John Mueller

★★★ Should you really keep 301 redirects for a minimum of one year?

It is helpful to keep 301 redirects for at least a year to ensure that Google has enough time to sustainably process these changes....

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do temporary 404 errors really affect SEO rankings?

Temporary errors like sporadic 404 pages do not have a lasting negative impact on SEO if they are occasional and corrected quickly....

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Googlebot really click your buttons to index dynamic content?

Googlebot does not click on elements to load additional content. Thus, dynamic content loaded via JavaScript without a distinct URL may not be indexed....

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really ditch infinite scroll to enhance your indexing?

To ensure good indexing, it is advisable to maintain normal links for pagination rather than infinite scrolling or AJAX techniques, especially for mobile versions of websites....

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do 302 redirects really penalize SEO less than 301?

A 302 redirect does not negatively affect rankings like a 301 redirect does, as it does not indicate a permanent URL change. This plays an important role in the context of temporary redirects....

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Mobile-First Indexing a Game Changer for Desktop Ranking?

With mobile-first indexing, Google indexes a site's mobile version instead of the desktop version. This means that mobile content becomes the foundation for indexing and ranking, even for desktop sear...

Nov 15, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does loading speed really affect Google rankings?

Improving your site's loading speed positively impacts not only potentially the ranking but also the user experience, as slow pages can discourage visitors....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Google's Sandbox a real phenomenon or just an SEO myth?

There is no Sandbox at Google. For new sites, Google must gather relevant signals before determining their exact ranking....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Google really evaluating your site's quality constantly?

Google is constantly assessing website quality using various signals, meaning that algorithm updates are not the only times when a site's quality is measured....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is internal duplicate content really harmless for SEO?

Duplicate content within your own site does not lead to a penalty. It is typically viewed as natural and common....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really disavow spammy backlinks inherited from a purchased site?

Backlinks created suspiciously by a previous administration of your site can be disavowed if you cannot clean them up. However, removing such links from your disavow file should not have major negativ...

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can single-page websites really rank well in SEO?

Single-page websites can rank well in search results if they cover the subject thoroughly. However, it is generally more advantageous to expand an existing site rather than create multiple single-page...

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does embedding a YouTube video in a foreign language hurt your page's SEO?

Embedding a YouTube video in English on a Swedish site does not harm SEO. Google will associate the video with your page without penalizing it for a language difference....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really block the indexing of internal search in e-commerce?

Google recommends not indexing internal search result pages on an e-commerce site. This can lead to an explosion in the number of indexed URLs without useful content....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What does the status 'valid' in Google Search Console really mean?

The term 'valid' in Google's Search Console can be misleading. It is used to indicate that a page has been indexed, not that it contains errors....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why do some algorithm updates go unnoticed while others shake the entire industry?

Algorithm updates at Google are constant. Some updates are more visible than others for certain websites, leading to discussions in the SEO industry....

Nov 13, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Block Parameterized URLs in Robots.txt or Rely on Canonical Tags Instead?

John Mueller explained on Twitter that you should not use the robots.txt file to deindex parameterized URLs in favor of those same URLs without parameters, because the search engine cannot canonicaliz...

Nov 12, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is There a Specific Loading Time You Should Target to Rank Well on Google?

In a video from the #AskGoogleWebmasters series, John Mueller and Martin Splitt explain that there is no "ideal page loading speed" for Google. Basically, ranking is done between "values" like "very g...

Nov 12, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Build Your XML Sitemap from a Third-Party Crawl or Use an Integrated Solution?

John Mueller indicated on Reddit that it wasn't a good thing to create an XML Sitemap file based on a site crawl by a third-party tool, as URLs can be missed and this can affect server response time d...

Nov 12, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Use Nofollow Links Internally to Sculpt PageRank?

John Mueller has indicated that, in his opinion, using the nofollow attribute in internal linking to do "internal PageRank sculpting" was a waste of time and that it doesn't work....

Nov 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available