Martin Splitt

★★★ Is third-party client-side JavaScript sabotaging your Google indexing?

When a site uses client-side JavaScript to load critical content from third-party sources (like comments), Google may face indexing issues if the third-party service is overloaded or blocks bots. It i...

Dec 08, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really prioritize server-side rendering over JavaScript for critical SEO content?

For content you consider important for SEO, it is better to manage it server-side rather than client-side with JavaScript. This gives you more control over what is indexed and how it happens, especial...

Dec 08, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that JavaScript can impact your SEO, and how should you approach it?

Using JavaScript is not prohibited for SEO, but it’s important to understand that relying on the browser and Googlebot to handle third-party content means you have less control than when the server do...

Dec 08, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google Really Index Hidden CSS Content (display:none and visibility:hidden)?

Martin Splitt (Google Zurich) explained on Twitter that Google treats the Visibility:Hidden and Display:None codes in the same way: text "hidden" in this manner will be read, analyzed by the algorithm...

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ What insights does Google’s internal podcast reveal about its algorithm?

The podcast shares what the Google Search teams think about and work on, as well as what happens before things become public. It's about sharing elements from daily work as well as discoveries made du...

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google share SEO insights before their official release?

The podcast allows sharing the thoughts and work of the Google Search teams, including elements that occur before the information becomes public. It entails sharing snippets of daily work as well as d...

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are JavaScript-generated structured data really indexed by Google?

JavaScript-generated structured data works correctly. They do not function in the Structured Data Testing Tool, but they do work in the Rich Results Test and Search Console....

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does JavaScript rendering really slow down the indexing of structured data?

The discovery of structured data generated with JavaScript is not significantly delayed as Google renders almost all pages. The median rendering queue time is about 5 seconds....

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google Shopping actually use a different JavaScript rendering compared to traditional Search?

For Google Shopping, the Merchant Center first inspects the HTML and only renders the page if it doesn't find the necessary information. For e-commerce, the rendering approach is different from that o...

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Are Core Web Vitals really the only three metrics that matter to Google?

Current Core Web Vitals include three metrics: First Input Delay (interactivity), Largest Contentful Paint (main content display), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). These metrics represe...

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google enforce an annual cycle for Core Web Vitals?

Google will update Core Web Vitals approximately on an annual basis. Changes will be communicated in advance to provide webmasters with stability and the time to optimize for consistent metrics....

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Are static HTML sites really free from Core Web Vitals issues?

Core Web Vitals issues are not solely related to JavaScript. Static HTML sites can also have problems, particularly with oversized images that cause Cumulative Layout Shift when they load late....

Dec 07, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Google really render all JavaScript pages, regardless of their architecture?

Google renders virtually all pages. The fact that part of the content is rendered on the server and another on the client does not influence Google's decision to render the page or not. There is a heu...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you ensure that Googlebot is truly crawling your site?

Server logs should be taken with caution as many fake bots claim to be Googlebot. It's crucial to ensure that the crawl actually originates from a Google IP address, as anyone can declare themselves a...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google really limit CPU time during JavaScript rendering?

Google limits CPU time during rendering, primarily to prevent infinite loops and other issues. Martin Splitt has personally seen very few cases where this was a problem. In all observed cases, it conc...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should we stop optimizing for bots and focus solely on the user?

Google does not provide a specific range of time or CPU measurements because these are implementation details that can change. The recommendation is to optimize for speed and minimize CPU resources as...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does the CSS content-visibility property really affect rendering in Google?

Regarding the new CSS content-visibility property, Martin Splitt has not yet tested its impact on Google rendering. He expects it to work directly due to updates from the Chromium engine. If it doesn'...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ How can you measure Core Web Vitals on Firefox and Safari without native API support?

For browsers that do not support Core Web Vitals APIs (Firefox, Safari), Martin Splitt recommends using development tools to collect lab data. He particularly suggests monitoring frame timings to aim ...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How long does Google really wait before giving up on JavaScript rendering?

Google does wait a certain amount of time for JavaScript rendering, but it's essential to optimize for users above all. If the rendering takes tens of seconds, it's already problematic. Some sites tak...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What does Google really do with your initial HTML before JavaScript rendering?

Google performs an early extraction of links from the initial HTML to queue them, detects 404 errors, and analyzes meta tags (canonical, description, robots). If a noindex meta tag is present in the i...

Nov 25, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available