John Mueller

★★★ Should you change your main domain in Search Console when redirecting to a subpage?

There is no need to change your main domain in Search Console if you are redirecting to a subpage. Checking the subdomain or subdirectory is optional....

Aug 09, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really treat Googlebot like an American user?

You must treat Googlebot the same way as any other user in the same region. Googlebot mainly crawls from the United States. If your site is in Europe and blocks American users, you will also block Goo...

Aug 09, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google Search Console only notify serious indexing errors?

Google Search Console is used to send notifications when significant indexing errors are detected....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Could your mobile navigation be harming your mobile-first indexing SEO?

When Google switches a site to mobile-first indexing, it relies on the mobile version for crawling and indexing. Navigation must be mobile-friendly to ensure good SEO....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you optimize job postings for Google's indexing?

Job postings need to be designed for indexing and ranking upon their launch, following standard SEO practices....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you switch from traditional pagination to a view-all page?

Google no longer considers rel=next/prev tags. Pagination or a view-all page can be employed based on structuring preferences....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are JavaScript onclick links actually indexed by Google?

Google can index JavaScript dynamically generated links if they are within a href elements. Elements manipulated solely by onclick events may not be indexed....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do cookie banners really harm your site's SEO?

Google considers cookie banners acceptable if they do not hide the main content, but redirects or content hiding can cause issues....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is there really a predictable schedule for Google's algorithm updates?

Google does not have a defined schedule for updates but avoids weekends or holiday periods for deployment....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is your ranking fluctuating based on the device? Discover why!

Differences in search results between mobile and desktop can arise from mobile-friendliness and site speed....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really treat multilingual websites as duplicate content?

Google treats regional versions as duplicates but will identify the appropriate version based on hreflang for the user....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why are large websites struggling to shift to mobile-first indexing?

Large sites may have a heterogeneous setup delaying the transition to mobile-first indexing. Google will send notifications with information about the problems....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Tag Manager really slow down your SEO?

Google focuses on the end effect of technologies on site speed, regardless of the provider, such as Google Tag Manager. Visible slowness can affect SEO ranking....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really test every new feature Google rolls out?

Google promotes the experimentation of new features by websites. This can lead to adjustments over time regarding how these features are displayed....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it really better to prioritize automatic URL discovery over sitemaps?

It's better to ensure that URLs are properly linked within the website so that Googlebot can discover them automatically, and possibly use a sitemap file to accelerate indexing....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are JavaScript redirects really equivalent to server-side 301s for Google?

Google supports JavaScript redirects and follows them similarly to server-side redirects. It is recommended to submit the exact URL you want indexed rather than the one that redirects....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Googlebot really render pages like Chrome does?

Googlebot uses a recent version of Chrome, called an evergreen browser, to render web pages in a way that reflects what users would see on their own browsers....

Aug 08, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Voice Search Really Invisible in Search Console?

Second episode of the #AskGoogleWebmasters videos, which this time addresses the question of voice search within Search Console. John Mueller explains on this occasion that questions asked to Google A...

Aug 05, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What's the Maximum Recommended URL Length for SEO?

The same John Mueller indicated during a hangout that it was rather good that a site's URLs should not exceed a length of 1,000 characters....

Aug 05, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should You Really Nofollow All Your Outbound Links to Protect Your SEO?

In a new video format (#AskGoogleWebmasters) very "MattCutts-esque", John Mueller answers the question: Linking Out: Good for SEO? He explains that "nofollow" links should be used in 3 cases: when the...

Aug 05, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available