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Google’s John Mueller debunks the “Index Bloat” theory, stating there’s no limit on the number of pages indexed per site.
Google’s John Mueller debunks the “Index Bloat” theory, stating there’s no limit on the number of pages indexed per site.
In a recent episode of the ‘Search Off The Record’ podcast, Google’s Search Relations team addresses questions about webpage indexing.
A key point of discussion was the concept of “Index Bloat,”—a theory that has garnered attention within the SEO community.
Google Search Advocate John Mueller refutes the idea of index bloat, which posits that excessive indexing of unnecessary pages can negatively impact search engine rankings.
This article covers the details of the index bloat theory, Google’s response, and the broader implications for SEO practices.
The term “index bloat” describes a situation where search crawlers index pages that aren’t ideal for search results.
This includes a variety of pages, such as filtered product pages, internal search results, printer-friendly versions of pages, and more.
Proponents of the index bloat theory argue that these pages make it harder for search engines to understand websites, negatively impacting search rankings.
The theory relates to the concept of a crawl budget, the number of URLs a search bot will crawl during each visit.
The theory suggests that index bloat can lead to inefficient use of this crawl budget as search bots spend time and resources collecting unnecessary information.
Mueller debunks the index bloat theory, stating:
“I’m not aware of any concept of index bloat at Google. Our systems don’t artificially limit the number of pages indexed per site. I’d just make sure that the pages which you’re providing for indexing are actually useful pages, but that’s independent of the number of pages your site has.”
This statement challenges the fundamental premise of index bloat.
According to Mueller, Google doesn’t impose an artificial limit on pages indexed per site.
Rather than worrying about omitting pages from Google’s index, Mueller believes your time is better spent publishing helpful content.
Those who support the index bloat theory often cite causes such as accidental page duplication, incorrect robots.txt files, and poorly performing or thin content.
However, Google suggests that these aren’t causes of a non-existent “index bloat” but general SEO practices to which webmasters and SEO professionals should pay attention.
Proponents of the index bloat theory have suggested using tools like Google Search Console to detect index bloat by comparing the number of indexed pages to what is expected.
Google’s standpoint, however, implies this comparison doesn’t indicate a problem. It’s part of regular website management and monitoring.
Despite the conversations around index bloat, Google’s official stance is clear: the notion is debunked.
Instead, the focus should be on ensuring that the pages you provide for indexing are valuable and relevant.
Source: Google Search Off The Record
Featured image generated by the author using Midjourney.
Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, …
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Phish ’n’ Ships: Human Security warns of fake shops exploiting payment platforms and SEO – SiliconANGLE News
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A new report out today from cybersecurity company Human Security Inc. is warning of a large-scale phishing scheme, dubbed “Phish ‘n’ Ships,” that leverages fake online shops and search engine manipulation to defraud consumers.
Uncovered by the company’s Satori Threat Intelligence and Research team, the Phish ‘n’ Ships scheme is described as a sophisticated effort to exploit consumers by using fake web shops and compromised search engine ranks. The threat actors behind the scheme infect legitimate websites to create and rank fake product listings for popular items, making them appear in top search results. When unsuspecting consumers click on these links, they are redirected to counterfeit stores controlled by the attackers.
Once on the fake site, consumers go through what appears to be a typical online checkout process. Payment information is collected through one of several targeted payment processors, allowing the attackers to capture funds and sensitive card data. Victims believed they were purchasing real items, but the products never arrived.
The report notes that the operation has affected more than 1,000 websites and created 121 fake online stores, costing victims millions of dollars. By abusing search engine optimization tactics, the attackers drew significant traffic to the counterfeit sites, with the scheme estimated to have hit hundreds of thousands of consumers over the past five years.
While not outright saying that those behind the scheme were from mainland China, the report does state that the internal tools used by the threat actors used Simplified Chinese, the form of Chinese used in mainland China, versus traditional Chinese that is used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
Working with payment platforms, Human Security has managed to disrupt much of the operation, including having Google remove many of the fraudulent listings from its search results and the payment processors involved having suspended the accounts associated with the scheme. Law enforcement agencies and the broader threat intelligence community have also been informed to prevent further losses.
Though the links to the scheme may have mostly been removed and its operations stunted, Phish ‘n’ Ships remains a live threat, with attackers searching for new methods to evade detection. Human Security is warning consumers to remain vigilant when shopping online, especially for deals that seem too good to be true.
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Google Warns: URL Parameters Create Crawl Issues – Search Engine Journal
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Google’s Gary Illyes warns of URL parameter issues causing crawler inefficiencies, especially for e-commerce sites.
Gary Illyes, Analyst at Google, has highlighted a major issue for crawlers: URL parameters.
During a recent episode of Google’s Search Off The Record podcast, Illyes explained how parameters can create endless URLs for a single page, causing crawl inefficiencies.
Illyes covered the technical aspects, SEO impact, and potential solutions. He also discussed Google’s past approaches and hinted at future fixes.
This info is especially relevant for large or e-commerce sites.
