John Mueller

★★★ Should you rethink your First Click Free strategy with Google's new flexibility?

Google offers more flexibility with 'First Click Free', allowing publishers to decide how many times users can access their content for free before encountering a paywall....

Oct 05, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do keywords in the URL really affect Google rankings?

Google uses keywords in the URL as a minor ranking factor, but it is not a critical factor. Keywords connected by hyphens work better than those connected by underscores....

Oct 05, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can you really rank without massive backlinks?

You do not need to acquire numerous links to rank well. In some sectors, even a few links can be beneficial. The importance of links varies by niche, and other factors can make up for a lack of links....

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does low-quality content really kill your Google visibility?

When a site has highly diverse search results, having a multitude of low-content pages can harm how Google perceives the site. However, if these less appealing pages are rare, the impact can be minima...

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How does Google test its algorithm updates before rolling them out?

In Google's experiments, some changes that do not work can be reverted. For updates like mobile-first indexing, Google proceeds in stages to prevent any negative impact on websites....

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do you really need to have exactly the same content on mobile and desktop to rank well?

With mobile-first indexing, Google looks for the same quality of content and functionality across both the mobile and desktop versions of a site. If the mobile content is less rich, it could affect in...

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can an AMP page split into multiple sections actually replace a lengthy desktop page?

An AMP page must be equivalent to the desktop page it links to via AMP HTML. If a long desktop page is split into several AMP pages, it is not considered equivalent....

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Have your featured snippets vanished for no apparent reason?

Featured snippets are purely algorithmic. There is no guarantee that a website will continue to display featured snippets, even if no changes have been made by the site....

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is Duplicate Content Really Harmless for Your SEO?

Duplicate content, such as identical job descriptions in different locations, is handled by Google, which will choose to display the most relevant version based on the user's query. It is not penalize...

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do URL parameters really affect your Google rankings?

Google attempts to deduce useful information from the words contained in the URL, such as country or language codes, but this remains minor compared to the content of the page. In the event of a confl...

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is switching to HTTPS really simpler than a domain change for Google?

Transitioning a site from HTTP to HTTPS is easier for Google to process than moving a site to a new domain because the domain and URLs remain the same. Google can recognize this simple change and appl...

Oct 03, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Choose a Dedicated Mobile Site (m.) or Responsive Design for Better SEO?

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that Google's mobile search engine does not give better rankings to dedicated mobile sites (with URLs like m.yoursite.com) compared to responsive sites......

Oct 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Cart Abandonment Rate Actually Hurt Your Google Rankings?

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the fact that an e-commerce site has a high shopping cart abandonment rate (abandoned pending orders) was not a relevance criterion in the algorithm......

Oct 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is There Really a Top 3 of Google Ranking Criteria to Prioritize in SEO?

Two years ago, a Googler said that Google's algorithm primarily used 3 essential criteria: content, links, and RankBrain. Since then, John Mueller and Gary Illyes have repeatedly indicated that this r...

Oct 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can Adding a Chatbot Actually Improve Your Website's SEO Rankings?

John Mueller explained during the same hangout that adding a chatbot (an automated tool that responds to visitors' questions in real-time) does not improve a site's or web page's rankings on Google....

Sep 25, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How Does Google's Algorithm Adapt Its Ranking Criteria Based on Your Queries?

John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google's relevance algorithm doesn't use the same criteria with the same weight for all queries and that the calculations could change in their very essenc...

Sep 25, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Click-Through Rate (CTR) Really a Ranking Factor for SEO?

John Mueller explained during a hangout that if Google uses the click-through rate in SERPs (or pogosticking), it's primarily to evaluate and improve relevance algorithms, but not to assign a score to...

Sep 25, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is Reporting Spammy Sites to Google Still Worth Your Time?

John Mueller explained during a hangout that Google does not read all the "spam reports" that are sent to them, but that the search engine's anti-spam teams attempt to process those that seem most imp...

Sep 25, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google's "Fetch as Google" Tool Actually Show How Googlebot Sees Your Site?

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that the "Fetch as Google" feature in Search Console, which displays a page as seen by both users and search engines, is not used by the search engine's algorithm. It...

Sep 25, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are indexing fluctuations always harmless, or do they hide critical issues?

Indexing fluctuations are normal, but a significant decrease may indicate a technical issue that needs to be identified and resolved....

Sep 22, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available