Notes from the Google Webmaster Hangout on the 28th of November 2017.
Setting A Higher Crawl Rate Doesn’t Guarantee Google Will Crawl More
Setting your crawl rate to high means Google can crawl more but that doesn’t mean they will.
Google Completely Re-evaluates Relaunched Sites
When you relaunch a website, even using the same URLs, Google re-evaluates the site in its current status so rankings may be affected. Ensure no important content has been removed and internal linking is good on the new site so content is crawlable and discoverable.
There Is No Strict Limit On Meta Description Lengths
There isn’t a strict limit on meta description lengths as Google will try to show content that is relevant to the user. Longer meta descriptions can be used if they are relevant to the user’s query.
Links In Search Console Don’t Reflect What Algorithms Or Penalties Are Using
If a bad link appears in Search Console, that doesn’t mean this is automatically being included in any algorithms or penalties.
Expect To See Fluctuations And Change In The Top Stories Carousel
Engineers will be actively working on the Top Stories carousel so we should expect to see changes and fluctuations there over time. This is partly due to taking on feedback and making sure results are always relevant.
AMP Pages With Reduced Content Won’t Be Treated As AMP Pages
AMP pages with less content than on the mobile page or desktop page equivalent won’t be treated as AMP pages by Google. Users also shouldn’t have to click to read more content from AMP pages.
Algorithms Work Regardless Of Browser Type
Google determines which algorithms work best regardless of browser type.
Hreflang Doesn’t Affect Rankings
Hreflang doesn’t change rankings. Google simply switches out the highest ranking URL and tries to best serve user intent.
Google Differentiates Page Types And Weighs Them Differently
Google differentiates between different page groups (e.g. irrelevant pages, cruft URLs and parameters) and weighs them differently. These pages will be looked at occasionally but won’t be considered as a primary part of the site.
High Quality Sites Are Prioritised When Using Submit To Index Feature
Higher quality sites can be given preference over low quality sites when using the Submit to Index feature.
