John Mueller

★★★ Do 'below the fold' links really carry less weight in SEO?

Links placed below the fold do not necessarily carry less weight than those placed above it. Google generally assigns equal weight to links based on their main content, although those situated in recu...

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are dynamic URLs really as effective as static URLs for SEO?

Google views dynamic and static URLs as having a similar impact on rankings. However, it is often easier to avoid crawling errors by using dynamic parameters, especially if the system isn’t properly c...

Jan 12, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is mobile-first indexing really reshaping your SEO strategy?

Google plans to use a site's mobile version for crawling, indexing, and ranking. Sites must ensure that their content, internal links, and other factors are well optimized for mobile....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can subdirectories be penalized without affecting the rest of your site?

Subdirectories can face specific manual actions, particularly in cases of hacked content. These penalties are indicated in the manual actions section of Google Search Console....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do structured data really influence Google rankings?

Structured data is not a direct ranking factor, but it helps Google understand the relevance of the content, which can indirectly affect the visibility of pages....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does switching to HTTPS really fix Panda filter issues?

Switching to HTTPS does not directly impact Panda-related issues. However, HTTPS is taken into account in the overall trust criteria of a site....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can mobile interstitials really harm your ranking?

The penalty for mobile interstitials is now in effect. Sites were encouraged to remove or modify their interstitials to prevent negative impacts on user experience and potentially on rankings....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Subdomain or Subdirectory for Blogging: What Real Impact Does It Have on SEO?

It is possible to host a blog either on a subdomain or in a subdirectory, with no significant SEO impact. The choice can be based on technical reasons such as security....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do localized words in your URLs really affect your Google ranking?

Localized words in URLs have little impact on ranking. Instead, they play a role for users who can be influenced by the language of the URL displayed in search results....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really evaluate relevance and content quality separately?

Relevance and content quality are evaluated separately. Relevance is related to the user and their query, while quality is assessed independently, making their interaction complex in ranking....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does a .com really hinder your international geotargeting?

Using a generic domain (like .com) requires setting up geotargeting in Google Search Console, and local IP addresses have no impact on the ranking of sites using CDNs....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really pay attention to the case and syntax of noindex and nofollow tags?

Noindex and nofollow tags can be uppercase or lowercase and separated by a comma or not, with no difference in performance. Positive tags like index or follow do not need to be used as they are the de...

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How do you correctly disavow backlinks containing non-Latin characters?

To disavow URLs with non-Latin characters, generate a UTF-8 file with these characters or use the punycode version of the domain name....

Jan 10, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★ Why Doesn't Google Index Every Page on Your Website?

John Mueller stated in a hangout that it's normal for Google not to index all pages of a website or XML Sitemap. However, he didn't explain why certain pages are left out :(......

Jan 09, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Only Penalize Mobile Interstitials Coming From Search Results?

Regarding the interstitial penalty that will be applied starting tomorrow, John Mueller indicated on Twitter that this penalty would only apply to sites that display an interstitial when the mobile us...

Jan 09, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can Wix Websites Actually Rank Well on Google?

John Mueller also indicated on a webmaster forum that websites built with the Wix platform do not pose major SEO problems, contrary to their long-standing negative reputation: "a website is a website ...

Jan 09, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Will Mobile PageSpeed Really Be Ignored as a Ranking Factor with Mobile First Indexing?

John Mueller indicated that when Mobile First indexing launches in a few months, a page's mobile PageSpeed score will not be considered as a relevance criterion, at least initially (currently it's the...

Jan 09, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should You Use Google's URL Removal Tool During a Site Migration?

The end of the year was, it seems, prolific in somewhat bizarre questions from webmasters, as one user asked on a forum whether the URL removal option in Search Console could help during a site migrat...

Jan 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Really Limit How Much Traffic It Sends to Your Site?

John Mueller indicated on a forum that Google does not limit the traffic sent to a website. In other words, it doesn't stop displaying a link in its search results if it believes the traffic generated...

Jan 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How Can You Ask Google to Speed Up Your Site's Crawl in an Emergency?

John Mueller indicated in a forum that there is a procedure, through an appropriate form, that allows you to ask Google's "crawl" team to perform a specific crawl of your site or ask a question about ...

Jan 02, 2017 ⚡ Analysis available