The world of SEO is constantly evolving, and staying informed about the latest search engine recommendations is crucial for a successful strategy. That’s why Josh Hiemstra, digital strategist for Simpler Strategies, regularly attends Google SEO office hours, gleaning valuable insights directly from the source.
These Q&A sessions feature John Mueller, a Google search advocate, answering pressing questions about SEO challenges. Topics range from ranking factors and website structure to content optimization and algorithm updates. . In this article, we review key SEO information gleaned from Google SEO office hours related to backlinks.
Our website constantly updates categories and pages, leading to frequent 404 errors for backlinks. Does this negatively impact our SEO rankings?
If you’re encountering soft 404 errors, they shouldn’t directly harm your SEO rankings. While adding redirects can be beneficial for user experience, it’s not strictly necessary to avoid an SEO penalty.
Does using the disavow tool negatively impact my SEO rankings?
No, using the disavow tool does not impose a penalty on your website. In most cases, if you’re dealing with random links, you don’t need to resort to disavowing them.
We have competitors who have purchased expired domains previously owned by the government. These domains often rank highly in search results. Is this due to previous backlinks?
Google has systems to handle expired domains. If you suspect spam, use Google’s spam reporting tool to flag specific issues.
How does social media affect SEO rankings? Does having more followers and shares help my SEO rankings?
While social media can be a valuable tool for increasing brand awareness and driving traffic, it does not directly impact your SEO rankings. The exception to this is that Google Search may treat profile pages as regular web pages. These profile pages are often HTML files and can be indexed like other web content.
How does offline branding help SEO rankings when our company is in a field with very well-recognized brands?
While offline branding doesn’t directly impact SEO rankings, it can significantly increase brand awareness and drive more website traffic. In a competitive market with established brands, finding your niche and tailoring your website to that specific audience is a strategic approach to boost your online visibility.
Interested in other Google SEO Office Hours takeaways?
Explore our full article series:
- Insights related to technical SEO
- Insights related to crawlability & indexing
- Insights related to high-quality content
- Insights related to backlinks
- Insights related to user experience
Interested in exploring how Simpler Strategies can improve your website’s visibility? Reach out to our team.
