What does Google say about SEO? /
John Mueller is one of Google's most active spokespeople on search engine optimization topics. As a Search Advocate, he regularly answers the SEO community's questions during Google Search Central sessions and on social media. His statements are a prime source of information for understanding how Google Search works and the best practices to follow.
Quick SEO Quiz

Test your SEO knowledge in 5 questions

Less than a minute. Find out how much you really know about Google search.

🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ Is it true that Domain Authority is totally irrelevant for ranking on Google?
Moz's Domain Authority is not an indicator used by Google for ranking sites. However, it can help site owners track certain performances on a personal level....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really feature your best-selling products in the main navigation?
Linking popular product pages directly from navigation is beneficial to indicate their importance. However, it's essential to maintain a clear hierarchy to avoid diluting the value of all links....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it true that content behind tabs is indexed in mobile-first?
With mobile-first indexing, content hidden behind tabs is still taken into account for SEO, but it should be as easily accessible as possible for users....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really ignore poorly marked structured data without penalizing the page?
Structured data markup errors are handled on a per-page and per-element basis. Google uses valid data and ignores invalid ones....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it true that content hidden behind tabs is actually indexed by Google?
With mobile-first indexing, content hidden behind tabs or user interface elements is taken into account for SEO. However, for usability, it's preferable for important content to be immediately visible...
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is high-quality content really enough to generate natural backlinks?
Google prioritizes the creation of high-quality content that attracts natural backlinks, rather than SEO tactics like inserting artificial links into low-readership platforms....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really place your key pages in the main navigation to rank better?
Placing a product directly in the navigation can increase its visibility in search. It is important to establish a priority and hierarchy of pages to clearly indicate to Google which pages are most im...
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are nofollow links really ignored by Google for SEO?
According to Google, nofollow links are not completely ignored. They are used as a signal and can be crawled in certain cases, especially when a site is primarily linked with nofollow links....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really declare its user-agent while crawling?
Google clearly states its user-agent when indexing for search. However, Google employees can access websites without a specific user-agent associated with Google....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does incorrect structured data markup really hurt your SEO rankings?
Incorrect structured data markup does not lower the overall quality of a website in search results. Google uses the correct structured data while ignoring the erroneous ones....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really understand all video embedding formats for SEO?
Google can understand different methods of embedding videos on a page, as long as it recognizes that video content is present, including native video tags and iframes....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do duplicate mobile/desktop menus really hurt your SEO?
Duplicate menus for mobile and desktop in HTML code do not have a negative impact on SEO. Google understands mobile and desktop menus as long as the links point to the same places....
Apr 03, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are no-follow links truly ignored by Google when it comes to crawling?
Links with a no-follow attribute can still be followed by Google depending on the case. JavaScript links with on-click handlers are not considered links by Google during JavaScript rendering....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is hidden content in mobile-first really taken into account by Google for indexing?
Hidden content behind tabs on mobile is not devalued; Google takes into account all content present in the HTML during indexing in the mobile-first context....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it really enough to rely on the DMCA to protect your stolen content from duplicate content?
If content is stolen and reproduced, the DMCA process can be a solution to address the issue of duplicate content. Google also analyzes spam reports but does not necessarily take manual action on each...
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really read image content to rank them?
Google primarily uses the context of the HTML page to understand and rank images, based on surrounding text, ALT attributes, and usage in the page. Google does not view the content of images....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really be concerned about accumulating 404 errors in the Search Console?
Deleted pages on a site should return a 404 error code or redirect to accurately indicate their absence. This is normal and expected in the Search Console and does not negatively impact ranking....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do you really need 1200px images to get featured in Google Discover?
Google Discover demands high-quality images that are at least 1200 pixels wide. A max-image-preview large meta tag can be used to allow Google to display large images, even without AMP....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should you really place the schema.org publisher markup on every page of your site?
The schema.org publisher tag does not need to be present on every page of a site, only on important pages like the homepage or contact page. For articles, the schema.org article markup should be used ...
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is Google Really Adapting Its Algorithms in Times of Crisis?
Google is trying to adapt its algorithms to provide relevant and reliable information to users when necessary, especially in crisis situations where user expectations are higher....
Mar 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available
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