Using Chrome DevTools to Diagnose Site Issues in an Audit

Using Chrome DevTools to Diagnose Site Issues in an Audit

Chrome DevTools is a free tool built into the Chrome browser, with features that aid in auditing elements on your website in real time. It is a powerful toolbox for technical SEO audits and is just a click away.

DevTools lets you edit pages on the fly and diagnose problems quickly, which helps you build better websites, faster.

The Performance tab in Chrome DevTools can be challenging to use, especially for non-technical users. This includes JavaScript samples, waterfall charts, network throttling, and local environments. Many website owners default to using more user-friendly page speed testing tools, such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix.

Chrome DevTools enable you to –

• Work with live, real-time data
• Analyze your Core Web Vitals Immediately
• Customize your test conditions

Accessing Chrome DevTools

Right clicking on a webpage and choosing examine is all it takes to get the DevTools in the Chrome browser. Usually, this would open on the screen’s right side.

But you may choose to dock it on the left, at the bottom, or even open it in a different window.

Choose your favorite dockside by clicking the three dots next to the settings cog.

Building Your Console Drawer

Chrome DevTools Console makes it easier to develop web pages. The Console has 2 main uses: viewing logged messages and running JavaScript.

You can open the Console as a panel or as a tab in the Drawer.

Web developers often log messages to the Console to make sure that their JavaScript is working as expected. To log a message, you insert an expression such as console.log(‘Hello, Console!’) into your JavaScript. When the browser executes your JavaScript and sees an expression like that, it knows that it’s supposed to log the message to Console.

SEO Auditing Opportunities

SEO audits provide valuable insights into the health and performance of a website in relation to search engine optimization. By conducting regular audits, website owners can identify issues that may be hindering their search visibility and overall online presence. These audits act as a diagnostic tool, uncovering hidden obstacles that may be affecting search engine rankings. With an audit, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement, such as poor site structure, duplicate content, or broken links, enable them to make data-driven decisions and implement effective strategies to enhance their website's SEO.

Despite consistent content updates and clean site designs, many websites suffer from hidden technical flaws. These problems can quietly erode search visibility, and many site owners only realize something’s wrong once their traffic plummets or rankings nosedive. The solution: a comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) audit.

As search engines refine their evaluation and ranking of content, websites that fail to adapt may quietly slip down the rankings. The audit not only aids in identifying common SEO issues but also provides a framework for fixing SEO issues before they affect organic performance.

SEOptimer is famous for its SEO auditing capabilities, coupled with configurable White Label Reports and the ability to Embed Auditing into your site. In addition to being an SEO Audit Tool, SEOptimer provides a range of additional free SEO Tools that give you the power to improve your site yourself. These include-

• Meta Tag Generator
• Keyword Generator
• Robots.txt Generator
• .htaccess File Generator
• XML Sitemap Generator

Different ways of identifying issues, validating findings, and reviewing a website’s accessibility include-

• Ensure Content is Accessible
• JavaScript Parity
• Find and Validate Useful Tags for Search Engines
• Verify Alt Text
• Emulate Multi-Device Responsiveness

Site Speed Audits

Feature of Chrome DevTools- ability to audit site speed and performance for identifying any issues that may impact Core Web Vitals and overall performance of the page.

• Lighthouse Audits
• Identify Performance Issues
• Layout Shifting Areas
• Core Web Vitals
• Performance Insights
• Local Overrides
• Review Resource Coverage and Identify Unused Code
• Switch User Agent
• Disable JavaScript
• View Header Response

Working with JavaScript

The console panel provides the ability to enter custom JavaScript code that can be used for extracting several useful things on the page.

• Find All Links on a Page
• Find Images- Their Height and Width
• Find JavaScript Errors

Extras -

1. Copy XPath or CSS selectors for Scrapping/Crawling
2. Make Edits to Elements
3. Take Full-Page Screenshots
4. Switch Location
5. Find Non-Secure Resources
6. Beautify Code for Easy Review

Conclusion

To efficiently streamline your technical SEO auditing process, start by obtaining our SEO Audit Workbook and gaining access to the necessary tools