500 Response on Robots.txt Fetch Can Impact Rich Results
500 response to a robots.txt fetch causes loss of rich results and while a bug in search console fails to diagnose the issue
About
I have 25 years hands-on experience in SEO, evolving along with the search engines by keeping up with the latest research, patents and what’s happening in the search results.
Need a consultation? Contact me at roger@martinibuster.com or use the contact form at: Martinibuster.com
I recently presented at Pubcon Vegas in October and March 2024, and over the past 20 years have presented at search conferences across the United States: Pubcon, SMX, Affiliate Summit & SES (Search Engine Strategies) and have served as a Head Judge at the U.S. Search Awards .
Articles
Google Search Results and Synonyms
Google’s John Mueller discusses synonyms and search results and explains how context of the whole query is important
How To Set Up IndexNow Using Rank Math WordPress SEO Plugin
Set up IndexNow on a WordPress site by using the Rank Math SEO Plugin in 3 easy steps
Cloudflare Announces Free Web Application Firewall
Cloudflare announces a free Firewall that blocks many common exploits
Are Internal Links In Header and Footer Treated Differently?
Does Google treat internal links differently based on location on a page? Are header and footer internal links less important?
WordPress Releases a New Performance Plugin
WordPress announced an official plugin that helps speed up websites. Publishers can test the new beta features and offer feedback
WordPress Stored XSS Vulnerability – Update Now
Stored XSS Vulnerability discovered in WordPress can lead to full site takeover by hackers
How Page Experience Ranking Factors Actually Work
Google’s John Mueller shows how page experience ranking signals can help a site rank better and why Google might ease off on using it
Internal Linking is Super Critical For SEO
Google’s John Mueller affirms the importance of internal linking for SEO and recommends a strategic approach
Upwork Suspends Operations In Russia
Upwork suspends operations in Russia and Belarus and donates over a million dollars for Ukrainian relief efforts.
Google Acquires Cybersecurity Firm Mandiant
In a sign of the critical importance of cybersecurity for all businesses, Google Cloud announces acquisition of cybersecurity firm Mandiant
3 Ways Spammers Hide Links & Text on Webpages & How To Stop Them
Website security not an SEO issue? Think otherwise. Here are three sneaky ways spammers add hidden links to your website.
Yandex Warns Debt May Affect Ability To Continue Operating
Yandex issued a statement warning that debt may cause material adverse effect on ability to keep operating
Twitter Transparency Report Discloses Impact on Member Accounts
Twitter’s transparency report shows that their proactive approach to moderation is responsible for vast majority of account suspensions
Facebook Report Reveals Most Popular Posts and Pages
Facebook report reveals what kind of content gets over a hundred million views – And it’s not what you think
Are Brand Mentions Important to Google’s Algorithm?
Google’s John Mueller answers if brand mentions are important to Google’s algorithm
Advisories To Increase Website Security After Russian Attack
Fight back against increased cyber attacks with these free tools and resources
5 HTTP Security Headers You Need To Know For SEO
Are security headers a part of your SEO audits? Here’s why they should be, alongside the top security headers you need to know.
Nine WordPress Plugins Expose Over 1.3 Million Sites To Exploits
Nine WordPress plugins, including popular ad management, malware firewall and database managers were found to have vulnerabilities affecting over 1.3 million websites
Poll Implies Most SEOs Don’t Disavow Spammy Links
Twitter poll seems to indicate that most SEOs choose to ignore spammy links rather than disavow them
Is Author Expertise Important To Google’s Algorithm?
Google’s John Mueller answers the question of whether author expertise is important to Google’s algorithm
WordPress Backup Plugin Vulnerability Impacted 3+ Million Installations
UpdraftPlus WordPress Plugin vulnerability potentially compromised over 3 million installations
Google: No SEO Bonus For Keyword-Based Domains
John Mueller says keyword-based domains are limiting and provide no SEO bonus. He then offered ideas for the best domains
Critical Vulnerability Strikes Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce
Critical Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability rated 9.8 on a scale of 1 – 10 is actively being exploited by hackers
17 Free SEO Tools For Site Audits
Conducting an SEO site audit can be challenging. Here’s a list of free and useful SEO site audit tools that can help optimize your site.
Do Small Sites Have A Chance Anymore?
John Mueller says if you’re a small company competing with large companies it’s always going to be hard
Bing’s New PubHub Offers Millions Of New Site Visitors
Bing’s new PubHub is a new way to bring millions of site visitors to news sites of all sizes
Google Will Likely Index Content That’s Important
Google’s John Mueller discusses the kind of content that is more likely to be indexed
Don’t Use The Target=”_Blank” Link Attribute In These Cases
The choice to use the _blank link attribute carries with it a number of security and user experience considerations. Learn when not to use it.
Screaming Frog Adds Google URL Inspection API
Google URL Inspection API integration adds 7 new ways to fix a website with Screaming Frog