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Is there a way to somehow verify that the Googlebot finds the headings and the content, for example by word count?

I'm asking this because I tried a program called Screaming Frog, which fails to even fetch the first <h1> on a validated page - for about 1/3 of all the pages(!) - and got insecure. Even though the site looks hunky dory in Webmaster Tools, I'd like to know what a Googlebot-like content crawler finds on my page and in what order. Any tips on such tools is appreciated.

This is not about keyword count.

I'm mainly interested in the main article text.

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You don't need a tool for this, just type this command line on Google Search and see if your page shows up:

keyword site:example.com

As keyword, just choose a word which is only on your heading or page content. As example.com, choose your site to restrict the search to your site.

If all keywords of your <h1> heading are also in your page content, to be sure the tag is indexed by Google, type this command tool and see if your page shows up:

"your exact match <h1> tag text" site:example.com

Don't forget the quotation marks.

Moreover, through Webmaster Tools, you have a specific tool to see how Googlebot sees your page. Find the sub menu "Fetch as Google" (under "Crawl" menu), explore your page URL and see the result through Googlebot. If your page has no issues, you will see your headings and page content.

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  • Fetch as Google gives me the HTML of the page, like View Page Source in a browser. How does that help me see which parts it identifies as main article text? – Henrik Erlandsson May 27 '14 at 6:30
  • Can I see headings and page content, you mean? At least I can't seem to find that. – Henrik Erlandsson May 27 '14 at 6:36
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    Fetch as Google gives you how Googlebot sees the HTML of your page. When starting the analysis, Googlebot goes to your page and gets the HTML to show you what it sees. If you see headings and the text of the page, it's good because it means Googlebot is capable of indexing all the result shows. By the way, after the analysis, you can ask for indexing. – Zistoloen May 27 '14 at 9:12
  • Google webmaster tools now have new feature where you can fetch as Google and it will then render the page: googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/… – Max May 27 '14 at 23:00
  • Yep :) A chunk of HTML just tells me the bot could load the page and reach the h1+body text without trouble. A render shows the same, styled. I'd like to know what portions it indexes. Revealing exactly what text the search engine considers could lead to exploitation, but a word count or other indication would let you know the page not only validates and the text was read but that some text "made it" into the search engine. – Henrik Erlandsson May 30 '14 at 8:38
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In order to ensure that Google has crawled and indexed your content, you can just do a search with the keyword you'd like to be indexed. E.g., you've a heading as follows:

<h1>The h1 heading on my site</h1>

Try to search with Google the 'The <h1> heading on my site' phrase. If the SERP will contain the keyword and a link to your website's page - it's OK, Google has indexed the heading and content of the page.

P.S.: Another way to crawl your website and check the headings (as an alternative to Screaming Frog), you can try the Site Visualizer website crawler.

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  • Your answer was equally good, I only chose the other for the site: term. Thanks :) – Henrik Erlandsson May 30 '14 at 8:42

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