John Mueller

★★★ Does mobile content really dictate desktop rankings since Mobile-First Indexing?

With mobile-first indexing, Google will use the content from the mobile version of a page to index and determine rankings for both desktop and mobile. This means that mobile content must be as complet...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really transliterate your content to rank in certain languages?

In regions where users search using transliterations of their language, including these transliterated versions in titles can help with discoverability in searches....

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does AMP guarantee a spot in Top Stories and News?

The results of the News and Top Stories sections on Google are determined algorithmically, taking into account several factors such as AMP. There is no guarantee of appearance for any specific action....

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you block Googlebot from accessing certain sections of your site?

It is acceptable to block Googlebot's access to certain sensitive sections of your site, such as user accounts or wishlists, via the robots.txt file....

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the choice of domain extension (.com, .xyz, .site) truly influence your ranking on Google?

Generic domain extensions, like .xyz or .site, are treated the same as .com by Google. You can set geolocation in Search Console to target specific users....

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does a sudden spike in traffic negatively affect organic search rankings?

Receiving a large volume of sudden traffic does not negatively affect search rankings in Google. For instance, an increase due to an advertising campaign or a media mention is normal and poses no risk...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is HTML5 canvas content indexable by Google?

Content displayed via HTML5 canvas, like musical scores, is generally not indexable by Google. If the main content is not indexed, it may be necessary to add indexable text, such as titles or descript...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can you criticize a competitor without risking a manual penalty from Google?

Google will not take manual action against a site just because it criticizes a competitor. A site expressing a negative viewpoint will not be deindexed for that reason alone....

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really index cookie-based personalized content?

Google indexes pages based on the URL and does not take into account referrers or cookies to personalize the content seen during indexing. Personalized content based on these methods will not be index...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What happens when a ccTLD disappears from Google's index?

When managing multi-domain sites with multiple ccTLDs, Google recommends posting issues in the help forum when a site disappears from the index. Contributors can often identify and resolve common prob...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google really test its algorithms before rolling them out?

Google evaluates changes made to algorithms by analyzing their impact on search results through both tools and human assessments. The results can vary, and A/B testing may be necessary to understand t...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really hide content behind a paywall to get indexed by Google?

Google recommends that when certain content is accessible only after a certain number of free views, the 'First Click Free' model should be used. With this model, you can allow users to read the conte...

Jan 13, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really create a sitemap for old HTTP URLs when migrating to HTTPS?

It is advisable to create a Sitemap file for old URLs during an HTTP to HTTPS migration to speed up the transfer of SEO signals to the new URLs....

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the Mobile-First Index really make mobile SEO optimization essential?

With the Mobile-First Index, it is now crucial to ensure that mobile sites are well-optimized and include all essential SEO elements, such as structured data and alt tags for images....

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do 301 redirects really cause a loss of PageRank and rankings?

When changing URLs with 301 redirects, rankings shouldn’t be affected if they are implemented correctly. The transfer of signals will occur as long as the redirection structure is one-to-one....

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do meta descriptions really influence Google rankings?

Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor for Google. They are used solely to construct snippets in search results, and if they are not filled out, Google will attempt to generate its own description...

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Will Google finally index hidden mobile content completely?

Content that is not visible on mobile pages, such as that found in tabs or sliders, will be indexed in the new Mobile-First index. This is a change from previous practices where this type of content c...

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are descriptive URLs really useless for SEO?

Speaking URLs have no direct impact on rankings. Their usefulness primarily lies in user experience and ease of understanding....

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does a 410 code really remove your pages faster than a 404?

URLs that return an HTTP 410 status can take from a few days to several months to be completely removed from Google's index, depending on the crawling frequency....

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do 404 errors really hurt your organic search rankings?

Having 404 errors on a site does not pose a problem for ranking. It is expected behavior when pages are intentionally removed. The URLs marked as 404 do not negatively affect the site but are removed ...

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available