John Mueller

★★ Should you choose a single lengthy article or break it into multiple pages?

For extensive content, test whether your audience prefers a complete article on a single page or divided into several chapters. Determine what works best for user engagement and conversions....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do structured data markup errors penalize the entire site or just the affected pages?

Markup errors in certain structured data will not affect the rest of your site if the specific requirements for each Rich Result feature are met....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can 503 errors really slow down the crawling of your entire site?

If a part of a website returns many server errors such as 503, it can reduce the crawl frequency for the entire site....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really seek help on Google forums when a domain migration goes wrong?

When migrating a site, if ranking issues arise, seek help on support forums to check configurations and see if there is a problem on Google's side....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really care about the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

Use a 301 redirect to indicate that the new page permanently replaces an old page. If the redirect is temporary or likely to change, use a 302 redirect. However, if a 302 redirect persists for a long ...

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do free tools truly enhance domain authority?

Creating useful free tools can help strengthen a site's authority by generating inbound links and recommendations. This can indirectly benefit other commercial pages on the site....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are sitemaps declared in robots.txt truly treated differently by Googlebot?

Googlebot treats sitemaps declared in the robots.txt file as XML files for indexing, not as HTML pages to follow....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Google algorithm updates really targeting specific industries or queries?

Algorithm updates do not specifically target an industry, but aim to improve the relevance of results for specific types of queries, which can affect certain industries more than others....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can mobile pop-ups and interstitials really tank your Google ranking?

Interstitials and pop-ups that block content render a page non-mobile-friendly according to Google's mobile compatibility classifier, which can negatively impact its ranking in search results....

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really place text below product listings for e-commerce SEO?

Avoid placing long blocks of text below product listings just for SEO. Favor the integration of relevant informative text that provides clear and visible context to users right from the top of the pag...

Feb 22, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is the Search Console API really slow, or is it a user-side issue?

It has been reported that prolonged wait times are being experienced for the Search Console API. This should not be common, and it is advised to implement user-side retry mechanisms until a resolution...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How long does a website migration really take in Google's eyes?

A straightforward transfer from one domain to another is generally handled quickly if 301 redirects are correctly set up, but significant changes require a reevaluation of the site, which can take lon...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How do technical migrations complicate your website's SEO?

Significant changes, such as migrating to a new domain, framework, or platform, can complicate our algorithms' understanding and extend the time required to establish a stable new ranking for the site...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do X-Robots-Tag headers really prevent Google from following redirects?

X-Robots HTTP headers do not block Google when following 301 or 302 redirects. They only affect links on a page and do not impact server-side redirects....

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can mobile ISP blocking really kill your SEO?

The main problem for SEO with ISP blocking is whether Googlebot is also blocked. If Googlebot is not blocked, the site can be indexed normally, but users who cannot access the site may indirectly impa...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does UX really boost SEO rankings or is Google just sidestepping the issue?

UX recommendations are not direct ranking factors, but improving user experience can indirectly positively affect positioning through more engaging content....

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Googlebot really load your site as an anonymous user every time it visits?

With every visit from Googlebot, the page loads as if it's a first-time visit, without retaining cookies or session state. No prior loading (prefetching) affects Googlebot, but it can speed up the use...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does your ranking drop after lifting a Google manual action?

Once a manual action is lifted, it no longer affects the site. However, if artificial links have been cleaned up, the algorithms must adjust to the new situation, which can temporarily impact ranking....

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can the X-Robots-Tag header prevent Googlebot from following a 301 redirect?

The HTTP X-Robots-Meta header does not block Google from following a 301 or 302 redirect. The nofollow attribute only applies to links on the page, and in the case of a server-side redirect, Google do...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Could UTM parameters be undermining your Google indexing?

If the versions of pages with UTM parameters are predominantly linked internally, this can send mixed signals regarding which version to index. To avoid unnecessary crawling of different paths, it's r...

Feb 19, 2019 ⚡ Analysis available