The URL in question contains an amphtml link that appears exclusively in the rendered DOM and not in the raw HTML code.
Why is this important?
Conventional search engine crawling methods have relied heavily on raw source HTML. As we are only at the dawn of 'crawling and rendering', it's imperative to be aware that Google uses a two-tiered indexing method (Illustration from Google I/O 2018).
It is essential to understand that the first pass of indexing mainly considers the raw source HTML. In addition, John Mueller of Google has indicated on social media that rel=amphtml tags are taken from this initial indexing and AMP links modified or added during rendering are not considered.
What does the Optimization check?
The Optimization is activated for any internal URL that includes an amphtml link element within its HTML upon rendering in headless Chrome, which is absent in the initial HTML.
Note: This Optimization is checked exclusively when the Chrome Crawler is used during the audit setup and AMP is an option that's been selected.
Examples that trigger this Optimization:
Example URL: https://example.com/page-a
This Optimization would be triggered for the URL if an amphtml link is found in the during rendering:
<link rel="amphtml" href="https://example.com/page-a/amp">
However, no amphtml link is found in the non-rendered HTML code.
How do you resolve this issue?
Although Loud Interactive will conduct thorough AMP analysis even if the amphtml link is identified only in the rendered DOM, resolving this Optimization is crucial for proper AMP functioning.
To ensure Google accurately recognizes AMP pages, consider the following solutions:
Include the amphtml link in the source HTML without any alterations during rendering.
Offer pre-rendered pages to search engines for efficient crawling.