Having a correct handling of JavaScript pages is a requirement to facilitate the indexing of those pages by the Google algorithm, which improves the positioning of web pages.
In the recent days of Digital Marketing, the connection between the inherent aspects of marketing with the use of technology and web development has emerged more than ever.
JavaScript and SEO right now are part of the same topic of conversation and in this post we will cover from the basic concepts to how to improve your positioning through the good practices of this programming language.
First of all, you have to understand that JavaScript and SEO are disciplines that have complications and complexities of their own and are typically treated by departments as two individual units in their strategies.
However, anyone who wants to become a professional trained to respond to the needs of the industry must manage and master both fields.
So let’s start at the beginning. Good reading!
Important JavaScript and SEO concepts
Table of Contents
The JavaScript programming language is one of the most used in the world, it is with it that the best web pages that we usually visit have been developed. But well, what are the fundamental concepts that unite both disciplines?
Regarding JavaScript and SEO, the first thing to clarify is that when we talk about positioning, search engines are not able to fully understand, assimilate or process the JavaScript code.
However, there is a way to prepare the website so that when Google starts the crawling and indexing process it can decrypt it.
In fact, the most popular search engine in the western world has been concerned about this issue and, therefore, AJAX has emerged which is basically a content updater.
AJAX allows applications to communicate with servers and tell them what’s new without having to crawl or refresh the entire page.
Now how does this work?
First of all, the robot that processes JavaScript works in 3 phases:
- tracking,
- processing,
- and indexing .
When identifying a URL that contains this language, the first thing is to verify that the user has allowed to identify it.
To do this, it reads the robots.txt file and, if it was actually authorized, Google begins the processing. And finally, after analyzing the HTML , it becomes indexed.
All this happens because JavaScript does not run for servers, but for browsers . Therefore, search engines must assume the position of a browser in order to capture or read content.
What role does JavaScript play in web pages regarding SEO?
To answer this question, we must turn to AJAX. It is the acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
This technique was designed for mobile devices and websites. Its function? Initially, make changes to the content without having to load all the HTML .
So does SEO affect it? The answer is yes! AJAX, “generally” – using the words of Google spokespersons – can render and index dynamic content, but it is not always the case. What directly influences search engine positioning.
Now, at this point it is important to understand the limitations that Google itself has to process JavaScript. For example, most users use browsers like Chrome, Mozilla, among others.
And Google’s robot does not use the latest version of these browsers, but Chrome 41 to do the processing, which can dramatically affect crawling.
For this, there are Google’s own tools, such as the optimization test or the Seach Console URL inspection tool , so that you can visualize the resources that are displayed and the exceptions that you can make to JavaScript or DOM.
SEO issues that happen with poor JavaScript handling
Despite the fact that JavaScript helps to show the user dynamic websites, full of interesting graphics, nice interfaces and more, there are several mistakes that can be easily made and that negatively influence SEO and, consequently, the potential of the website. .
Here we show you the most common errors you can fall into.
1. Neglecting HTML
If you have the most important site information within the code in JavaScript, the crawler may have too little information to do the processing when trying to index for the first time.
It is very important that all crucial web data is created in HTML so that it can be quickly indexed by Google and other search engines.
2. Misuse links
Any SEO professional knows the importance of internal links for positioning.
This is because search engines and their crawlers recognize the connection between one page and another. Which increases the user’s residence time.
For JavaScript and SEO, it is very important to rectify that all the links are established correctly .
This means that anchor texts and HTML anchor tags, which include the destination page URL in the href attribute, should be used.
3. Accidentally prevent Google from indexing your JavaScript
This may be the most common of the three. And, as we already mentioned, Google cannot render JavaScript in its entirety.
As a result, many sites may be making the mistake of including “do not index” tags in the HTML.
This is why, when Google goes through a website and reads the HTML, it may find this tag and follow it .
Since it prevents the Google robot from returning to run the JavaScript that is inside the code and preventing it from displaying correctly.
JavaScript is still an attractive and important aspect for web development, both for brands, companies, ecommerces and much more.
To prevent the Googlebot and other crawlers from passing by, it is important to understand how SEO works and can be promoted and, therefore, favor the positioning of the websites.
What to do to facilitate indexing of JavaScript pages in Google?
Although so far it seems like a summary of bad news, don’t worry!
Yes, you can optimize a web page with JavaScript so that it not only displays correctly, but also so that the Google robot can crawl, process and index it and achieve the positioning in the SERPs that you want so much.
Here are some keys so you can achieve it without dying in the attempt. Keep reading!
Optimize URL structure
The URL is the first thing that the Googlebot crawls from the site, so it is very important. On websites with JavaScript it is highly recommended to use the pushState History API method , whose function is to update the URL in the address bar and allow pages with JavaScript to be shown clean.
A clean URL consists of a text that is very easy to understand by those who are not experts in the field.
In this way, the URL is updated every time the user clicks on a part of the content.
It favors the latency of the website
When the browser creates the Document Object Model (DOM) – an interface that provides a standard set of objects to use and combine HTML, XHTML and XML – it can create a very large file within the HTML and it will take time for the browser to load everything, which could mean in significant delay for the Googlebot.
Adding JavaScript to HTML directly, and assigning values not to sync the least important elements on the page, can drastically reduce loading time and JavaScript will not hinder the indexing process.
Test the site many times
As already stated, JavaScript and SEO may not seem like a problem to the crawling and indexing process at first, but nothing can be assured.
Google is able to track and understand many forms of JavaScript , but there are some that are very difficult for them. There are many tools to study and simulate page load and find errors.
It is essential that you find those contents with which Google could have problems and that negatively affect the positioning of your website.
Advantages of properly configuring JavaScript elements for SEO
Finally, it is important to note that, if you want to have a dynamic web page with JavaScript, the crucial thing is to follow the steps recommended in this article and by other experts.
Having options is vital if we follow this path. If the JavaScript elements are well configured, the Googlebot will have no problem crawling your content and start processing the HTML and, in the end, indexing it.
However, you must take into account everything that we have recommended and warned you in this material. This is an area still unexplored by most professionals, and even Google has not yet created a unified system to find and read JavaScript well.
conclusion
The world of SEO is full of interesting changes and paths that you can learn to conquer the top of the search engines through well designed and executed strategies.
Therefore, since we want you to be successful in your purposes, we leave you our Complete SEO Guide , everything you need to know to be a professional in the area.
