English Google Webmaster Central office-hours from Sept 20, 2019

TL;DR

Google discusses indexing, SEO strategies, and webmaster concerns.

Transcript

JOHN MUELLER: All right. Welcome, everyone, to today's Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangouts. My name is John Mueller. I am a webmaster trends analyst here at Google in Switzerland. And part of what we do are these hour Hangouts, where webmasters and publishers can pop in and ask us questions around their websites and web search, anything like th... Read More

Key Insights

• Persistent landing pages are recommended for recurring events to retain link value and improve site indexing.
• For special promotions, a consistent page can help retain value, but one-off pages can be removed without concern.
• Site migrations involving multiple domains require careful evaluation by Google to balance content relevance.
• Google's indexing API issues should be directed to relevant forums or Stack Overflow for technical support.
• Dynamic rendering is a viable solution for JavaScript-heavy sites, but hybrid rendering may offer performance benefits.
• Staging servers should ideally use authentication to prevent accidental indexing by search engines.
• Google's approach to nofollow links focuses on outbound links, with internal links still guiding crawler behavior.
• Automatically generated content is scrutinized for quality and relevance, with evolving guidelines expected.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is recommended for recurring event pages?

John Mueller suggests creating persistent landing pages for recurring events. This helps retain link value and improve the site's indexing. Having a consistent page allows the page to gain value over time, unlike pages that are removed after the event.

Q: How should special promotions be handled on a website?

For special promotions, John recommends having a consistent page if the promotions are regular, such as annual Black Friday sales. This helps retain link value. However, for one-off promotions, it's acceptable to remove the page after the promotion ends.

Q: How does Google handle site migrations involving multiple domains?

John explains that Google evaluates site migrations involving multiple domains differently. When content is moved or split across domains, Google must re-evaluate the content's relevance rather than simply transferring value from one domain to another.

Q: What should be done if there are issues with the Google Indexing API?

John advises checking with Google API help forums or posting on Stack Overflow for technical support. The complexity of API issues often requires more detailed examination, which is better suited for forum discussions rather than live troubleshooting.

Q: What is the current recommendation for JavaScript-heavy sites?

John suggests using dynamic rendering for JavaScript-heavy sites to ensure they are crawlable by search engines. He mentions that hybrid rendering could offer performance benefits in the future, but for now, dynamic rendering is a practical solution.

Q: How can staging servers be prevented from being indexed by Google?

John recommends using authentication to block access to staging servers. This prevents accidental indexing by search engines. While robots.txt can also be used, it may lead to confusion if not properly managed, especially during site launches.

Q: What is Google's stance on nofollow links?

Google's recent changes to nofollow links primarily affect outbound links. For internal links, nofollow still serves as a signal that certain pages are less important for crawling. The new attributes provide more context about the link's purpose.

Q: How does Google view automatically generated content?

Automatically generated content is scrutinized for quality and user value. While spammy, nonsensical content is penalized, useful content, even if generated by algorithms, may be acceptable. Google's guidelines on this are expected to evolve as technology advances.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• John Mueller discusses the importance of persistent landing pages for recurring events, suggesting that they help retain link value and improve indexing. He advises using a consistent page for regular promotions but notes that one-off pages can be removed without issue.

• The session covers site migrations, emphasizing that Google's evaluation differs when merging or splitting content across domains. Issues with Google's Indexing API are best addressed in forums or Stack Overflow, as live troubleshooting is challenging.

• Mueller touches on SEO for JavaScript-heavy sites, recommending dynamic rendering as a current solution while hinting at future improvements with hybrid rendering. He advises using authentication on staging servers to avoid accidental indexing.