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 hreflang truly enhance your site's international targeting?
Hreflang tags are essential for managing content intended for different languages or regions. They enable Google to show the most appropriate version in search results based on the user's language or ...
Feb 23, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it still worth believing in the real impact of anchor text on Google rankings?
Google considers links pointing to a web page as well as the anchor text in these links for SEO and page ranking....
Feb 23, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are HTML lang tags really useless for Google SEO?
Google does not use HTML lang attributes, meta http-equiv content-language, or meta-name get.region to detect the language of a page. The engine instead relies on the text of the page to identify its ...
Feb 23, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How does Google actually count impressions and clicks in your Search Console reports?
Impressions are counted each time a search result is displayed, whether there is one result with multiple links or a normal link, clicks are independent of specific sites....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does a 302 redirect really dilute PageRank?
302 redirects allow PageRank to be maintained on the destination URL or the source URL, but they enforce the indexing of the final content visible after the redirect....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does robots.txt really protect your pages from Google indexing?
Robots.txt files do not prevent indexing but only block crawling. To remove a page from the index, use no-index tags with crawl permission....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Can Google really recognize your brand without spaces in the title tags?
Google can adjust title tags based on brand recognition even when it involves words without spaces. Consistency in unique title tags helps display correctly....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Is HTTPS really a weak ranking signal or should you prioritize it to rank higher?
SSL, now TLS, is used to secure HTTPS pages and constitutes a weak ranking signal for any type of site, not just local....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really configure hreflang on a multilingual blog?
Hreflang tags can be used on blogs to manage duplicate content across different versions of sites for different regions or languages....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is it true that migrating to HTTPS still loses PageRank with a 301 redirect?
Transitioning from HTTP to HTTPS with a 301 redirect should not cause any loss of PageRank. The consideration of HTTPS as a ranking signal is used as a tiebreaker....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is the overall quality of your site preventing your rich snippets from appearing?
The overall quality of the site influences Google's decision to display rich snippets. In addition to technical compliance and the policy regarding the implementation of structured data, the quality o...
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Are X-Robots-Tags in AJAX really ignored by Google?
Google generally ignores X-Robots-Tags in AJAX responses. To exclude content from indexing, use a robots.txt file or integrate tags into the main content via JavaScript....
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Search Console truly reflect the ranking of your pages?
The data provided by Search Console on rankings is not theoretical but based on actual observed results. This includes personalization and localization factors that can influence the rankings displaye...
Feb 12, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Penguin: Why is Google not providing a specific deployment date?
The deployment of the Penguin algorithm is scheduled for the first quarter. No specific date is currently provided, and this depends on additional updates from the team....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do images really influence rankings on Google?
Images on a page do not have a direct impact on that page's ranking in web search. However, they can improve user experience, which can indirectly influence overall visibility....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Could your mobile URLs be sabotaging your SEO indexing?
When adapting mobile sites, it's advisable to use clean and distinctive URLs for each content section, especially with single-page applications....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How many interconnected sites can you manage without triggering a Google penalty?
Having a few sites that link to each other is not a problem, but managing a network of interconnected sites can resemble doorway sites and be problematic for SEO....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Can mobile interstitials really be indexed by Google?
Google can sometimes index the content of interstitials if it is viewed as mobile-friendly. The impact is assessed based on the content that Google sees during indexing....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is Valid HTML Really a Ranking Factor for Google?
Using valid HTML can help Google better understand and index content. Structured data is also easier to interpret if the HTML is well formatted....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Are Single Page Applications Really Compatible with Good Google SEO?
Single page applications (SPAs) can be effective for good SEO if they use unique URLs and if the content loads correctly for users and Googlebot....
Jan 29, 2016 ⚡ Analysis available
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