John Mueller

★★★ How can new websites outperform the competition by focusing on long-tail keywords?

For new or small websites, it is recommended to initially target long-tail queries where competition is lower, rather than highly competitive main queries. This allows for gradual growth....

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is manipulating the back button harmful to your SEO strategy?

Manipulating the browser's back button to prevent the user from returning to Google is a terrible practice. The WebSpam team can take action against sites that do this, as it is considered a sneaky re...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that Google only crawls from a single location?

Google typically crawls a site from a single geographic location, not from multiple data centers simultaneously. If content is served based on location, Google's bot may not see all the content availa...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that GA4 makes verification in Search Console more complicated?

With the new version of Google Analytics (GA4), Google no longer automatically recognizes this method for verification in Search Console. An alternative method like the meta tag or the HTML file must ...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google consider platform issues as site problems?

When a technical issue occurs on a hosting platform (Wix, Shopify, etc.), Google views it as a problem with the site itself, not with the platform. Technical problems are generally resolved quickly on...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that large-scale guest posts are problematic for SEO?

Creating a large volume of similar content and widely distributing it through guest posts with links back to your site results in artificial links. Google wants websites to earn recognition naturally,...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Pagination or Infinite Scroll: Which One Should You Optimize for SEO?

The choice between pagination and infinite scroll primarily depends on the desired user experience. Both approaches can perform well for SEO if they are implemented correctly....

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really use nofollow for promotional links in SEO?

For the initial promotion of content through guest posts or other means, links must be nofollow. This functions like advertising: users can click, but no ranking signals are passed on. If people enjoy...

Aug 28, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you optimize snippets to boost your SEO?

<p>The snippet is a brief description displayed for each page in the search results. Google's systems attempt to describe how this particular page might be useful for the user's query. Google can disp...

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why doesn't the snippet influence rankings?

The snippet shown in search results is not a ranking factor. However, it can assist users in deciding which result to click on, so it's worth verifying....

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Could hiding text in snippets actually enhance your SEO performance?

It may be relevant not to display certain elements of the page in snippets, specifically dynamic content or information that you prefer to show only in the context of your own page....

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does the data-nosnippet attribute affect your SEO strategy?

Google has introduced the 'data-nosnippet' attribute, which allows you to specify text to be excluded from snippets. This attribute can be applied to specific HTML elements, and Google will then know ...

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How does Google decide which search snippets to display?

Google typically focuses on the meta description tag to create snippets, and at times it also pulls text directly from the page content....

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does the data-nosnippet attribute take time to gain traction?

In order for the data-nosnippet attribute to be taken into account, Google must re-crawl and re-process the page. Therefore, the change will not be immediate....

Aug 26, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why Does Google Only Index 80% of Your Website's Pages?

John Mueller explained during a webmaster hangout that it was common for Google to index - as an example - only 80% of a website's content (and therefore refuse to index 20%). This can stem from the o...

Aug 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Core Updates Really Target Spam or Is There Another Purpose?

John Mueller indicated on Twitter that all the "core updates" implemented over the past several years were not solely intended to combat spam practices......

Aug 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Really Keep Testing Your Old 301 Redirects for Years?

John Mueller explained on Twitter that when a redirect is set up, the search engine will try for years, again and again, to test them to see if they are still in place: "We have a long memory. I think...

Aug 23, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What could be causing your new pages to take so long to get indexed?

<p>If new WordPress pages take weeks to be indexed despite good technical accessibility, it usually signals insufficient overall site quality. Google isn't convinced about the overall quality and is h...

Aug 20, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Server Response Time in Search Console Really Impact Your SEO Rankings?

The server response time displayed in Search Console (crawled from the US) is not used for ranking purposes. Google employs Core Web Vitals based on actual user experiences to determine ranking speed ...

Aug 20, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you be worried about multilingual text in SEO?

If a page in Russian contains a few small decorative images with text in German, it is generally not an issue. Google considers the page to be predominantly Russian. With a significant amount of text ...

Aug 20, 2021 ⚡ Analysis available