What is JavaScript SEO? All You Need to Know

Are you a seasoned web developer or owner of a stunning and interactive website? Well, the programming language used to create the website gives it all its bells and whistles. Many have heard of or already mastered JavaScript language for building websites and apps.  

It’s a fact that websites and SEO go hand in hand. So, JavaScript and SEO are ball games. Do you ever wonder if using JavaScript in web development could alter the visibility of the content on your site and make it appear less prominently in search results?  

It’s something worth talking about! Implementing the right SEO practices to meet your search goals is vital, and we call it JavaScript SEO.   

Let’s dive into JavaScript SEO, a world where content meets coding and discoverability is key! 

What is JavaScript SEO? 

In simple terms, JavaScript SEO is a part of technical SEO that allows search engines to easily crawl, index, and render your website. With this, search engines can find your website easily.   

The goal of JavaScript SEO is to implement the right optimization techniques and practices associated with JavaScript-based websites. Although it’s a very powerful framework, there are some complications when it comes to SEO. That’s where the story begins! 

Why is JavaScript SEO So Important?  

The importance of optimizing your JavaScript website for SEO is very crucial. As, if it doesn’t perform well, you will be left behind in the competition. Some of the reasons, why JavaScript SEO is essential are: 

• As most websites and applications are developed in JavaScript, learning the art of JavaScript SEO can help to stay ahead of the competition.  
• Websites built in JavaScript often deliver a great user experience, that leads to good engagement metrics. These are often related to better search rankings.  

How is JavaScript Processed by Google? 

Google processes JavaScript in three phases. They are as follows: 

• Crawling  
• Rendering  
• Indexing  

Crawling: 

The first phase is, Google crawls the content present on the web page, enabling Googlebots (web crawlers) to read the page or know its structure.  

Rendering: 

The next is rendering, wherein the output is shown on the browser. It refers to how a browser processes JavaScript to display content on the web.  

Indexing: 

As soon as the content is rendered, Google indexes the content and includes the pages in the search results.  

Moreover, the entire process can be slow and resource-intensive, which leads to delay in indexing JavaScript heavy content.  

Different Types of Rendering Methods  

Google’s JavaScript indexing is based on how your website renders the code: server-side, client side or dynamic rendering.  

Server-Side Rendering 

As the name suggests, Server-Side rendering refers to when JavaScript is rendered on the server. SSR helps to boost SEO performance by reducing the page loading times and layout shifts.  

An example is: Suppose you visit a website, abc.com, your browser makes a request to the server that contains the website content. After the request is processed, the browser returns the rendered HTML and displays it on the screen.  

Client-Side Rendering 

CSR is where JavaScript is rendered on the client side using the Document Object Model (DOM). It is ideal for websites having complex user interface. It decreases indexability as most of the content is delivered via JavaScript.  

Dynamic Rendering  

Dynamic rendering is mainly used to identify bots that cannot render JavaScript and offer a Server-Side Rendering version. It is a solution that Google doesn’t recommend anytime.  

For example: You can consider using Dynamic rendering if you own a large website with content that needs to be changed frequently and requires indexing.
 

Best Practices for Optimizing Your Site for JavaScript SEO 

Every Page Should Have Unique URL 

You should make a note that every page on your site needs to have a unique URL. If you fail to do so, Google will find it difficult to know which pages you’re aiming to rank for. Further, avoid using fragments in URL to load new pages as Google doesn’t consider. 

Use Effective Meta Content  

One of the ways through which Google finds out your content is through the meta title, descriptions and more.  

This also includes: 

Adding Alt text and image attributes  

Thus, it is essential to add meta content to help Google know what your page or say blog is about, making the indexing process accurate and straightforward.  

Testing Regularly  

Measuring your efforts is crucial, this makes sure to do regular testing. You can make use of user-friendly tools easily available such as PageSpeedInsights, Google Search Console, Google’s Mobile-Friendly test to know how your site is performing in terms of crawling, indexing and rendering.  

Minimize and Optimize .js Code  

You need to minimize your JavaScript files and drop unnecessary code. This will help to improve your overall SEO. The simpler your code and script is, the easier they are to execute.  

Implement Lazy Loading 

Lazy loading is a common concept in the SEO and should be implemented rightly. It’s a technique wherein images or any other content format is loaded only when the visitors view. Lazy loading helps to speed up website’s loading time. However, it is done incorrectly, search engines might not index these images, reducing the search visibility of images.  

Proper Internal Linking  

Internal linking is vital for SEO, as it helps search engines to explore and go through your site’s content. Make sure that all the links within the JavaScript apps use standard HTML anchor tags (<a>).  

Some Common JavaScript SEO Errors  

• Less crawlable content  
• Excessive resource blocking  
• Inadequate server response time  
• Making use of AJAX/SPS with the right URL structure  

Final Words on JavaScript SEO 

Now that you’re clear with all the concepts related to JavaScript SEO, focus on creating websites that rank better and drive good results.  

Further, remember the fact that any advancement or change in the search engine algorithm opens a new opportunity. Well, JavaScript and SEO are an excellent combination. When both work in harmony, the result is stupendous, i.e. enhanced website performance and good user experience. 

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