This is a living document for getting the platform ranked up on search results.
Problem
Even after submitting sitemaps and setting up google search console, and optimizing load times, some pages are not being indexed.
Getting indexed and ranked up is a science, so I am documenting the process as I go along.
Web Performance
Search Engine Journal mentions that loading performance matters. Especially on mobile device as they have mobile-first indexing. Our Posthog landing page report shows that we're around 60% mobile visitors.
Tools
More than one analytics tool is recommended so we can correlate data. Complete trust in one man's tool can lead to poor data integrity. So we will setup the following based on our NextJs stack:
Vercel Web Analytics - here
PostHog - they support product and web analytics plus web vitals
Other tools that are not installed:
Google PageSpeed Insights - here
WebPageTest - here
Lighthouse for local development - chrome web store
Method
Web Vital tools like Vercel, PostHog and PageSpeed Insights will give us guidelines.
The analytics tools will show us data from real user samples, so fixing issues may take some time to show up, but PageSpeed Insights can be used to test immediate changes.
Localhost Analysis
Green on Landing
Green on Profile
Green on Shelves
Green on Post with Image
Green on post without Image
In the dev tools, run the test for mobile and ensure we have a 90+ Performance score with Lighthouse. Walk through the suggestions and optimize.
Production Analysis
Using PageSpeed Insights:
Green on Landing
Green on Profile
Green on Shelves
Green on Post with Image
Green on post without Image
Verify Landing Metrics with WebPageTest
Visit Vercel and PostHog Analytics