Martin Splitt

★★ Does JavaScript really drain your crawl budget?

JavaScript sites may consume slightly more crawl budget if the JS makes additional network requests, but Google caches common resources. The actual impact on crawl budget is generally negligible excep...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you restrict access for users without JavaScript to protect your SEO?

Completely blocking access to the site and displaying 'Please enable JavaScript' when JS is disabled is not a direct SEO issue as long as Googlebot can execute the JavaScript. However, this approach i...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Why do your Lighthouse scores never truly reflect your users' real experience?

Lab data (Lighthouse) and field data (CrUX) differ because lab tests use powerful machines and good connections, while field data reflects the actual user experience (various devices, slow connections...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does Google's render tree make your SEO testing tools obsolete?

Google uses the render tree instead of rendered pixels to analyze pages, but it’s an implementation detail that SEOs generally don’t have to worry about. Checking the rendered HTML and appearance in a...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you really worry about loading errors in Search Console?

In the URL Inspection tool, seeing that resources could not be loaded (especially with the 'other error') is not necessarily problematic. Google does not load certain resources like Google Analytics b...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does Googlebot really download images during the main crawl?

For the main web crawl, Google generally does not download the image files themselves, only the URLs of the images, their alt text, and their context. This is why images can fail to load in testing to...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Does the rendered HTML in Search Console really reflect what Googlebot indexes?

Google's testing tools (URL Inspection Tool, Rich Results Test, Mobile-Friendly Test) display the rendered HTML as seen by Googlebot. If content appears in the rendered HTML, Google can use it; if it ...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ What are the chances that Googlebot is missing your critical JavaScript changes?

When a JavaScript script modifies critical elements (title, headings) on the client side, it must be loaded as early as possible. If the script runs too late after the initial load, Googlebot may miss...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Is it true that Google rewrites your title tags and meta descriptions at will?

Google can rewrite the title tags and meta descriptions shown in search results, even if they have been rendered correctly. The fact that the search result displays content that differs from the rende...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ What event does Googlebot really wait for to index your content: DOMContentLoaded or Load?

DOMContentLoaded fires when the DOM has been fully parsed, but before all resources (images, iframes) are completely loaded. The Load event waits for all resources referenced in the DOM to be download...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Should you really prioritize critical content server-side before metadata in SSR?

For a client/server hybrid rendering, prioritize Server-Side Rendering of critical content (title, meta description, canonical, main content) over secondary elements. The main content should always be...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you remove the canonical tag instead of correcting an incorrect one using JavaScript?

Providing an incorrect canonical tag in the initial HTML and then correcting it via client-side JavaScript can, albeit rarely, create confusion for Google. It is better not to have a canonical than to...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Does URL Inspection really uncover canonical conflicts?

The URL Inspection tool in Search Console can serve as an indicator to detect potential confusion regarding the canonical tag declared by the user versus the one detected by Google....

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you add a noindex to JavaScript and CSS files?

Adding a noindex header to JavaScript or CSS files is generally not useful because these files are typically not indexed. This is not an issue, but not blocking these resources via robots.txt is more ...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Is it true that Google's cache is a trap for testing your page's rendering?

Google's cache: function (cache URL) is not a reliable testing tool. If the rendering in the cache seems incorrect, it means nothing. Use the URL Inspection Tool in Search Console to test rendering, n...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Do failed screenshots in Google Search Console really block indexing?

If the URL Inspection tool or headless Chromium tools cannot generate a screenshot of a long page, it is not an issue for indexing. Only the rendered HTML counts; the screenshot is optional and a gene...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Should you still be concerned about native lazy loading for SEO?

Googlebot Chromium supports native lazy loading of images (loading='lazy'), introduced in recent versions of Chrome....

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Can JavaScript code splitting really enhance your crawl budget and improve your Core Web Vitals?

It is both possible and recommended to load JavaScript scripts only on the pages where they are used (for example, reCAPTCHA only on the contact form). The technique to look for is 'code splitting'....

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★ Why are your Lighthouse mobile scores consistently lower than desktop?

Mobile Lighthouse scores are generally lower than desktop because mobile processors are less powerful and the connection is often slower. Mobile represents the smallest common denominator; it is more ...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available

★★★ Can poorly implemented lazy loading really make your images invisible to Google?

If lazy loading only shows placeholder URLs in the rendered HTML instead of the actual image URLs, it indicates incorrect implementation and Google will not see the real images. Check the rendered HTM...

Jun 17, 2020 ⚡ Analysis available