If you use dynamic or client-side rendering, make sure Googlebot sees the correct HTML and content. With dynamic rendering, the pre-rendered version is served only to search engine bots, not to regular visitors. There are also cases where the page version for Googlebot differs slightly from the user version. For example, you can show users a delivery information block based on geolocation and browser data, and many websites use personalized recommendations based on previously viewed products. Googlebot does not send geolocation or browsing history to your server, so these blocks may simply be missing when it visits.
Below, we’ll walk through every way to run this check, from Search Console to bulk inspection of the entire site. And there is a newer reason to care: AI crawlers like GPTBot and ClaudeBot do not render JavaScript at all, so what bots can and cannot see is no longer only a Google question.
When should you run a Googlebot check?
Run a Googlebot check if any of the following applies to your site:
- Your site uses JavaScript rendering: Googlebot may render JS differently from a regular browser
- You use country-specific redirects or geolocation: verify that Googlebot can reach all versions of your site
- You’re running a split test or rolling out new features: confirm what HTML Googlebot actually sees
- You’re migrating, redesigning or changing site architecture: run checks before, during and after
- A page has dropped out of the index or isn’t getting crawled: check what Googlebot sees when it visits that URL
- You’re doing a technical SEO audit: Googlebot rendering checks should be part of every audit
1. If you have country-specific settings for users
For example, you have a website at https://example.com.de and another at https://example.com. Based on your web server settings, you redirect users with German IP addresses to https://example.com.de, even when they try to access the international version (https://example.com). In that case, you need to check which version Googlebot sees and whether all domains/subdomains/subfolders are available to it.
2. If your website uses JavaScript
Sometimes, search engines process JavaScript differently from browsers, so it is important to understand which JavaScript the bot can and cannot render.
3. During split testing or rollout of new features
If you are testing new features (for example, a new tool for managing indexing rules), be sure to check what Googlebot detects and which HTML elements it gets on the page when it scans the URL.
4. When preparing for migration
Using JetOctopus, you can test how Googlebot renders the new page version even on a staging website. Before, during and after all migrations, it’s important to run this check on different page types.
5. When changing a website design, site architecture, etc.
Any redesign or architecture change can alter what Googlebot receives: new templates load content differently, navigation moves into JS and internal links disappear from the raw HTML. Rendering checks on key templates catch this before rankings react.
6. During a technical audit
If a page has not been indexed for a long time, has dropped out of the index, or has not been visited by search engines in a while, check how it appears to Googlebot.
These checks should be carried out regularly, not just when troubleshooting specific issues.
Before running the scan, know what to look for. Check three things: is navigation the same for users and bots, is critical content visible to the crawler and do server responses match in both cases.
Googlebot test with Google Search Console
The easiest way to see how Googlebot renders pages is to run a live URL Inspection test in Google Search Console. The standalone Mobile-Friendly Test was retired by Google back in 2023, so URL Inspection is the way to do it now. Test the URL in real time and check the page code and snapshot.
Lifehack: copy the HTML code returned by Google and paste it into a blank page in your browser through DevTools, and you get a complete snapshot of the page “through the eyes of Googlebot”.
However, this method has several disadvantages.
- The number of checks per day is limited in Google Search Console.
- You cannot check a large number of URLs in bulk.
- URL Inspection shows the rendering of the mobile bot in most cases; you cannot pick a specific Googlebot version to simulate.
If elements are missing from the rendered screenshot, check the “View crawled page” panel and its “More info” tab to identify which resources are blocked from Googlebot. You can perform a bulk check of pages’ indexing statuses in Google using the URL Inspection Tool.
Simulate Googlebot with Chrome DevTools
You can also check how Googlebot renders your website pages using Chrome DevTools.
- Select a user agent from the list of official Googlebot user agents: choose a mobile or desktop bot, the required browser version, etc.
- Open Chrome DevTools: Command+Option+C on Mac, F12 or Control+Shift+C on Windows and Linux.
- Open the command line by pressing Control+Shift+P.
- Select “Show Network conditions”, then press “Enter”. The “Network conditions” tab will open.
