Live chat and support: Crawl Audit check 130

Short answer: live chat can catch a question at the moment someone is deciding. It only helps if someone answers. Check 130 is informational and always passes: it notes whether a chat widget is present, because chat is optional.

What Crawl Audit checks

• Pass: an element whose class or id contains "chat", or the names Intercom, Crisp or Tawk.
• Pass: none, with a note that chat is an optional support channel.

What's known

We found no authoritative guidance saying a site should have live chat. Google's rater guidelines list contact methods as "email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, web contact forms, etc." Chat isn't named. What matters is that people can reach you somehow (checks 126 and 127).

Things to weigh

• Response time. A chat box nobody answers is worse than a clear email address and a promised reply time.
• Page speed. Chat widgets are third-party scripts. Load them late (check 99) so they don't slow the page or taps (checks 73 and 76).
• Covering content. A chat bubble shouldn't hide buttons or the cookie banner on mobile.
• Privacy. Chat tools collect personal data and often set cookies, so mention them in your privacy policy (check 128).

A WhatsApp link with your number is a light alternative many customers already use.

Sources

• Google, Search Quality Rater Guidelines (11 September 2025), checked 6 October 2026.