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Google Says If Your Most Important Page Is Terrible, Then That Is A Big Deal For SEO
Google’s John Mueller said it is a big deal if your most important page or pages are terrible but not such a big deal if your less important pages are terrible. So if your home page is terrible, that is really not good. But if your archived orphaned pages are not good, that is not such a big deal for Google SEO or ranking purposes.
John said on Mastodon “if a site’s most important page (say homepage) is “terrible” (in the sense of any algorithm), that’s a pretty big deal. If the same site has a random archived page that’s “terrible,” no big deal.”
The question was from Robb Watts, and his question didn’t exactly ask this; it was more about the percentage of bad pages, but here is what he said:
I’d read that where a domain is id’d as having a degree of unhelpful content that it can pull down the performance of the domain as a whole. Is there any kind of scale here? Eg domain has x% poor content and y% great, then ability to rank impact == usual position – z ?
Also if poor vs good content % ratio ( 5p/95g vs 60p/40g) then is ranking impact aligned to poor v good % ratios?
Is there anything you can share?
John responded:
Nuance + character-limit = hard :). Here’s an example: if a site’s most important page (say homepage) is “terrible” (in the sense of any algorithm), that’s a pretty big deal. If the same site has a random archived page that’s “terrible”, no big deal.
There’s no absolute “page-percentage” number for this, I’d see it more as “what would the avg user think when they went through / saw your site”.
John later added again, “It’s really not a matter of number of pages or percentage of pages on a site, since those are such arbitrary metrics. It’s really more about the bigger picture for the site.”
So yea, if the best stuff on your site is really, really bad, then that is a non-starter.
Forum discussion at Mastodon.
Source: www.seroundtable.com
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 11, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
We are seeing more signs of intense Google Search ranking volatility. Google is now showing sites hit by HCU or core updates in the AI Overview links/citations. Google Search is missing the video tab in search for some users. Google spoke about when your robots.txt is unavailable. Google added edit and delete buttons next to your reviews. Bing is testing “best list of” carousels in search. And I posted the SEO video recap this morning.
Tonight is Yom Kippur – which those who observe the holiday an easy and meaningful fast. Also, if I have upset anyone in any way with something I’ve posted here or said or written, I hope you can accept my apology. I will try to do better next year.
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Google Search Ranking Volatility Rumbling Again October 10th
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Google Search Missing Video Tab For Some Users – Bug?
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Google: Robots.txt Is Unreachable, Other Pages Reachability Matter
There is this interesting conversation on LinkedIn around a robots.txt serves a 503 for two months and the rest of the site is available. Gary Illyes from Google said that when other pages on the site are reachable and available, that makes a big difference, but when those other pages are not, then “you’re out of luck,” he wrote. -
Bing Tests Best List Of Carousel
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Google Adds Edit & Delete Button Links To Your Reviews
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Search News Buzz Video Recap: DOJ May Breakup Google, Ranking Volatility, Quick View Theft, Google Web Creator Event, Google Ads & More Search News
Google may be forced to breakup, the DOJ is leaning towards forcing that and more as a remedy to its monopoly ruling. This morning we are seeing a spike in Google Search ranking volatility. Google is testing quick view, where….
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Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 10, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google Local Service Ads will require advertisers to have a Google Business Profile next month. Google is testing a Quick view button in search that gives searchers no reason to look at your site. Google may have 9,000 ad campaigns created every second. Google is testing verified labels for retailers in the product search results. Google is expanding store ratings to more countries.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Tests Quick View Button For Recipes That Keep You On Google
Google is testing placing a “quick view” button overlayed on the images on recipes within Google Search. The crazy part is that clicking on “Quick view” keeps you on Google while giving you a snapshot of the content from the publisher, without sending that traffic to the publisher. -
Google Local Service Ads To Soon Require Google Business Profile
Google will soon require businesses who want to advertise using Google Local Service Ads to also have a Google Business Profile. Google posted a notice that reads, “By Thursday, November 21, 2024, your Local Services ad will need a matching Google Business Profile to continue appearing in search results and to display your customer reviews.” -
9,000 Google Ads Campaigns Created Every Second???
Thomas Eccel posted a guess, trying to figure out how many Google Ads campaigns are created in a timeframe. He said if the ad campaigns are issued in sequential order, based on his calculations, 9,000 ad campaigns are created on Google Ads every second. -
Google Search Tests Verified Labels For Product Results
Back in August we reported that Google was testing showing verified badges, verification labels, in the organic search results. Well, now Google is testing the verified label on the detailed product results overlay, on retailer listings. -
Google Store Ratings Now Available In India, Australia, Canada & UK
Google is rolling out the Store ratings feature beyond US Search. It is rolling out to searchers in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. Although, we’ve seen examples of Google showing them in Australia and other countries over the years, I guess as a test. -
Google Noogler Bison Again
We have a photo of this Google Bison from 2018. It looks to be in the same condition but moved from its previous location. It also looks angry…
Other Great Search Threads:
- We’re now seeing AI Overviews appearing for non signed-in users in the UK, ZA, NZ, SG, KE – well countries where English is commonly spoken., Authoritas on X
- I’m sure it’ll be a great event! Unfortunately, I’m only able to make it virtually this time :-/. Martin’s there though, he’s pretty cool too!, John Mueller on LinkedIn
- That’s a fantastic question and right upfront: I don’t have an answer, but I have an idea., Martin Splitt on LinkedIn
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Analytics
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Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 9, 2024
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
DOJ may breakup Google and worse, but the ruling won’t happen officially until next year. Google is testing what people are saying short videos. Google is testing card style knowledge panels on desktop. Google is testing most mentioned places. Google Ads cleaned up its side bar navigation. Google Business Profiles lets you reorder your menu items for your restaurant.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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DOJ May Breakup Google As Remedy To Monopoly Ruling
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Google Tests What People Are Saying Short Video Search Results
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Google Search Tests Most Mentioned Places Carousel
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Google Drag & Drop Reorder Your Restaurant Menu Items
Google Business Profiles now lets you quickly reorder your menu items on your restaurant’s menu with drag-and-drop menus. This allows you to move menu items from section to section much faster and easier. -
Google Ads Improved Console Sidebar Navigation
Google has made a small but useful change to the Google Ads sidebar navigation. It made the background white on sub-navigational elements, which helps differentiate between main menu options and sub-menu options. -
Google Bike Window Stickup Sign
Here is a large window stick up sign or decal I found on Instagram. It looks a bit over the top but hey, that is why I am sharing it with you.
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Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
PPC
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Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
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