What is Fetch as Google Tool and How to Use It

Fetch as Google is a powerful tool within Google Search Console that allows webmasters to see how Googlebot views their website, providing insights into how their pages are crawled and indexed.

By using this tool, you can quickly identify and resolve issues that might affect your site’s performance in search results. Have you ever wondered how Google sees your website and if it’s indexing your pages correctly?

What is Fetch as Google?

Fetch as Google is a tool within Google Search Console. It allows webmasters to simulate how Google crawls and indexes a URL on their website. By using this tool, you can see if Google can access a page and how it renders it.

This is crucial for ensuring that your website’s content is visible and properly indexed by Google. The tool helps identify issues that might prevent Google from effectively crawling and indexing your site. This includes problems with server connectivity, redirects, and blocked resources.

The Role of Fetch as Google in Website Indexing

Fetch as Google plays a vital role in website indexing. When you fetch a URL, Google retrieves and displays the page as it would be seen by its search engine.

This gives you an opportunity to ensure that the content is being read correctly. If there are any issues, such as missing images or JavaScript not loading, you can address them before they impact your site’s performance in search results.

Additionally, after fetching a URL, you can request indexing. This tells Google to re-crawl the page, which is especially useful if you’ve made significant updates or changes.

By doing so, you help ensure that the latest version of your content is what appears in search results. Overall, Fetch as Google helps maintain and improve the visibility and accuracy of your website in Google’s index.

How to Use Fetch as Google?

Prerequisites: Verifying Your Site in Google Search Console

Before you can use the Fetch as Google tool, you need to verify your website in Google Search Console. Verification ensures that you have ownership of the site and allows you access to various tools and data.

To verify your site, add your website to Google Search Console and follow the instructions to complete the verification process using one of the provided methods (HTML file upload, HTML tag, DNS record, or Google Analytics).

Step-by-Step Guide:

Accessing Fetch as Google

1. Log in to your Google Search Console account.
2. Select the property (website) you want to work on from the dashboard.
3. In the left-hand navigation menu, find and click on the “URL Inspection” tool.
4. Within the URL Inspection tool, you’ll find the “Test Live URL” option, which effectively serves the function of the old Fetch as Google tool.

Fetching a URL

1. Enter the URL you want to fetch in the inspection bar at the top of the page.
2. Click the “Enter” key or the magnifying glass icon to start the inspection.
3. Google will begin fetching the URL and will show you the results of the fetch, including the status of the URL and any issues that might be affecting it.
4. Review the fetched data to understand how Google sees your page.

Fetching and Rendering a URL

1. After fetching the URL, you can choose to render it to see how Googlebot interprets your page visually.
2. Click on the “Test Live URL” button if the fetch is successful to see the rendered page.
3. This will show you how Googlebot can access and render the content, highlighting any potential issues with resources (like images, CSS, or JavaScript) that couldn’t be loaded.
4. Analyze the rendered version to ensure all elements of your page are accessible and displayed correctly.

Submitting a URL for Indexing

1. Once you have fetched and rendered your URL and are satisfied with the results, you can request indexing.
2. Click the “Request Indexing” button to ask Google to crawl and index the URL.
3. Google will process your request and add the URL to its crawl queue.
4. Keep in mind that submitting a URL for indexing does not guarantee instant indexing; it may take some time for Google to process and update the index.

Benefits of Using Fetch as Google

1. Accelerated Indexing

Fetch as Google helps speed up the indexing process of your web pages. By submitting a URL directly to Google, you can prompt the search engine to crawl and index your page more quickly.

This is especially useful for new content or updates that you want to appear in search results as soon as possible.

2. Viewing How Googlebot Sees and Renders Your Page

With Fetch as Google, you can see exactly how Googlebot views and renders your page. This allows you to ensure that all important elements of your page are accessible and displayed correctly. It’s a vital step in ensuring your site is optimized for search engines.

3. Ensuring Important Content is Indexed

Using Fetch as Google allows you to make sure that all critical content on your page is indexed by Google. This includes text, images, and other media that you want to appear in search results.

By submitting your URL, you can confirm that these elements are being properly recognized and indexed.

4. Identifying and Troubleshooting Technical Issues

Fetch as Google is an excellent tool for identifying and troubleshooting technical issues that might affect your page’s performance in search results.

You can detect problems like blocked resources, rendering issues, or crawl errors that could prevent Googlebot from indexing your content properly.

5. Checking for Mobile-Friendliness and AMP Status

Fetch as Google also helps you check the mobile-friendliness of your pages and their AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) status.

With more users accessing the web via mobile devices, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is crucial. This tool lets you verify that your pages meet Google’s mobile and AMP standards, which can improve your search ranking and user experience.

Practical Tips and Best Practices

Using Fetch as Google effectively involves understanding when to use it, recognizing its limits, and knowing how to troubleshoot common issues.

When to Use Fetch as Google

Use Fetch as Google when you need to check how Googlebot views your page. This is particularly useful after making significant changes to your site, such as updating content, fixing errors, or enhancing the structure.

It helps ensure that Google can accurately crawl and index your pages, reflecting these updates in search results.

Limits and Restrictions on Fetches

Fetch as Google comes with certain limits. You can fetch up to 500 URLs per week, but only 10 of these can be used for requesting indexing.

This quota is shared across the entire domain, so it’s crucial to prioritize important URLs, especially those that have undergone significant updates.

Common Issues and Solutions

When using Fetch as Google, you might encounter issues such as incomplete fetches or errors. Common problems include server errors, blocked resources, and incorrect redirects. To resolve these:

1. Server Errors: Ensure your server is not overloaded and is correctly configured to handle requests from Googlebot.
2. Blocked Resources: Check your robots.txt file to ensure it does not block important resources like CSS and JavaScript files.
3. Incorrect Redirects: Verify that redirects are correctly implemented and lead to the intended pages.

Limitations of the URL Inspection Tool

While Fetch as Google is a powerful tool, it has its limitations.

• Doesn’t Guarantee Indexing of Submitted URLs: Submitting a URL via Fetch as Google doesn’t guarantee it will be indexed. Google uses complex algorithms to determine which pages to index, based on factors like relevance, quality, and content uniqueness. Fetching a URL merely informs Google of its existence and readiness for crawling.
• Limited Submission Quota: The submission quota for Fetch as Google is restricted. You can submit up to 50 URLs per week for individual pages. For linked pages, the quota is significantly lower, allowing only 10 submissions per month. This makes it essential to use your quota wisely, focusing on high-priority pages that require immediate attention.

Conclusion

Fetch as Google is a valuable tool for webmasters, helping you see your website as Google does. It is especially useful for troubleshooting, testing updates, and ensuring proper indexing. Remember to use it wisely within its limits and address any issues that arise to maintain optimal site performance in search results.

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Our team of expert writers is committed to bringing insights on topics ranging in the fields of technology, marketing, and business. With a wide-reaching range of services on our platform, we help businesses achieve digital transformation end-to-end.