Illyes explained that URL parameters can create what amounts to an infinite number of URLs for a single page.
He explains:
“Technically, you can add that in one almost infinite–well, de facto infinite–number of parameters to any URL, and the server will just ignore those that don’t alter the response.”
This creates a problem for search engine crawlers.
While these variations might lead to the same content, crawlers can’t know this without visiting each URL. This can lead to inefficient use of crawl resources and indexing issues.
The problem is prevalent among e-commerce websites, which often use URL parameters to track, filter, and sort products.
For instance, a single product page might have multiple URL variations for different color options, sizes, or referral sources.
Illyes pointed out:
“Because you can just add URL parameters to it… it also means that when you are crawling, and crawling in the proper sense like ‘following links,’ then everything– everything becomes much more complicated.”
Related: Crawler Traps: Causes, Solutions & Prevention
Google has grappled with this issue for years. In the past, Google offered a URL Parameters tool in Search Console to help webmasters indicate which parameters were important and which could be ignored.
However, this tool was deprecated in 2022, leaving some SEOs concerned about how to manage this issue.
While Illyes didn’t offer a definitive solution, he hinted at potential approaches:
Related: Google Confirms 3 Ways To Make Googlebot Crawl More
This discussion has several implications for SEO:
URL parameter handling remains tricky for search engines.
Google is working on it, but you should still monitor URL structures and use tools to guide crawlers.
Hear the full discussion in the podcast episode below:
Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, …
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Google: A ‘Site:’ Search Doesn’t Show All Pages – Search Engine Journal
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Google reminds everyone that a site: search is not meant to show all indexed pages on a site.
Google’s John Mueller says the results of a site: query are not a comprehensive collection of all a website’s pages.
This topic is addressed in the latest installment of the Ask Googlebot video series on YouTube.
Specifically, Mueller answers the following question:
“All of my URLs are indexed and when I check in Google one by one, the total number of URLs is 180. But in Google SERP, only 28 URLs show. Why is that?”
This person says all their pages can be found in Google when searching for them individually, but only 28 pages are shown in a site: search.
That may seem unusual, but as we hear from Mueller it’s perfectly normal.
Here’s his response.
Related: An SEO Guide to Advanced Google Search Operators
A site: query is a command that instructs Google to return results from one specific domain.
For example, if you only wanted to see pages from Search Engine Journal, you would type “site:searchenginejournal.com” into Google.
You can take these searches a step further by adding a keyword in front of the site: command. This will tell Google to return results from one domain that are relevant to the keyword in the query.
If you wanted to see articles from Search Engine Journal about Core Web Vitals, for example, you’d type “core web vitals site:searchenginejournal.com” into Google.
While this can be a useful tool to find what you’re looking for, it’s not designed to be used for diagnostics purposes.
Mueller explains:
“The short answer is that a site: query is not meant to be complete, nor used for diagnostics purposes.
A site query is a specific kind of search that limits the results to a certain website. It’s basically just the word site, a colon, and then the website’s domain.
This query limits the results to a specific website. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive collection of all the pages from that website.”
If you know you have 100 indexed pages, but a site: search only returns 50, there’s no reason to be concerned.
For an accurate look at how many pages of your Google is able to index, use Search Console.
The Index Coverage report in Search Console will show exactly which pages are indexed, and which pages (if any) have errors that prevent indexing.
Mueller continues:
“If you’re keen on finding out how many pages google has indexed from your website, then use Search Console instead.
Google Search Console is a free tool you can use to get more information about how Google Search sees your website.
Within Search Console you can see how your pages are shown in search, as well as the number of pages that are currently indexed.
In short, don’t worry about the counts shown in a site: query. Use Search Console instead.”
For complete details on how to use Search Console’s Index Coverage report, see this explainer:
If Google is not able to index any of your pages, this report will tell you why. Then you can fix the issue and use the same report to re-submit the URL for indexing.
See the full video below:
Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, …
Conquer your day with daily search marketing news.
Join Our Newsletter.
Get your daily dose of search know-how.
In a world ruled by algorithms, SEJ brings timely, relevant information for SEOs, marketers, and entrepreneurs to optimize and grow their businesses — and careers.
Copyright © 2024 Search Engine Journal. All rights reserved. Published by Alpha Brand Media.
Backlinks: The Backbone of SEO Success – PressReleaseNetwork.com
In the digital age where competition is fierce and the online market is saturated, understanding the pillars of search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for any website that aims to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). Among these pillars, backlinks stand as one of the most influential components. They are the building blocks that not only boost a website’s credibility but also its visibility and trustworthiness. In this article, we’ll explore why backlinks are the backbone of SEO, how they function, and best practices for building high-quality backlinks.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks, also known as inbound or incoming links, are links from one website to another. Search engines like Google consider these links as votes of confidence. When reputable sites link to your website, search engines interpret this as a signal that your content is valuable and trustworthy. Thus, a strong backlink profile is essential for achieving higher rankings on SERPs.
Why Are Backlinks Important for SEO?
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