google claims it's not a ranking factor?

EAT is not a ranking factor that needs to be technically optimized. For a medical forum linked to an established medical site, the essential thing is to clearly position user-generated content for use...

May 01, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available