seo: hubs link only indexable RPC pages, H2 outline, redirects, 60 s copy, adjective lint

next.config.ts

@@ -195,6 +195,10 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
       "linea",
       "scroll",
       "mantle",
+      "gnosis",
+      "sonic",
+      "solana",
+      "polkadot",
     ];
     const rpcClusterRedirects = RPC_CLUSTER_CHAINS.map((chain) => ({
       source: `/benchmarks/rpc-capabilities/${chain}`,

src/app/benchmarks/[slug]/page.tsx

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { TerminalFillAudit } from "@/components/terminal-fill-audit";
 import { Breadcrumb } from "@/components/breadcrumb";
 import { ChainHeadingsSummary } from "@/components/chain-headings-summary";
 import { CompareThisBench } from "@/components/compare-this-bench";
+import { isThinRpcBench } from "@/lib/provider-filters";
 import { PublicEndpointsSection } from "@/components/public-endpoints-section";
 import { CitationBar } from "@/components/citation-bar";
 import { LiveIndicator } from "@/components/live-indicator";
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ export async function generateMetadata({
   // provider leaderboard has no comparative value and no search demand.
   // noindex/follow keeps crawl equity flowing without letting an
   // empty-looking table rank for "fastest X rpc".
-  const metaThinRpc = b.category === "RPCs" && (b.results?.length ?? 0) < 3;
+  const metaThinRpc = isThinRpcBench(b);
   const metaTitle = b.seoTitle ?? b.title;
   // Description precedence (most-to-least specific):
   //   1. `seo_description` from the YAML - hand-crafted snippet with the

src/app/benchmarks/page.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import { getBenchmarksSafe, toBenchmarkCardData } from "@/data/benchmarks";
+import { isThinRpcBench } from "@/lib/provider-filters";
 import { BenchmarkGrid } from "@/components/benchmark-grid";
 import { safeJsonLd } from "@/lib/jsonld";
 
@@ -28,7 +29,9 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
 };
 
 export default async function BenchmarksPage() {
-  const benchmarks = await getBenchmarksSafe();
+  // Thin chain RPC benches (< 3 providers) are noindex on their own page;
+  // the index does not link them (see isThinRpcBench).
+  const benchmarks = (await getBenchmarksSafe()).filter((b) => !isThinRpcBench(b));
 
   // ItemList + BreadcrumbList JSON-LD so search engines and LLMs see the
   // page as a structured registry (the data is already in the DOM but

src/app/rpc/page.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { fetchRpcHub, NON_CHAIN_RPC_SLUGS } from "@/lib/rpc-hub-stats";
+import { loadSitemapBlob } from "@/lib/sitemap-blob";
 import { getSpecs } from "@/lib/spec";
 import { RpcHubTabs } from "@/components/rpc-hub-tabs";
 import { pageMetadata } from "@/lib/page-metadata";
@@ -31,11 +32,17 @@ export const metadata: import("next").Metadata = pageMetadata({
 export const revalidate = 3600;
 
