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

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🕒 ~1 min 🎯 5 questions
★★★ 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
★★★ Should you really index temporary product pages or let them disappear?
For limited-duration product pages, Google recommends using the unavailable_after meta tag to control indexing, or simply not indexing them if they disappear quickly....
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
★★★ Should you really submit all your sitemaps when managing millions of URLs?
For sites generating a large number of URLs, make sure to submit sitemaps directly and focus on the overall quality of content rather than overloading the submission process....
Oct 04, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ 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
★★★ 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
★★★ Should you really abandon separate mobile URLs (m.site.com) for SEO?
Google recommends creating clear links and redirects between mobile and desktop versions when using separate mobile URLs. However, it is preferable to opt for sites with a single unique URL, either re...
Oct 04, 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
★★ Does Google Discover really operate without prior site validation?
Google Discover, unlike Google News, operates entirely organically, without any prior validation process for sites....
Oct 03, 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 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
★★★ Do human translations really help you avoid duplicate content penalties?
Pages translated by humans are considered unique and non-duplicated content, even if they are based on the same source material....
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
★★ 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
★★★ Why isn’t regular publishing enough to rank a new site?
Regularly publishing content on a new website does not guarantee a high position in search results, especially on highly competitive topics....
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
★★★ 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
★★ Is it true that checking your title and meta description tags using site: is useless?
Titles and descriptions can be automatically generated to match a specific query, so a site query check does not necessarily represent the display for an end user....
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
★★★ 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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