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Artwork for Search Off the Record

Search Off the Record

Google
SEO
Search Console
Google
Google Search
Search Engine Optimization
HTML
Googlebot
Hreflang
User Experience
Technical SEO
Duplicate Detection
Core Web Vitals
SEO Starter Guide
Web Development
User Experience Research
Javascript
Web Standards
Lazy Loading
Robots.txt
Indexing

Search Off the Record takes you behind the scenes of Google Search and its inner workings! In each episode, the folks from the Search Relations team will give you background info on the decision-making behind launches, feature prioritization in Search Console, and the projects Google Search teams are working on. They will share fun stories from the many conferences they attend as well as from thei... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes187Founded6 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Technology

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Artwork for Search Off the Record

Latest Episodes

Is your website's internal search feature secretly acting as an open invitation for crawling lots and lots? In this episode of Search off the Record, Martin Splitt and John Mueller pull back the curtain on how internal search results pages can turn i... more

YouTube

Should you panic when your Search Console indexing report is showing pages that aren't indexed? Is a 404 error code always a sign of a broken website?

In this episode of Search Off the Record, Martin Splitt and John Mueller from the Google Search R... more

YouTube

Key Facts

Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

John Mueller
Google Search Relations specialist
Google
Episode: Vibe Coding - yay or nay?
Nikola Todorovic
Lead of Safe Search Engineering, Google
Google
Episode: How AI Is Changing Google Search and SEO
Martin Splitt
Subject matter expert in SEO and photography
Google Search team
Episode: SEO for photographers: websites, social media, and Google Search
Allan Scott
Software engineer at Google with over 12 years of experience focusing on duplicate detection and elimination.
Google
Episode: Handling Dupes - Same Same or Different?
Rio Ichikawa
SEO expert with a background in UX
Digital Marketing Agency based in Tokyo, Japan
Episode: A discussion of UX for SEO
Erika Varangouli
Head of Branded Content at Riverside with nearly 15 years of experience in SEO.
Riverside
Episode: How do I know if my SEO is doing a good job?
Irina Tuduce
A long-time Google employee with expertise in shopping and search infrastructure.
Google
Episode: Let's talk shopping markup
Mihai Aperghis
SEO enthusiast and entrepreneur based in Romania
Vertify Agency
Episode: Working With Search Console API
Zoe Clifford
Rendering team member at Google
Google
Episode: Rendering JavaScript for Google Search

Hosts

Martin Splitt
Google Search Relations team member; host of the show and of the episode; frequent speaker with deep technical SEO focus.
John Mueller
Google Search Relations team member; co‑host/guest on multiple episodes; renowned for technical SEO insights.
Gary
Google Search Relations/Google‑related host; frequent co‑host on episodes and contributor to discussions about crawling and indexing.

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars from 410 ratings
  • It's Like Sesame Street For SEO

    The information is good and the kind and mild manner nature of John reminds me of the Sesame Street setup. It's refreshing.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    BridalLemmingOP
    United Statesa month ago
  • Help me !!!

    Please get me out of this nightmare!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Honeystain
    South Africa9 months ago
  • I

    .

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    Jchassy
    United Statesa year ago
  • Love this song but my name isn’t lizzy

    My name is Jayme Lauren Lunsford

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jayme Lunsford
    United States2 years ago
  • 🏴‍☠️

    🏴‍☠️

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    ΐ§ρ
    United States2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Insiders' view of Google Search and SEO is highly valuable for practitioners.
Listeners want more diverse guests and real‑world examples to broaden perspectives.
Depth and technical detail are appreciated, with practical takeaways.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#103
Italy/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#136
Germany/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#49
Indonesia/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#190
Singapore/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#199
Poland/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#214
Switzerland/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Google crawlers behind the scenes
Q: How can I imagine Googlebot? How does our crawling infrastructure roughly look like?
Googlebot is not the entire crawler infrastructure; it's a name used by one team for their fetches within a larger, centralized SAS-based system. The infrastructure is a cloud-based service with API endpoints that perform internet fetches, governed by parameters and defaults to ensure safe, scalable crawling across many teams and products.
How Search Off the Record tackles SEO and web development
Q: What's your favorite moment from Search Off the Record so far?
I have joined as a speaker two or three times, which is very lovely, but I'm just not a big podcast person in general.
Lazy loading demystified
Q: Does lazy loading affect indexing in any way or ranking?
It can influence indexing if custom implementations are used improperly; native implementations have minimal impact.
Lazy loading demystified
Q: Is lazy loading something that has gotten more popular over the years?
It has become more prevalent as websites became more complex and content-rich, allowing for resource savings.
SEO for small businesses
Q: How long does it take for SEO changes to become visible?
It depends, but simple text changes can reflect in a week or two, while more strategic changes may take longer.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Search Off the Record

What is Search Off the Record about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A technically focused show that pulls back the curtain on how Google Search operates, featuring regular hosts from the Search Relations team who unpack decision‑making, feature launches, and behind‑the‑scenes dynamics. Episodes routinely explore topics like indexing, crawling, HTML parsing, and how AI and modern web practices intersect with search. The format blends practical SEO guidance with candid anecdotes from conferences and day‑to‑day life at Google, often hosting guests to challenge assumptions and illuminate the broader ecosystem. A standout is the insider perspective on Google's internal processes and the emphasis on user value, quality content, and sustainable optimization rather than quick hacks.

The program tends to attract pr... more

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How many listeners does Search Off the Record get?

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How many subscribers and views does Search Off the Record have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Search Off the Record has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Search Off the Record?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Search Off the Record:

1. Google DeepMind: The Podcast
2. Hard Fork
3. Freakonomics Radio
4. Search Engine
5. The Indicator from Planet Money

How many episodes of Search Off the Record are there?

Search Off the Record launched 6 years ago and published 187 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Search Off the Record?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Search Off the Record?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Search Off the Record from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Search Off the Record?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Search Off the Record. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Search Off the Record?

Recent guests on Search Off the Record include:

1. John Mueller
2. Nikola Todorovic
3. Martin Splitt
4. Allan Scott
5. Rio Ichikawa
6. Erika Varangouli
7. Irina Tuduce
8. Mihai Aperghis

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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