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
★★★ How can you successfully execute a domain migration without losing your organic traffic?
It is crucial to carry out the redirects in a domain migration consistently and thoroughly to avoid prolonged traffic losses....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do direct visits really influence Google rankings?
Direct visits to a site are not taken into account for Google's SEO ranking....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Does Google really rank singular and plural differently?
Google can process singular and plural queries differently because they may involve different search intents....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can Google really read the graphs on your web pages?
Google does not attempt to interpret graphs on a web page. It is advisable to include textual descriptions to provide understandable context....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Are recycled expired domains really facing manual penalties from Google?
Expired domains that reuse poor content may be subject to manual actions from the webspam team to counter negative impact....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should you really remove empty sitemaps from your site?
Submitting sitemap files without URLs is not problematic but not optimal. It is advisable to remove these sitemaps during a code review....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How can altering canonical and robots tags with JavaScript harm your SEO?
Modifying tags such as canonical or meta robots with JavaScript can cause conflicting signals and should be avoided to ensure clarity....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can an algorithm update really avoid targeting anything specific?
The August 2018 update was a general ranking change, not specific to the medical sector, and there are no specific guidelines to manage it....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is duplicate content really harmless for your SEO?
Technical duplicate content is not penalized as long as it is in a technical form. Google tries to index the best URL when the same content is available on multiple pages....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does switching to HTTPS really boost your Google rankings, or is it just an SEO myth?
The effect of transitioning to HTTPS on rankings is very slight. It does not compensate for significant algorithmic changes or correct substantial traffic drops....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why could your HTTPS migration disrupt your Google indexing?
HTTPS migrations are independent of algorithm updates. They must be performed properly with clear 301 redirects page by page to avoid indexing fluctuations....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should you disavow an author with a bad reputation to protect your SEO?
Removing the mention of an author with a bad reputation does not require specific actions for Google. These changes should be treated as organic modifications to the site, with no automatic impact on ...
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are 503 errors really going to penalize your indexing?
A 503 error is appropriate for signaling temporary unavailability and does not affect long-term indexing if used correctly. Adding a Retry-After header is a good practice but not mandatory....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Could the overall quality of your site be hurting your top pages?
Google attempts to rank pages individually, but the overall quality of the site can affect how they are indexed. A gradual improvement of the entire site is recommended for better long-term results....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are 301 redirects always necessary for an HTTPS migration?
Google strongly recommends using 301 redirects when transitioning from HTTP to HTTPS to indicate a complete site move. This facilitates the transfer of signals and avoids individual URL processing....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is duplicate content across multiple TLDs really safe with hreflang?
Having identical content across multiple TLDs does not lead to an automatic penalty for duplicate content, especially if the hreflang tag is used to define specific target audiences....
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is Google really recommending hreflang markup for all multilingual sites?
Hreflang markup is recommended to indicate to Google which content version is relevant to which geographic users, which is important when the same content is available in different language or regiona...
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why do your rich snippets sometimes not appear in Google search results?
Reviews and offers can still appear in search results, but their display depends on the technical compliance of the markup and the reasonable quality of the site. They may not always be displayed, and...
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really disavow your backlinks, or is it just a waste of time?
The link disavow tool in Search Console allows you to request Google to ignore certain links to your site, particularly in cases of negative SEO concerns or past wrongdoings. Only identified problemat...
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why does the number of backlinks shown in Search Console change for no apparent reason?
The differences in the number of links in the new Search Console report compared to the old one can be explained by a slightly different calculation, but this does not necessarily reflect a change in ...
Aug 24, 2018 ⚡ Analysis available
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