Martin Splitt

★★ Does Google's JavaScript cache really work based on origin instead of domain?

Google's caching system for JavaScript and other resources is based on origin, not on a shared domain among multiple sites. Each origin has its own resource cache....

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why do Google test tools never reflect what Googlebot truly sees?

Testing tools (URL Inspection Tool, Rich Results Test, Mobile-Friendly Test, AMP Test) always perform a fresh fetch and bypass the cache to test the latest version. This differs from actual crawls and...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really ignore the live test in Search Console to diagnose your indexing issues?

To verify how Googlebot really sees your page, examine the 'crawled page' version in the URL Inspection Tool instead of the 'live test'. The crawled version better reflects actual indexing because it ...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why does Google ignore your images during rendering for indexing?

Google often skips loading images during rendering because they are not necessary for most of the indexing process. The image index is a separate entity. This is why some images may appear as unavaila...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google emphasize media queries instead of user-agent for responsive design?

To adapt your site to different screen sizes (mobile vs desktop), rely on CSS media queries and screen size, not on user-agent. This also applies to Core Web Vitals tests that only change the screen s...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do Google’s testing tools really give the same results?

All single URL testing tools (Single URL Inspection Tools or SUIT) use the same pipeline and infrastructure: Rich Results Test, Mobile-Friendly Test, AMP Test, and URL Inspection Tool. Differences in ...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do intermittent server errors really affect your Google indexing?

Temporarily unavailable resource issues are extremely rare in production due to Google's aggressive caching. Even if your server only serves a script once and then fails for a month, you shouldn't see...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can Google really detect JavaScript rendering errors on my site?

JavaScript rendering is an integral and transparent part of the indexing process. Google does not report very specific errors related to rendering because the system automatically retries in case of f...

Oct 15, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can JavaScript really manage the entire lifecycle of a Single Page App for SEO?

Single-page applications use JavaScript to control the lifecycle of the page. JavaScript is used to create the HTML that makes up the page and to load additional content as users navigate to different...

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you prevent indexing errors linked to code paths that Googlebot might reject?

It's essential to ensure that all code paths are covered to avoid problematic scenarios. For instance, one should not assume that certain features (like geolocation) will always be available. Googlebo...

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What happens when Googlebot consistently misses your pages if the URL never changes?

Googlebot uses URLs to locate different pages or views. If the application does not change the URL during navigation between views, Googlebot will only see the homepage and nothing else....

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How can you ensure your single-page app is crawlable by Google without losing its indexing?

For Googlebot to access the different views of a single-page app, it is necessary to use the History API and appropriate link markup with href attributes to expose the views as URLs in the links....

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does Google emphasize unique titles and meta descriptions for each view?

It's important to have specific titles and meta descriptions for each view rather than a generic title and description for all. This improves visibility in search results and helps users find specific...

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why does sending a HTTP 200 on your errors sabotage your crawl budget?

HTTP status codes help Googlebot and browsers determine how to handle a response. In single-page apps, the server no longer directly handles errors, but it is crucial to return the correct HTTP status...

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ How should you properly handle HTTP error codes in a single-page app?

To properly manage errors in a single-page app, the server must be configured to respond with an appropriate error code for specific URLs (for example, /not-found returns a 404, /maintenance returns a...

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do JavaScript redirections to error pages really trigger an error signal for Googlebot?

When JavaScript redirects to an error URL configured with the correct HTTP status code, it signals to browsers and Googlebot that the page is redirecting to another URL that is a real error....

Oct 14, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Cookie Banners Really Hurt Your CLS Score and Core Web Vitals?

We know that the CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) metric, which measures how a page's display changes as it is rendered in the browser window, is one of the criteria considered by the "Core Web Vitals" t...

Oct 05, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Do Chrome and Android Really Impact Google Rankings?

Google does not use data from Chrome or Android for ranking in search results. This data is highly noisy and can be easily manipulated, as shown by the example of Direct Hit which used click data and ...

Sep 23, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do featured snippets really generate more qualified traffic than traditional positions?

According to studies and experiences shared by the community, featured snippets often generate more qualified traffic to websites. The traffic gained is of higher quality even if it may be less signif...

Sep 23, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you stop tweeting at Google and start using the 'Submit Feedback' button in Search Console?

Google strongly encourages the use of the 'Submit Feedback' button in Search Console instead of Twitter. Feedback through this channel provides quantitative data that is genuinely taken into account t...

Sep 23, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available