How a user sees a page isn't always the same way that search engines like Google see one. Elements such as JavaScript, personalization, geo-targeted content and other things can cause a difference between what's presented to the user and what search engines can actually see.
If you want to emulate Googlebot, here's how to use Chrome Developer Tools to do it:
1. Navigate to a page you want to analyze. Right-click and choose "Inspect".
2. Chrome Developer Tools is now open. Click the horizontal three dot icon and choose "Show Console Drawer"
3. Click on the "Network Conditions" tab
4. Uncheck "User browser default"
5. Scroll to User agent and choose "Googlebot Smartphone"
6. Reload the page. You can now view it as Googlebot Smartphone
This process comes in handy if you have any reasons to believe that Googlebot might see your content than what's presented to users. This is especially true if you know your site utilizes heavy JavaScript or uses any type of prerendering solutions.
#SEO #technicalSEO
This post was originally shared by Chris Long on Linkedin.