John Mueller

★★ Does HTTPS really slow down Googlebot's crawling on your site?

Switching to HTTPS and HTTP/2 is generally seamless for Google’s crawling. However, if an increase in download time is observed, it may indicate an unoptimized server configuration following a server ...

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google decide between a homepage and an internal page in search results?

Google often seeks to strike a balance between displaying the homepage or a more targeted internal page for a specific query. The structure of the page and its integration into the site play a signifi...

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is your site experiencing excessive crawling that uncovers structural flaws?

Excessive crawling by Google of non-essential pages may indicate poor site structure. Checking server logs helps diagnose and properly adjust unwanted crawl behaviors....

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google still show old URLs for image landing pages despite redirects?

Redirects from image landing pages to the images themselves can disrupt temporary search results. Google sometimes continues to display the old URL in response to specific searches, despite an effecti...

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that Google doesn’t penalize duplicate content?

Google does not manually penalize sites for duplicate content unless there is a manual action indicated in Search Console. The quality assessment of pages is done algorithmically, and duplicate conten...

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do comments on a page really influence Google rankings?

Comments on a page are considered content that can contribute to rankings in Google. They enrich the content of the page if they are relevant....

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Still Create Video Sitemaps to Index Your Multimedia Content?

Video sitemaps are still recommended to help Google properly recognize and index videos associated with pages....

May 01, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Blockquote Tags Really Impact SEO Rankings?

John Mueller explained on Reddit that content embedded within a "blockquote" tag (quote element) is not treated in any specific way by search engine algorithms......

Apr 23, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should You Ditch the Noindex Directive in Robots.txt Before It's Too Late?

John Mueller and Gary Illyes recently discussed on Twitter the use of "Noindex:" in the robots.txt file. Let's remember that as of today, this feature works, but it is not maintained by Google and is ...

Apr 23, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ What Does "I Don't Know" Really Mean When Google Spokespeople Say It?

John Mueller explained at BrightonSEO that when someone at Google answers a question by saying "I don't know", it doesn't necessarily mean they don't know. It can also mean they don't know how to inco...

Apr 23, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Which is better for speeding up the deindexing of your pages: 404 or 410?

A 410 page will be removed from the index faster than a 404 page, but beyond that, both error codes are treated the same way by Google once the page is deindexed....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does a link to a 404 page still pass on SEO juice?

If a link points to a page that is now 404, Google will no longer transmit any SEO value from that link. To transfer the value of a link, appropriate redirections must be used....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really eliminate 'Read more' buttons to please Google?

It is advisable to include visible text upon page load rather than hiding it behind buttons like 'Read more'. This is primarily recommended to enhance user experience and not solely for search engines...

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it really enough to use 301 redirects to preserve your SEO value when changing your domain?

To avoid losing the SEO value history accumulated on an old domain, John Mueller recommends setting up 301 redirects from the old to the new domain during a redesign or rebranding....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are links still a decisive ranking factor for Google?

John Mueller mentions that the signals used by Google for ranking web pages are numerous and varied. Links are just one of many factors taken into account, and their importance can vary depending on t...

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are link directories really useless for SEO?

Rather than submitting a site to business directories, it is more beneficial to create engaging content that naturally invites links....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Could Noindex Pages Completely Lose Their Value for Crawling and Internal Linking?

Although using noindex tags is possible, John Mueller emphasizes that if these pages are not well linked or are isolated, Google will eventually ignore them entirely, including the links on those page...

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does having a sitemap really ensure your pages are indexed, or do you need true internal navigation?

John Mueller explains that the lack of internal navigation complicates crawling and indexing by Google, even with a sitemap file. He recommends maintaining adequate internal navigation to improve cont...

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really add outbound links to enhance your SEO?

Not linking to other sites is your choice, but it can affect how other sites choose to link to you. It does not necessarily impact the discovery of new content by Google....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you use Google Tag Manager to inject your structured data?

John Mueller states that Google Tag Manager can be used to add structured data markup, although it is not recommended due to the added complexity and debugging challenges....

Apr 18, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available