digital marketing

Google’s John Mueller Offering Webmaster Assist On Christmas

26 December 2023
Bourahima


Yearly, John Mueller, Senior Search Analyst / Search Relations workforce lead at Google makes a big effort to assist reply to Web optimization-related questions on Christmas. He has completed this since a minimum of 2007, so sixteen-years and counting, and has completed it once more this Christmas.

Listed here are the earlier years of John providing assist on Christmas. He did it final 12 months in 2022, then in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

This 12 months, he appears to have stayed off X (previously often known as Twitter) possible for good cause, and posted totally on Reddit. Listed here are the Reddit threads and responses he posted on on Christmas day:

  • Hreflang rendering – head or physique? – “It appears like (because you talked about “rendering”) you are including hreflang with JavaScript. Technically, that is doable, however debugging goes to be painful. I’d think about that many hreflang testing instruments may have hassle seeing it, for instance. Hreflang is difficult by itself, I’d attempt to not make it even tougher. It sounds such as you’re up to the mark, simply needless to say if the js injects an iframe within the head, you have to make sure that the meta tags that you simply want for search are earlier than the iframe. (The iframe will usually cease processing of the top at that time).”

  • Robots.txt unreachable – “That is virtually actually your server blockinng Googlebot, for instance with a very spicy CDN configuration. This isn’t a bug in Search Console. In case your robots.txt will not be accessible to Googlebot, nothing will get crawled. The contents of the robots.txt file does not matter for this subject – the issue is that Googlebot cannot even take a look at the file, so it assumes that your server desires to dam all site visitors.”

  • Google Cache is totally different from Search Console Stay Inspection – “The cached web page will not be reflective of what is listed – the JS won’t “run” there for technical causes. Use Search Console as a substitute.”

  • What Web optimization myths are you uninterested in listening to of? – “That some issues are myths and may due to this fact by no means be adopted / used.”

  • Any level in placing model title on meta title for web site pages? – “I like cheese, sorry.”

  • Comply with this web site function. Is it automated or do you have to add code? – “When you’ve got a weblog, it is in all probability already arrange for it (RSS / atom feed). In any other case, relying in your CMS, you in all probability both have feeds like that already too, or it is simple to activate them. Should you’re making your individual CMS, creating an RSS feed is not that rather more work.”

  • Absolute URLs in Hreflang vs Impressions efficiency? – “Random ideas, would possibly / won’t be related to you. I might be tempted to verify the meta charset is the primary aspect of the top, to guarantee that all content material in there may be processed with the precise character set. Trying round (like https://webhint.io/docs/user-guide/hints/hint-meta-charset-utf-8/ ), this looks as if a standard follow, however I do not suppose it is a requirement. In case your scripts “break the top” (eg, inject an iframe), you would possibly find yourself shedding the hreflang hyperlinks beneath that part. I might put any meta tags that you simply care about for search (meta robots, canonical, hreflang come to thoughts) above issues like scripts added within the head.”

A pair days earlier than the vacation, he posted his annual year-end Web optimization meme on X, click on by way of to undergo all of them:

As I wrote final 12 months, there are additionally tons of volunteers, Google Product Consultants, and different volunteers which have answered dozens and dozens of questions all through Christmas eve and day and over the weekends. Like I stated final 12 months, this exhibits how John deeply cares about site owners. He is aware of that if a webmaster, web site proprietor, or enterprise proprietor is posting one thing regarding their web site over the vacations, this webmaster have to be in some misery, and he’s there trying to assist. We mentioned this a bit after I interviewed him on my vlog – test it out over right here.

In any occasion – John – thanks for every part you do, and wishing you, your loved ones, and your colleagues a contented, wholesome, peaceable, and profitable vacation and New Yr.

Listed here are some posts from different search reps wishing everybody a contented holidays:

And glad holidays to everybody on the market!

Discussion board dialogue at posts above.