Topic: indexing issues
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Fix Google's Phantom Noindex Errors in Search Console
Google Search Console can report misleading "phantom noindex" errors because a hidden noindex directive is sometimes selectively served only to Google's crawler, not to users checking the page source. A frequent cause is server-side caching, where an old cached version with a noindex tag is deliv...
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Cloudflare Outage: How 5xx Errors Impact Your SEO
Cloudflare outages can cause temporary 5xx server errors, which primarily affect search engine crawling but rarely lead to immediate ranking drops if resolved quickly. Google treats temporary 5xx errors by slowing down crawling temporarily, and only prolonged errors risk de-indexing, with normal ...
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Google's Mueller: Sites in 'Bad State' May Need Fresh Start
Google's John Mueller emphasizes that recovering from low-quality content requires demonstrating genuine value and usefulness, not just replacing AI-generated text with human writing. Rebuilding a site's reputation from a "bad state" is often more difficult and time-consuming than starting fresh ...
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Google's New SEO Guide: JavaScript Canonical Best Practices
Google has updated its JavaScript SEO guidance to clarify how canonical URLs should be managed for client-side rendered sites, addressing a technical challenge where duplicate content indexing can occur due to conflicting signals. The core issue is that Google evaluates canonical tags twice—once ...
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Google Resolves Page Indexing Report Delays
Google has fixed a significant delay in its Search Console indexing report, restoring near real-time data after a month-long outage that hindered site monitoring. The restoration includes the resumption of email alerts for indexing issues, following a similar fix to performance reports, giving us...
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Google's Preferred Sources Tool Flooded With Spam
Google's Preferred Sources tool is malfunctioning, prioritizing spammy and low-quality websites over legitimate news outlets in users' personalized Top Stories feeds. The issue involves copycat domains and parked sites that use deceptive tactics like alternative TLDs to imitate reputable sources,...
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Google's August 2025 Spam Update Is Now Complete
Google completed its August 2025 spam update, the only one of the year so far, which ran from August 26 to September 22 and caused significant ranking volatility. The update was broad and general, leading to sharp traffic declines for many websites but recoveries for some previously penalized sit...
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