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.
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🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ Do all affiliate links really need to be nofollow to avoid a Google penalty?
Google views affiliate links as a valid monetization method, but they must be tagged with nofollow or the rel=sponsored attribute to indicate a commercial relationship, which will not negatively impac...
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why is Google pushing for JSON-LD for structured data instead of other formats?
Use JSON-LD to add structured data to your pages because it is easier to implement. Test the tags with the available testing tools to ensure that they are properly indexed....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do links really lose value over time?
Links do not lose their value over time, but if the page hosting the link becomes less relevant or buried within the site, its value may decrease in the overall context of the linked site....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Are the Quality Rater Guidelines the key to surviving Google's health updates?
It's recommended to consult the Quality Rater Guidelines to understand how Google evaluates the quality of websites, particularly in the health sector, to adapt to algorithm updates....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do Google's Core Updates really target health websites?
Google's Core Updates do not have specific criteria for health websites, but aim to better understand search intent and provide reliable results, particularly based on the Quality Rater Guidelines....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How long do ranking fluctuations really last after a website redesign?
When redesigning a website, expect ranking fluctuations that may last several months. Be prepared to monitor redirects and internal links to prevent traffic loss....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How can you ensure Google is correctly indexing your JavaScript?
To ensure correct indexing of JavaScript websites, use the URL inspector to check that Google can access JavaScript files and server endpoints. Follow Google's recommendations for JavaScript....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it really necessary to consolidate your content on a single domain to rank?
Using redirects or rel=canonical between old and new domains transfers ranking signals. Google advises consolidating relevant content under a single domain to enhance its authority....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can optimizing your site's speed really influence Google to crawl faster?
You cannot directly ask Google to ignore the loading speed of your site in order to increase crawling. Google adjusts its pace to avoid overloading the server....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should you buy your competitors' domains to boost your SEO?
Redirecting a competitor's domain can be useful if it brings significant direct traffic, but access to the disavow file requires verification in Search Console....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Google really rewrite your title tags at will?
Google regularly adjusts the displayed length of the title tag and can automatically generate titles based on the query to enhance user understanding....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why do external links within the text outperform those in footnotes for Google?
Google recommends placing external links directly in the textual content rather than in footnotes to better understand their context and relevance....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really allow Googlebot to access all your paid content?
For sites with a paywall, it is important that Googlebot can access the entire content for proper indexing, even if part of it is protected for end users....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ How long does it really take for Google to reindex after a site relaunch?
After a domain change or URL structure update, it is normal for Google to take some time to reindex the site. Old URLs may temporarily appear in search results, even if they redirect correctly....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are Sitemaps and Internal Linking Really Essential for Getting Crawled by Google?
To assist in Google's crawling, it's essential to ensure good internal linking and include pages in the sitemap file. This facilitates the discovery of pages and their indexing by Google....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really block access to your staging environments instead of using robots.txt or noindex?
For staging sites, Google recommends blocking access via HTTP authentication or IP whitelisting to avoid accidental indexing, rather than using robots.txt or noindex....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can invalid structured markup really penalize your entire site?
In the case of invalid structured markup, only that specific content may be ignored or marked without affecting other valid markup types on the site....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Does the word count really impact Google rankings?
Google does not specify a minimum word limit for a page to be eligible for ranking, focusing instead on the relevance of the content to the end user....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is Google really constantly testing its search results?
Google is constantly testing changes to search results to ensure their relevance and optimizes algorithms based on user testing results....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do no-snippet tags really influence your page rankings?
Using no-snippet tags allows you to control which parts of your content appear in previews, but does not affect the page ranking....
Oct 03, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
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