 export default async function RpcHubPage() {
-  const [snapshot, specs] = await Promise.all([fetchRpcHub(), getSpecs()]);
+  const [snapshot, specs, sitemapBlob] = await Promise.all([fetchRpcHub(), getSpecs(), loadSitemapBlob()]);
   // Spec-derived chain list: stable across snapshot outages, so the
   // JSON-LD ItemList and the empty state never churn with data blips.
+  // Restricted to the benches the worker publishes in the sitemap: a chain
+  // bench under the thin gate is noindex on its own page and must not be
+  // linked from here (36 such links on 2026-09-19). Without the blob, no
+  // restriction rather than an empty hub.
+  const indexable = sitemapBlob ? new Set(sitemapBlob.benches.map((b) => b.slug)) : null;
   const rpcSpecs = specs
     .filter((s) => s.slug.endsWith("-rpc") && !NON_CHAIN_RPC_SLUGS.has(s.slug))
+    .filter((s) => !indexable || indexable.has(s.slug))
     .sort((a, b) => a.slug.localeCompare(b.slug));
   // Keyed / API-key RPC benches (e.g. keyed-rpc-robinhood). These do NOT
   // belong in the no-key chain matrix above (different tier, and the
@@ -61,7 +68,7 @@ export default async function RpcHubPage() {
           "@type": "ItemList",
           name: "Per-chain free RPC benchmarks by OpenChainBench",
           description:
-            "Live per-chain benchmarks of free, no-key public RPC endpoints: latency, reliability and archive depth measured every 15 seconds from 3 regions.",
+            "Live per-chain benchmarks of free, no-key public RPC endpoints: latency, reliability and archive depth measured every 60 seconds from 3 regions.",
           numberOfItems: rpcSpecs.length,
           itemListElement: rpcSpecs.map((s, i) => ({
             "@type": "ListItem",
@@ -119,7 +126,7 @@ export default async function RpcHubPage() {
           Every free, no-key public RPC endpoint, measured per chain with
           the same probe: one identical{" "}
           <code>eth_getBlockByNumber(&quot;latest&quot;, false)</code> call with a
-          rotating request id (defeats CDN body-keyed caches) every 15
+          rotating request id (defeats CDN body-keyed caches) every 60
           seconds from 3 regions (N. Virginia, Amsterdam, Singapore). The matrix below folds the per-chain leaderboards
           into one view: fastest provider per chain, fastest per region,
           and which gateway covers your whole multichain stack. Headline
@@ -277,7 +284,7 @@ export default async function RpcHubPage() {
         <p>
           Each chain row aggregates that chain&apos;s dedicated bench: an
           identical JSON-RPC POST (<code>eth_getBlockByNumber(&quot;latest&quot;, false)</code> with
-          rotating request id, or the chain&apos;s equivalent head call) sent every 15 seconds to
+          rotating request id, or the chain&apos;s equivalent head call) sent every 60 seconds to
           every free, no-key public endpoint from us-east, eu-west and
           Singapore. Headline figures are the 50th percentile of
           client-side round-trip latency over the trailing 24 hours,

src/components/benchmark-body.tsx

@@ -999,15 +999,15 @@ export function BenchmarkBody({
               </>
             ) : (
               <>
-                <p className="label-mono text-ink-faint mb-4">
+                <h2 className="label-mono text-ink-faint mb-4">
                   {viewBenchmark.unit === "count"
                     ? "Product ledger"
                     : activePanel
                       ? `Product ledger · sorted by ${activePanel.label}`
                       : viewBenchmark.ledgerColumns?.length
                         ? `Product ledger · sorted by ${viewBenchmark.ledgerColumns[0].label}`
                         : "Product ledger · sorted by p50"}
-                </p>
+                </h2>
                 <LedgerTable benchmark={viewBenchmark} activePanel={activePanel} topN={topN} />
                 {/* Visible freshness stamp next to the numbers. Answer
                     engines quote data far more readily when the page says
@@ -1027,7 +1027,7 @@ export function BenchmarkBody({
           {viewBenchmark.unit !== "count" &&
             Object.keys(benchmark.extras.regions).length > 0 && (
               <div className={"mt-8 card-soft rounded-xl p-4 sm:p-6 lg:p-8" + pendingCls}>
-                <p className="label-mono text-ink-faint mb-4">By region</p>
+                <h2 className="label-mono text-ink-faint mb-4">By region</h2>
                 <RegionGrid benchmark={viewBenchmark} />
               </div>
             )}

