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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★★★ Should You Dynamically Modify Your robots.txt to Control Server Load?
John Mueller strongly advises against modifying the robots.txt file dynamically several times a day. He explains that this is not effective, as Google caches this file for approximately 24 hours. This...
Jan 28, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do You Really Need to Fix Every 404 Error Detected in Search Console?
John Mueller has provided clarification on the validation process in Search Console, particularly regarding the management of 404 errors and redirects during site migrations. He notably explained that...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Does Google's new website abuse policy actually change the rules of the SEO game?
Google has updated its website abuse policy and added more specific details in the official documentation....
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Stop Optimizing URLs for SEO in 2024?
On Bluesky, John Mueller recently confirmed that the URL alone provides only a minimal signal to search engines. According to him, what really matters is the content and all the other factors that pro...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should you remove Sitelink Search Box structured data now that Google ignores it?
Google has removed the search box for sitelinks and no longer uses its structured data. It is not necessary to remove these structured data from your pages following this change....
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should you really monitor new Search Console recommendations to avoid indexation penalties?
The Search Console recommendations feature is now accessible to all sites that have recommendations to display. It includes a check of your homepage indexation status (requiring domain-level verificat...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Should You Really Worry About a Massive Loss of Backlinks for Your SEO?
When asked about the impact of a sudden and massive loss of backlinks on a site's ranking, John Mueller responded that SEO experts often tend to overestimate the importance of links. He suggested that...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can Google Core Updates Actually Change Your Site Name in Search Results?
On Bluesky, John Mueller clarified that Core Updates, meaning the main algorithm updates, should not impact the display or change of site names in search results. This response followed a user who ind...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why is Google deploying two separate core updates at the same time?
The search quality team has recently launched two core updates affecting different components of Google Search. These updates address various parts considered to be part of Google Search's 'core.'...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ What exactly is a Google spam update and how can you effectively protect your site from it?
Google has launched a spam update. These types of updates are announced on the Search Status dashboard, with RSS feeds available to subscribe and be informed first....
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
Is Google really phasing out the term 'webmaster' from Search Console?
Google has recently modernized the design of emails sent through Search Console to make them more unified and contemporary. Wording is being updated, particularly to phase out the term 'webmaster' whi...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
Why do 84% of websites actually have a robots.txt file?
According to the Web Almanac published by industry experts and Google employees, based on the HTTP Archive, nearly 84% of websites have a robots.txt file....
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Why is Google finally giving you hourly performance data in Search Console?
Search Console now offers hourly data for the last 24 hours in the performance report. This allows you to track your site's popularity on Google in near real-time and monitor changes hour by hour....
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★ Why does Google set the crawl alert threshold at 5% in Search Console?
Search Console recommendations flag measurable site-wide crawl issues with a threshold currently set at 5%, allowing detection of temporary server problems. These recommendations will continue to be r...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Is your crawl budget being wasted? Here's what Google just revealed about how Googlebot really explores your pages
Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt have published comprehensive blog articles on crawling, explaining how and why Googlebot explores websites, the role of HTTP caching, and insights on faceted navigation. ...
Jan 14, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Do you still need to create a blog for your startup's SEO in 2025?
Is it necessary to have a blog for your startup in 2025? According to John Mueller, it's not necessarily worthwhile unless you're passionate about your subject and have useful things to share. Danny S...
Jan 07, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Does Adding a Country Code to Your URLs Really Improve International SEO?
On Bluesky, John Mueller explains that adding a country code to a URL (such as mydomain.com/shoes-es) has no impact on regional search rankings. Such a modification could even lead to temporary fluctu...
Jan 07, 2025 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Can You Really Trust Google's URL Inspection Tool Screenshots?
On Reddit, John Mueller clarified a point regarding the reliability of Googlebot screenshots, which represent how the search engine "sees" a web page. Through the Search Console's URL Inspection tool,...
Dec 31, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Really Stop Disavowing Toxic Links in 2024?
On Bluesky, Google's John Mueller strongly advises SEO professionals against wasting time disavowing so-called "toxic" links. He even goes as far as calling this practice a "waste of money."...
Dec 31, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
★★★ Should You Block Legal Pages from Indexing to Optimize Your SEO?
John Mueller states that it is unnecessary to block the indexing of legal pages (legal notices, privacy policy). These pages do not create duplicate content issues and are not likely to affect AdSense...
Dec 31, 2024 ⚡ Analysis available
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