In this episode, John Mueller and Danny Sullivan continue their conversation about the changing landscape of Search. They discuss the practicalities of hiring an SEO professional in the age of AI: Do you really need one? How do you evaluate them? Danny also shares his thoughts on third-party SEO tools, "domain scores," and why creators shouldn't rush to break their content into "bite-sized chunks" just to please Large Language Models (LLMs).

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO #GoogleSearch

In this episode, John Mueller and Danny Sullivan talk about SEO and the new kids on the block: AIO, GEO and others. Danny shares how these things interact with each other and what he thinks website owners should look for in their content creation and how Google's principles align with the way people use AI and search engines to navigate the web.

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt

Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

Celebrate the 100th episode of Search Off the Record with Martin, Lizzi, Cherry, John and Gary as they revisit memorable moments, touching on a bunch of topics. This special episode touches on Google's mobile-first indexing, the intricacies of the Caffeine indexing system, and a deep dive into JavaScript scoping – and hoisting. You'll hear again about optimizing documentation traffic and the delightful world of Google Doodles. Discover key insights that impact your SEO strategies and web development practices.

Resources:

Episode transcript → https://goo.gle/sotr100-transcript

Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome and 100th Episode Intro
2:21 - Lizzi's favorite: SEO starter guide readings
3:01 - Gary on Mobile-First Indexing Importance
3:39 - Revamping the SEO starter guide
5:13 - Meta tags and Google's indexing system
9:11 - Cherry's use of podcasts for work
12:09 - Deep dive into caffeine indexing
13:59 - The mechanics of data conversion in caffeine
16:12 - John's favorite: The magic of Google Doodles
23:30 - JavaScript ccoping and hoisting
25:47 - Optimizing documentation traffic
29:29 - Conclusion: 100 Episodes of Search Off the Record

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, John Mueller, Cherry Sireetorn Prommawin
Products Mentioned: Search Console

Explore critical aspects of search engine optimization for web content that lives behind a login or paywall. In this episode, Martin and John cover how Googlebot interacts with these pages, the role of paywall structured data, and methods to prevent unintended indexing of private information. Get practical advice on improving your website's visibility and user experience while maintaining data security in Google Search.

Resources:

Episode transcript →https://goo.gle/sotr099-transcript

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:09 - Navigating SEO for login and paywalled content
2:01 - How Google indexes restricted content
10:51 - Strategies for controlling content visibility
20:54 - Testing and optimizing your site for Search

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, John Mueller
Products Mentioned: Search Console

Optimize your website's performance with lazy loading techniques. In this episode, John Mueller and Martin Splitt discuss lazy loading, and its SEO implications. Find out how lazy loading affects indexing, ranking, and Core Web Vitals. Whether you're using native lazy loading or custom JavaScript libraries, this episode provides insights for developers on how to enhance website speed and user experience.

Resources:

Episode transcript → https://goo.gle/sotr098-transcript

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:43 - What is lazy loading?
1:57 - HTTP chunking
3:13 - Primary drivers behind lazy loading
6:19 - Why not default lazy load all images?
8:29 - Lazy loading and SEO
8:39 - Impact to Core Web Vitals
9:17 - Largest contentful paint
9:58 - Affecting indexing and ranking
11:30 - Custom libraries for lazy loading
14:17 - How to recognize a problem
15:25 - Practical point of view
16:52 - Infinite scroll vs. lazy loading
19:31 - Lazy loading videos
20:51 - Small images and decorative images
23:16 - Where to chat about lazy loading images
23:55 - Outro

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, John Muelle, Martin Splitt
Products Mentioned: Search Console

In this episode of Search Off The Record, John and Martin explore the intersection of SEO and photography. Is a website essential for photographers, or is social media enough? Martin, a technical SEO expert and photography enthusiast, dives into the challenges of building a photography website, optimizing images, and attracting the right audience. Whether you're a professional photographer or a hobbyist, this podcast offers valuable insights into how Search Engine Optimization can help you showcase your work and connect with your audience. Find out how to make your images more findable, understand your website's performance, and navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing for photographers. Martin shares his experience building his own photography website and the challenges he faced with SEO for his personal website.

Resources:

Episode transcript → https://goo.gle/sotr097-transcript

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:37 - The Expert?!
3:10 - Why do photographers need websites?
5:39 - Stock Photography and SEO
14:53- Branding and Search
18:21 - Setting up Search Console
21:12 - Web pages and Social Media for your photos.
23:27 - Image Landing Pages
24:52 - Image Optimization
28:38 - Photography and Generative AI

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, John Mueller
Products Mentioned: Search Console

Martin and John dive into the world of CSS and explore its connection to SEO. Discover why CSS files matter for SEO, how modern CSS frameworks impact pages, and the SEO implications of CSS class names and pseudo elements. Moreover, learn practical tips for ensuring your CSS enhances - rather than hinders - your website's search performance.

Resources:

Episode transcript → https://goo.gle/sotr096-transcript

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction
0:56 - What is CSS?
1:37 - CSS file crawlability
3:52 - CSS flexibility and power
4:55 - Website and CSS growth
5:43 - CSS file size
9:15 - CSS class names and SEO
10:51 - Important CSS concepts
11:27 - CSS specificity
14:24 - Pseudo classes and pseudo elements
20:56 - Stop using before and after
22:47 - Viewport height
27:11 - Hiding things and background colours
28:05 - CSS images
35:55 - CSS for SEO
37:16 - Outro

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, John Mueller

Products Mentioned: Search Console

Are you a developer or small business owner struggling with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? In this episode of Search Off the Record, Google Search Advocates John Mueller and Martin Splitt break down the essentials of SEO for small businesses.

Learn practical tips for understanding your target audience, crafting a content strategy, and measuring your SEO efforts. They debunk SEO myths and explain when it's time to hire an SEO expert or agency. Get clarity on content strategy, technical SEO basics, the importance of relevant content and how to measure success.

This video is perfect for developers who are curious about search and need a non-technical introduction to the SEO space, and small business owners who want to improve their website's visibility in Google Search.

Resources:

Episode transcript →https://goo.gle/sotr095-transcript

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction: The SEO Questions We All Get Asked
0:35 - SEO Starter Guide
0:58 - Defining Your Website Goals & Customer Focus
2:51 - Food Truck Example
4:20 - Understanding Your Customers & Search Intent
6:21- Content Strategy: What Should You Write About?
7:06 - Technical Foundation Check: Is Your Site Okay?
7:54 - Website Name Searching
9:46 - CMS
10:03- How to Approach Content Creation
11:52 - Getting Customer Feedback & Keyword Research
13:33 - How Serious Is My Goal
13:33: - How To Measure SEO Impact
14:30 - Monitoring Website Changes: Search Console & Analytics
16:03 - How Long Changes Take
17:41 - Staging Sites Vs Live Sites
18:44 - When to Hire an SEO Expert or Agency
21:14 - Red Flags SEO Promises
21:14 - Resources Mentioned
23:52 - How Long Does SEO Take
26:23 - AI and SEO
28:30 - Outro

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt

Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes

Products Mentioned: Search Console,