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 do Canonical and Alternate Links Properly Connect Your Desktop and Mobile Versions?
To connect mobile and desktop versions, use rel='alternate' to link mobile pages and rel='canonical' to link desktop pages. This allows Google to display the appropriate version based on the device us...
Sep 24, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why do disavowed links take months to be recognized by Google?
Google needs time to update its algorithms, particularly regarding older domains with webspam issues. It can take several months before disavowed links are truly taken into account....
Sep 24, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why does Google show robots.txt errors after a HTTPS migration?
After switching from HTTP to HTTPS, there may be a transition period where warning messages regarding the robots.txt file appear. This should stabilize after a few days if the implementation is correc...
Sep 24, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really worry when Google shows 410 URLs as crawl errors?
When a URL returns a 410 code, Google presents it as a crawl error to alert the webmaster that content could not be retrieved this time. This enables the webmaster to rectify the situation if it was n...
Sep 24, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does duplicate content in business listings really harm your SEO?
Google views duplicate content in short business descriptions across different directories as acceptable. When users search for these descriptions, only one version will appear in the search results. ...
Sep 24, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Hreflang: How does Google really decide which version to show your international users?
The hreflang attribute helps Google display the correct version of a site for users from different countries by indicating which pages are equivalent in different languages or regions....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really unblock CSS and JavaScript for Googlebot?
Allowing Googlebot to access CSS and JavaScript files is highly recommended to help Google understand and render the site in a way that is similar to the user, thereby optimizing the site's ranking on...
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Can a Sitemap with a last modified date really speed up the indexing of 301 redirects?
To speed up the recognition of URL structural changes by Google, such as 301 redirects, using a Sitemap file that indicates a recent last modified date can be effective....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does schema markup really enhance your Google ranking?
Adding structured data does not directly increase a site's ranking, but it helps search engines better understand the content, which could, indirectly, improve user experience and attract more clicks....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Does Google really auto-fill your site's forms to crawl content?
Google very rarely auto-fills forms, only when they appear to be crucial search forms for discovering otherwise inaccessible content....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really block the indexing of internal search pages with no results?
Internal search pages returning zero results should be marked with a noindex to avoid showcasing a poor user experience in search results....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Is it really necessary to show the same content on all browsers?
It is preferable to minimize differences in content display based on browsers to avoid caching and maintenance issues, even though it is technically possible....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can internal links in your content really penalize your e-commerce site?
Internal links in articles on an e-commerce site are not considered over-optimization, as long as they are used reasonably to provide useful and relevant information....
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Do keywords in Google Search Console really influence your page rankings?
The keywords displayed in Google Search Console are based on the frequency of words found when crawling your pages. They are not directly linked to ranking, but to the verification that Google can pro...
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ How can you structure e-commerce navigation to boost Googlebot's exploration of your site?
Ensure that Googlebot can explore your site through navigation. Not all pages need to be interconnected, but the structure should allow users and Googlebot to easily navigate to understand the context...
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is the canonical tag truly the magic solution against URL duplicates?
It is recommended to use the canonical tag on your site to indicate to search engines which version of a web page is the main one, especially when there are URL variations with tracking or affiliate p...
Sep 11, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can SafeSearch block your traffic even after fixing adult content?
If a page is still marked as adult content when it is no longer so, it must be reviewed manually via a specific form to be removed from SafeSearch filters....
Sep 10, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Do internal links opening in new tabs harm SEO?
Google doesn't care whether internal links open in a new tab or not, as long as these links are accessible and correctly parsed in the HTML code....
Sep 10, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Could importing a public database hurt your SEO?
Adding millions of non-distinctive pages from a database like a dictionary to a store could dilute your site's perceived value. Google may reduce visibility if the added content does not provide signi...
Sep 10, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ How long does it really take to deindex pages after reactivating the robots.txt?
After an error allowed massive indexing of pages, reactivating the robots.txt will take time to deindex the already crawled pages, unless they are manually submitted to the URL removal tool....
Sep 10, 2015 ⚡ Analysis available
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