Google's new video series answers the weird SEO questions you actually have
Google launched a YouTube series in October 2026 to address edge case technical SEO issues that don't fit standard guidance.
Google rolled out a new YouTube series called "The Non-Canonical Cabinet" on October 14, 2026, to tackle the oddball technical SEO questions that website owners and SEO professionals actually ask. The series, hosted by Google engineers Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin, treats these edge cases with a sitcom-style approach and invites viewers to submit their own questions. For a small business owner managing your own website or working with a contractor, this matters because Google is now publicly clarifying what does and does not affect how your site ranks.
Key facts
- Google published the first episode of "The Non-Canonical Cabinet" on October 14, 2026, after teasing the series on October 6.
- The series addresses questions about what characters can appear in domain names and URLs, whether keywords in URLs help rankings, and how Google handles non-English characters and emojis.
- Google confirmed that emojis cannot be used in domain names under current internet standards, but can appear in URL paths where they get converted to code that browsers may or may not display correctly.
- According to Google, keywords in URLs are "an incredibly small signal" that only matter when Google has no other information about your site; once your site has content, URL keywords "become basically irrelevant."
- Google recommends using hyphens to separate words in URLs rather than underscores, which Google treats as a single word.
Should you change your website structure
If your website already follows Google's standard URL structure documentation, you do not need to make changes. The path advice in this new series repeats what Google has already published. The main takeaway is confirmation: once your site has content, putting keywords into your domain name or URL path will not move the needle on your rankings.
What about using non-English characters in your domain
If your business serves customers who speak a language other than English, you can register a domain name using that language's native characters. Google supports these Internationalized Domain Names and will crawl and index them. However, be aware that some characters in different languages look nearly identical to each other, which can confuse both people and browsers. A Cyrillic letter, for example, looks almost exactly like an English "p." This similarity is something to keep in mind when choosing your domain.
What comes next in this series
Google has not published a release schedule for future episodes. The second episode will cover robots.txt, a file that tells search engines which parts of your site to crawl. Eight days passed between the teaser and the first episode, but that may not indicate the pace of future releases. Google is also inviting viewers to submit their own edge case questions in the YouTube comments, so if you have a weird SEO problem that does not fit standard guidance, you can ask directly.
My take
This series is useful if you obsess over technical SEO details, but it is not urgent for most small business owners. The core message is straightforward: build a site with clear structure, use hyphens in URLs, write good content, and stop trying to game the system. Google is essentially saying that the basics still matter far more than any technical trick.
Sources
- Google Launches A Video Series For Odd Technical SEO Questions via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern - Search Engine Journal, October 14, 2026
They did the reporting. The writing and the opinions here are ours.
Questions people ask about this
Can I use emojis in my website domain name
No. Current internet standards do not allow emojis in domain names. You can use emojis in the URL path (the part after the domain), but browsers may not display them correctly and some will show garbled text instead.
Do keywords in my URL help my search rankings
Very little. Google says keywords in URLs are "an incredibly small signal" that only matter when Google has almost no other information about your site. Once your site has content, URL keywords become basically irrelevant to rankings.
Should I use hyphens or underscores in my URL
Use hyphens. Google treats underscores as part of a single word, which can make it harder for Google to separate and understand individual words in your URL path.
Can I use non-English characters in my domain name
Yes, Google supports Internationalized Domain Names in native scripts. However, some characters in different languages look nearly identical, which can confuse people and browsers, so consider the implications first.
What is "The Non-Canonical Cabinet"
It is a new YouTube series from Google that started in October 2026 to answer edge case technical SEO questions that do not fit standard guidance. Google invites viewers to submit their own unusual questions in the comments.
This piece is about Google Launches A Video Series For Odd Technical SEO Questions via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern, published by Search Engine Journal. Go read the original; the opinions here are ours and the reporting is theirs.
