John Mueller

★★★ Why do your content enhancements take months to impact your ranking?

Significant improvements in a site's content can take several months to be reflected in search results, with smaller sites generally updated more quickly....

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does an old URL still show up in Google after a redirect?

When Google follows a redirect, the destination page is deemed valid, and an old URL might still show up in search if explicitly accessed, for example via a site:oldurl.com request....

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Robots.txt really block the crawling of your images across all your domains?

The robots.txt file is specific to each hostname and protocol. Blocking on a main domain does not block crawling of subdomains or different domains. A 503 code in robots.txt can temporarily stop crawl...

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do blog comments really count as main content in Google's eyes?

Blog comments are considered an integral part of a page's main content. They can enrich the page, especially if the initial post is short and the comments are of high quality....

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can you really combine multiple structured data schemas on the same page?

It is acceptable to have multiple types of structured data on a page, such as for an e-commerce site and a local business....

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really avoid moving your blog to a subdomain?

Moving a blog to a subdomain may be perceived by Google as a site separation, requiring time to understand the context of the new sites, even if the content remains identical....

Dec 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you manage URL parameters without diluting your crawl budget?

The URL parameter management tool helps Google ignore certain parameters that do not impact content, thus improving the crawling and indexing of priority pages....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Could leasing your subdomains actually ruin your organic search rankings?

Placing irrelevant content on an existing site, like coupons on a news site, complicates your site's recognition by Google and can negatively impact its ranking....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do subdirectories really suffice to target local markets?

It is possible to target specific regions with subdirectories on a generic domain. It works well for differentiating local markets....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do hreflang tags really prevent canonicalization between identical regional content?

When identical content is present across regional English versions, a phenomenon of canonicalization may occur. Nevertheless, Google will display the correct version in search results if hreflang tags...

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can you really expand a website's theme without impacting its current SEO performance?

Adding a new category like CDs to a site dedicated to books can be beneficial. It will not negatively affect your ranking if the quality of your content is maintained....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really separate adult content from general content to avoid SafeSearch penalties?

Organize adult content and general content into separate subdomains or folders so that Google can effectively apply the SafeSearch filter. This allows for better management of your site's ranking....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the URL Removal Tool really de-index your pages?

The URL Removal Tool does not de-index content but temporarily hides it from search results. It remains essential to manage 404s to stop crawling....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really limit Googlebot's crawl on your server?

Limit Googlebot's requests if your server is experiencing too many requests. This will help Googlebot prioritize crawling important URLs....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really return a 404 or 410 on hacked URLs to speed up their de-indexing?

To reduce the number of invalid URLs after an attack, return a 404 or 410 code. Googlebot will stop exploring them after determining they are no longer valuable....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are Google Search Console's false positives really indicating a hack on your site?

Injected content warnings may sometimes be due to sensitive keywords or bot behaviors, even if the site is not truly compromised....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are tracking parameters in your URLs sabotaging your crawl budget?

Using tracking parameters in product URLs without a visible direct link to the canonical versions can affect crawl budget and lead to indexing of parameterized versions....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you opt for a 410 code instead of a 404 to speed up deindexing?

HTTP 410 responses inform Google that the page has been permanently deleted and can speed up its deindexing compared to a 404, although the practical difference is often minimal....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does leasing subdomains really harm your main site's ranking?

Including unrelated content, such as reviews or coupons, on the same domain can make it difficult for Google to understand the main focus of a site, which can harm its ranking....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does geotargeting via subdirectories really work on a generic domain?

You can use geotargeting in Search Console to target different directories of a generic domain to specific countries....

Dec 10, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available