In order to keep our knowledge as fresh as possible, we revisited this recently. I wanted to pass on a list of tools and tips we found as part of our research.
Who are the best JavaScript SEO experts to follow?
Martin Splitt
Who is he? Google's resident expert on all things JavaScript. He's produced this series on Google's Webmaster channel and is a great place to startBartosz Góralewicz
Another great person to check out is Bartosz who can be found here: one.ly. This site is full of expert resources and this presentation is a good place to start: Too Long; Didn’t Render – The State of JS and HTML IndexingTomek Rudzki
Also a member of the team at one.ly Tomek has literally written the Ultimate Guide to JavaScript SEO
JavaScript SEO - Where to start?
We found this Google Webmasters video series provided a great grounding in all of the basics.
Why does JavaScript cause an issue with Google?
Image source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/javascript-seo-basics
JavaScript can cause an issue with Google from an indexing point of view, as it needs to be rendered on a site for the full code to be indexed at first pass.
Google will try and index a page and then come back later to render the page. As the JavaScript needs to be rendered in order to see the full code on the page, Google's first pass can ofter miss things the first time around.
This image from Google explains how it works:
Is it bad to build sites in JavaScript for SEO?
In a word no. Build the website with your customer in mind and create content that helps them. JavaScript sites have lots of advantages and Google is getting better at indexing them all the time. By following the advice of the experts (a few of whom are mentioned above) any potential downsides can be mitigated.
Does infinite scrolling cause an issue on JavaScript sites?
Infinite scrolling and lazy loading content can hide some of your valuable content from Google by mistake. However, you can use the History API as detailed in this update from Google to make sure this doesn’t happen on your site.
How can I see what my site looks like without JavaScript?
You can use the Web Developer extention for Chrome to disable JavaScript. Just install the plugin and follow the video below to see what your site looks like with Javascript disabled.
Have questions about your own site or want to know more?
Get in touch with us - we’re happy to have a (non-salesy/no strings attached) chat and see if we can help
