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
★★★ Is mobile-friendliness really a major ranking factor?
Mobile rankings are based on desktop rankings, with a minor adjustment for mobile friendliness. Mobile sites do not rise or fall dramatically in ranking solely based on their mobile friendliness....
May 03, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really limit Schema price markup to a single product per page?
Google prefers that price markup on a page is specific to a single product. Multiple markup for different products on the same page may lead to the removal of rich snippets....
May 03, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is valid HTML really a Google ranking factor?
Google does not consider the validity of HTML for site rankings. However, it is advisable to have valid HTML to avoid issues with structured data....
May 03, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do unmarked influencer gifts really trigger manual penalties?
Manual penalties can be applied to websites that receive free products in exchange for articles with unmarked nofollow links, as these links may be viewed as a form of manipulation of search results....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can single page sites really rank well on Google?
Single page sites can rank effectively if designed well. However, mixing content on different subjects should be avoided as it can complicate Google’s understanding of the main theme of the page....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do email blacklists really hurt your organic search rankings?
Being on an email blacklist does not have a direct impact on SEO rankings. However, it is advisable to clean up the situation otherwise....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Could your affiliates be siphoning your organic traffic by scraping your content?
When a site allows its affiliates to scrape its content, these affiliates sometimes appear above the original site in search results. This practice should be evaluated within the overall affiliate rel...
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can sitemaps hurt your SEO?
Sitemaps help Google better understand the crawling and indexing of pages, but do not directly affect rankings. They are essential for improving page discovery and inclusion in the index....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is a unique anchor text for internal links really mandatory for SEO?
Internal links help Google understand the context and structure of a site. While necessary, there is no obligation to use a unique anchor text, and linking should be organized based on what makes the ...
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does the text/HTML ratio really affect Google rankings?
Google does not consider the text/HTML ratio in its SEO evaluations. This ratio should not be a concern unless it affects elements like the page load time for users....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really implement hreflang across multiple TLDs for identical content?
For websites using multiple TLDs for different languages, it is advisable to implement the hreflang tag to better guide Google on how the language versions correspond and to improve results for local ...
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are mega navigation menus hurting your pages' SEO?
Navigation mega menus that appear on all pages can be considered standard and repetitive text by Google, which is not harmful but will not be counted as primary content for each page....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do footer links really harm your site's SEO?
Links from the footer generally do not trigger a spam signal or Panda-related issues, unless they involve keyword stuffing or an excessive number of links that are not useful to the user....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do footer links really carry less weight than navigation links?
Links located in the footer are not inherently bad. Google tries to differentiate the main content from standard text like menus and footers, and it treats ranking accordingly....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why doesn’t your site bounce back immediately after a manual penalty is lifted?
When a manual action is lifted, it no longer affects the site. However, other algorithms may take time to reflect changes and improve the ranking....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can an outdated algorithm really affect your Google rankings?
Rankings can be impacted by outdated algorithms, but many other ranking signals can come into play and positively influence rankings even if an algorithm is stagnant....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ What truly sets an affiliate site apart when Google penalizes similar content?
On affiliate sites, it is essential to provide significantly better and different content to stand out, as affiliate sites often have similar content, making it difficult for Google to justify a diffe...
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is automatic internal linking from CMS enough to optimize SEO hierarchy?
A well-defined site hierarchy with appropriate internal links helps Google and users understand how product pages fit into categories. Normal CMS usage generally creates this structure automatically....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why does Google rank your product pages above category pages?
It is normal for lower-level pages, such as product pages, to rank better than higher-level category pages, leading to a natural hierarchy. This can occur if a particular product is highly sought afte...
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can sitemaps really speed up the de-indexing of your dead pages?
To speed up the de-indexing of URLs, it is recommended to create a sitemap file with new modification dates and submit it so that URLs returning 404 or 410 errors are eliminated more quickly....
Apr 15, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
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