Deepcrawl is now Lumar. Read more.
DeepcrawlはLumarになりました。 詳細はこちら

Google Webmaster Hangout Notes: October 6th 2017

google webmaster hangouts recaps - SEO tips

Notes from the Google Webmaster Hangout on the 6th of October, 2017.

 

Appearance in Top Stories Is Determined Algorithmically

The appearance of pages in Top Stories is determined algorithmically. If pages are indexed normally but not appearing in Top Pages, it’s likely to be due to quality factors, such as content above the fold and interstitials.

 

Add Unique Content So International Duplicate Pages Can Be Indexed Separately

Including some unique content on international duplicate pages, such as local addresses and currencies, will prevent them being folded together and allow them to be indexed separately.

 

Crawl Errors May Take Months to Clear

Broken URLs which are being shown as Crawl Errors may not be crawled frequently and may take many months to be re-crawled before they are dropped. Unless they are important pages which should be indexed, they can be ignored.

 

Only Change Protocol During an HTTPS Migration

An HTTPS migration can be processed much faster providing only the HTTPS protocol changes, and the domain, URL path and parameters don’t change.

 

URL Removal Tool Works for Any Domain

If a page has been removed from a site with a 404, you can use the URL removal tool to remove it from Google’s index, including other domains you don’t directly control.

 

A Noindex Reduces Crawl Rate

A page with a noindex tag will be crawled less frequently.

 

Content on Canonicalised Paginated Pages Will Be Lost

Unique content and links on canonicalised paginated pages will be lost if Google accepts the canonical directive.

 

Update Internal Links to Canonical URLs

Update internal links to canonical URLs to give Google a clean signal about which URL to index. If the canonical is accepted, any links to canonicalised URLs will be associated with the canonical URL.

 

Moving to a CDN May Temporarily Reduce Crawl Rate

If you move your site to a CDN, Google sees it as a new hosting setup and may temporarily reduce the crawl rate.

 

Use 301s to Migrate a Subdomain to a Subfolder

You can’t use the Search Console site migration tool to move a subdomain to a subfolder, but 301 redirections are fine.

 

Pre-Rendering JavaScript Pages May Be More Effective

Google is improving its JavaScript rendering, but it’s not handled exactly the same as normal pages so pre-rendering may be more effective.

Avatar image for Sam Marsden
Sam Marsden

SEO & Content Manager

Sam Marsden is Lumar's former SEO & Content Manager and currently Head of SEO at Busuu. Sam speaks regularly at marketing conferences, like SMX and BrightonSEO, and is a contributor to industry publications such as Search Engine Journal and State of Digital.

Newsletter

Get the best digital marketing & SEO insights, straight to your inbox