Google has launched a tool that grades websites on SEO implementation. Currently in its beta phase, Web.dev helps site owners audit performance, assess the progressive webapp checkist, checks best practices, and gauges accessibility.
“We find this tool to be useful to get a quick overview and do some mid-level analysis to find out what’s working and where the gaps lie” said Prantik Mazumdar, managing partner at HappyMarketer, adding that the current version fails to provide a deep dive into each of the four elements, and that seasoned SEO professionals will still need to rely on Google’s other tools, such as Test My Site and 3rd party platforms such MOZ and SEMRush.
Mazumdar insists that 3rd party SEO platforms have an advantage over Google’s tool, as they are able to analyze historical data as well as data about keyword and content relevancy.
Kavinraj Vijayaraj, an SEO specialist at Lion & Lion, tested the tool and concluded that in its current state, Web.dev is insufficient for helping site owners & managers understand in-depth errors within websites.
“When compared to other SEO tools, the data discrepancy is too significant,” said Vijayaraj. “Thus, in its current BETA state, Google’s SEO audit is inaccurate and inadequate which is expected during the testing phase. For example, the tool shows 100% SEO performance, but there is metadata missing from numerous websites.”
Vijayaraj added that while Web.dev can conclude that a sites’ image elements lack alt attributes, it cannot quantify the problem that sharing which images lack the tags. Both respondents confirmed that the tool needs to provide an exhaustive list on detected errors and explaining the reasons behind differences between the SEO score and SERP rankings.