- Deactivate the “Use browser default” checkbox, select “Googlebot” and enter the required user agent data.
- Reload the page.
This allows you to simulate Googlebot behavior and see exactly what the bot encounters. The advantage of this method is that you can configure any user agent and check how a specific Googlebot version renders JavaScript. But like Google Search Console, you won’t be able to check URLs in bulk.
If your site uses geolocation-based redirects or blocks traffic from certain regions, keep in mind that Googlebot primarily crawls from US IP addresses. To accurately simulate Googlebot during manual testing, consider routing your traffic through a US-based VPN.
There are also other third-party tools you can use to simulate Googlebot, including Screaming Frog, To The Web’s Googlebot Crawling Simulator and Dentsu’s Fetch & Render tool. The common limitation: they check one URL or a handful at a time. JetOctopus lets you test Googlebot rendering at scale across your entire site.
No account needed for a quick look.
Check any URL with the Free JS SEO Tool: see what search engines and AI bots get from your JavaScript in seconds.
Bulk inspection with JetOctopus
Another way to test Googlebot rendering on your website is to use JetOctopus, a cloud-based technical SEO platform built for large websites, e-commerce catalogs and the agencies that manage them. We offer two options: bulk inspection across your entire site, and checking the JavaScript-rendered version of any individual URL from your crawls or logs.
Bulk inspection
- Start the crawl and select Googlebot Smartphone or Googlebot Desktop in the list of user agents.
- Activate the “Execute JavaScript” checkbox.
More information about setting crawls: How to configure crawl for JavaScript websites. - Wait for the crawl to finish and analyze the results. All reports, including JavaScript rendering issues, will be displayed on your dashboards.
The advantage of this method is that you get a full picture of your website. You can see which pages are indexable, which meta-tags Googlebot crawls and which URLs are not available to this user agent. In addition, you can quickly spot differences between the mobile and desktop versions. You can also run a JavaScript crawl using the Googlebot user agent to see how Googlebot renders your website. You don’t need to check each page individually.
The disadvantage is that you won’t have access to the raw code that Googlebot sees. In addition, if your web server uses reverse DNS lookup to verify the bot’s authenticity, the crawl results may not match what Googlebot actually sees.
We recommend carefully comparing HTML and JavaScript, as well as performing all other checks. Here is a list of recommendations: How to check JS website with JetOctopus.
View page as Googlebot in one click
To do this, go to any data table: Logs, Google Search Console or crawl results. Select the desired URL and click the three-line (menu) icon.
From the dropdown menu, select “View as Googlebot” or “View as Googlebot with JS”. This is the fastest way to get a Googlebot view of any indexed or crawled page.
The version of the page that Googlebot sees will open in a new browser tab. To see the HTML, use Chrome DevTools.
The advantage of this method is that you can explore what code Googlebot has rendered for a specific page.
Keep in mind that your website may be crawled by different types of Googlebots, each running a different browser version. When you check how Googlebot sees your page, JetOctopus emulates the bot’s behavior using the most common browser version.
If your website uses reverse DNS lookup or has security systems, such as Cloudflare, additional settings may be required on the server side or in Cloudflare.
Comparison of JS and non-JS content
You can also compare the JS and non-JS versions of any page by performing a check using the Googlebot Desktop or Googlebot Mobile user agent.
To do this, go to the “Tools” menu.
Next, enter the URL, select the desired user agent and click the “Load” button.
In the results, you will see the difference between the code that Googlebot receives from your server and the code that Googlebot views after rendering.
More information about the comparison of JS and non-JS Tool: Product Update. Compare JS vs non-JS content with JetOctopus.
If you are planning to migrate to JavaScript, we recommend watching the webinar: Webinar: How to Migrate a website to JavaScript. Best practices.
Googlebot is only half the story now.
AI crawlers like GPTBot and ClaudeBot skip JavaScript entirely, so the same check matters twice. JetOctopus is a cloud-based technical SEO platform that joins crawl, server logs, GSC and GA4 to show your site through the eyes of Google and AI bots.
