Google: Home Page Outranking Internal Pages For Deeper Keywords

Nov 5, 2020 - 7:21 am 2 by

Google Pyramid

John Mueller from Google was asked why does Google sometimes rank a home page for a specific keyword phrase when there is a deeper page in the site that answers that query better. The home page is more generic and covers a wider topic but there is a more specific page to better answer the query off the home page.

Why does Google not rank the better page for the query?

John responded to this on Twitter saying "usually that's a sign that your homepage is just significantly stronger within your website." Meaning, maybe the deeper page just doesn't have enough signals, i.e. PageRank and/or other signals, to get the deeper, inside page to rank.

John said sometimes this can change over time, he said "sometimes that's a matter of time (as people discover your detailed page & recommend it)." But he said that "sometimes it's also a matter of you being super-clear within your site." So it is a good thing?

This is not uncommon and not really a new phenomenon with Google, this has been happening for over a dozen years. I am sharing this because it is interesting how John answered the question.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More - YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Updates

Google Urges Patience As The March 2024 Core Update Continues To Rollout

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google

Official: Google Replaces Perspective Filter With Forums Filter

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Now Offers Additional Review After Appeal Is Denied

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

EU Searchers Complaining About Google Maps Features Changes Related To DMA

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google

Google Showing Fewer Sitelinks Within Search

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:11 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 15, 2024

Mar 15, 2024 - 4:00 pm
Previous Story: Google Search Console Misclassified Discover As Video Performance Data