src/components/rpc-chains-leaderboard.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import { useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import Link from "next/link";
+import { THIN_RPC_MIN_RESULTS } from "@/lib/provider-filters";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { ChevronRight } from "lucide-react";
 import { ProviderLogo } from "@/components/provider-logo";
@@ -161,17 +162,23 @@ export function RpcChainsLeaderboard({ rows }: { rows: RpcHubChain[] }) {
             </tr>
           </thead>
           <tbody>
-            {filtered.map((r, i) => (
+            {filtered.map((r, i) => {
+              // Under the thin gate (< 3 providers) the chain page is noindex:
+              // show the row, do not link it (the hub was the main source of
+              // noindex crawl on 2026-09-19).
+              const linkable = r.providerCount >= THIN_RPC_MIN_RESULTS;
+              return (
               <tr
                 key={r.slug}
-                onClick={() => router.push(`/benchmarks/${r.slug}`)}
-                className="border-t border-ink/5 hover:bg-paper-soft/40 transition-colors cursor-pointer"
+                onClick={linkable ? () => router.push(`/benchmarks/${r.slug}`) : undefined}
+                className={`border-t border-ink/5 transition-colors ${linkable ? "hover:bg-paper-soft/40 cursor-pointer" : ""}`}
               >
                 <Td muted mono>
                   {i + 1}
                 </Td>
                 <Td>
                   <div className="flex items-center gap-2 min-w-0">
+                    {linkable ? (
                     <Link
                       href={`/benchmarks/${r.slug}`}
                       className="flex items-center gap-2 min-w-0 group"
@@ -186,6 +193,16 @@ export function RpcChainsLeaderboard({ rows }: { rows: RpcHubChain[] }) {
                         className="text-ink-faint shrink-0 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity"
                       />
                     </Link>
+                    ) : (
+                    <span
+                      className="flex items-center gap-2 min-w-0"
+                      title="Measured, not yet ranked: fewer than 3 no-key providers"
+                    >
+                      <ProviderLogo slug={r.chain} name={r.name} size={18} />
+                      <span className="font-medium text-ink truncate">{r.name}</span>
+                      <span className="text-[10px] text-ink-faint shrink-0">not yet ranked</span>
+                    </span>
+                    )}
                     <Link
                       href={`/chains/${r.chain}`}
                       className="text-[10px] text-ink-faint hover:text-ink underline underline-offset-2 shrink-0"
@@ -308,7 +325,8 @@ export function RpcChainsLeaderboard({ rows }: { rows: RpcHubChain[] }) {
                   )}
                 </Td>
               </tr>
-            ))}
+              );
+            })}
             {filtered.length === 0 && (
               <tr>
                 <td

src/lib/provider-filters.ts

@@ -45,3 +45,15 @@ export function displayResults(results: ProviderResult[]): ProviderResult[] {
     (r) => (r.successRate ?? 100) >= MIN_DISPLAY_SUCCESS_PCT,
   );
 }
+
+/**
+ * The RPC thin gate, in one place. A chain RPC bench with fewer than three
+ * declared results is noindex (src/app/benchmarks/[slug]/page.tsx) and the
+ * worker keeps it out of the sitemap; hubs and the benchmarks index must not
+ * link it either (Search Console 2026-09-19: /rpc and /benchmarks linked 36
+ * such pages, crawl spent on noindex dead ends).
+ */
+export const THIN_RPC_MIN_RESULTS = 3;
+export function isThinRpcBench(b: { category: string; results?: unknown[] | null }): boolean {
+  return b.category === "RPCs" && (b.results?.length ?? 0) < THIN_RPC_MIN_RESULTS;
+}

src/lib/spec-schema.ts

@@ -212,12 +212,20 @@ const noAiDashes = (s: string) =>
   !s.includes("—") && !s.includes("–");
 const noAiDashesMsg =
   "Avoid em or en dashes; use a comma, semicolon, or period instead";
+// Marketing adjectives the editorial rules forbid in copy; a measured claim
+// ("fastest ... measured") is fine, these words never are.
+// "trusted" and "powerful" are left out on purpose: both occur as plain
+// technical verbs and adjectives ("timestamps are never trusted").
+const MARKETING = /\b(blisteringly|blazing(ly)?|best-in-class|world-class|revolutionary|lightning-fast|ultra-fast|cutting-edge|game-changing)\b/i;
+const noMarketing = (s: string) => !MARKETING.test(s);
+const noMarketingMsg = "marketing adjective (blisteringly, blazing, best-in-class, world-class, ...): state the number instead";
 const seoText = (min: number, max: number) =>
   z
     .string()
     .min(min)
     .max(max)
-    .refine(noAiDashes, noAiDashesMsg);
+    .refine(noAiDashes, noAiDashesMsg)
+    .refine(noMarketing, noMarketingMsg);
 
 export const SpecSchema = z
   .object({