John Mueller

★★★ Could linking to AMP cache URLs jeopardize your SEO?

Directly linking to AMP cache URLs is not advisable because these URLs can change and are often blocked by the robots.txt file, which can impact SEO....

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should we really be worried about nofollow links in spam examples?

Even if nofollow links are included in a spam link example, they often illustrate the type of practices to avoid rather than a comprehensive list of problematic links....

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can redirected interstitials really harm your indexing?

When a redirect is used to display an interstitial, Googlebot only sees the content of that redirect, which can harm the indexing of the actual content on your site....

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do full-screen interstitials really kill your SEO?

Interstitials that cover all the content on the page can cause issues for SEO because they prevent Google from seeing the main content. It is recommended to use non-obtrusive information bars to avoid...

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the language of backlinks really influence SEO?

The language of sites linking to a site is not important for Google. What matters is the understanding of the anchor text to better grasp the linked page....

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the length of URLs really affect rankings in Google?

The length of a URL, whether long or short, does not directly affect SEO. However, when there are multiple URLs for the same content, Google typically prefers the shorter version as the canonical one,...

Jan 31, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Mixed Content HTTPS Putting Your Google Rankings at Risk?

Chrome is becoming stricter in handling mixed content, where a page secured by HTTPS includes unsecured elements. This makes pages vulnerable. Site administrators must ensure that all content is serve...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really aim for Featured Snippets if Google removes the traditional result?

Google has altered how Featured Snippets are displayed by removing duplication. Previously, a page could appear both as a traditional result and in an optimized line. Now, that page will only appear a...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How is BERT truly transforming the way Google evaluates your content?

Google employs BERT to better understand natural language, both for discerning user intents and for analyzing the content of indexed pages. This enhances the relevance of search results by adapting co...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that Google is permanently phasing out data-vocabulary.org markup for breadcrumbs?

Google will stop supporting data-vocabulary.org markup starting April 6, 2020. Sites using this markup will receive warnings in Google Search Console encouraging them to switch to schema.org markup, p...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does mobile-first indexing really exclude any content that's absent from your mobile version?

With mobile-first indexing, Google only indexes the content visible on the mobile version of the pages. Elements such as text, images, links, and structured data must be present on mobile to be indexe...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What changes has Google made to Discover data in Search Console?

Google has altered the Discover report in Search Console to provide more recent data, similar to that of the search performance report. This allows for a more precise representation of the content tha...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you change your Googlebot detection due to the user agent update?

The Googlebot user agent will be updated regularly in line with the versions of Chrome being used. This may require adaptation for sites that only recognize Googlebot by the exact text of the user age...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can mixed HTTPS/HTTP content truly kill your SEO?

Chrome has changed the way it handles mixed content on secure HTTPS pages, becoming stricter to avoid unprotected elements like images or scripts that render the page insecure....

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you give up the featured snippet to maintain your organic position?

To reduce duplication in search results, Google has modified the display of featured snippets. The same page will no longer be shown as both a traditional search result and as a featured snippet....

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is BERT really changing how Google understands your pages?

BERT is used by Google to better understand user queries and the pages in its index. It's a modern approach to grasping natural language....

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really migrate from data-vocabulary.org to schema.org to avoid penalties?

Google has decided to cease support for structured data using data-vocabulary.org starting April 6, 2020. Search Console will issue warnings for pages using this schema, urging sites to transition to ...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is your site losing traffic because your mobile version hides content?

With mobile-first indexing, Google will only index the content available on the mobile version of your page. If your intention is to show less content on mobile than on desktop, it is this content tha...

Jan 30, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Really Understand Emojis and Are They Useful for SEO?

A user asked John Mueller whether Google understood the meaning of emojis (emoticons). The Googler responded affirmatively, providing an example of a search using the "banana" emoji as a query. The re...

Jan 27, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Reciprocal Links Really Penalized by Google?

John Mueller explained on Twitter that reciprocal links (A links to B which links back to A) are not necessarily bad, but if they are part of a system designed to manipulate the algorithm (link scheme...

Jan 27, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available