JavaScript SEO: Learn What It Is and How It Works

What is JavaScript SEO?

JavaScript SEO is the technical SEO process focused on optimizing websites based on JavaScript content management systems.

The use of CMS (Content Management System) to create a website depends on the requirement of the user.

The best and most popular CMS platforms of 2021 are WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Wix, Shopify, and Magento.

The process of SEO differs in one or the other way when actioned with different CMS.

One can check if a website is built on JavaScript by using online tools such as BuiltWith and Wappalyzer, or they can inspect and ‘’view source’’ in the browser for JS code.

The JavaScript websites are built by using frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue. These frameworks boost productivity and help in optimizing code so that the websites become SEO-friendly.

Working of JavaScript SEO

As per Google Algorithm, the usual working robots crawl websites, pass that information to the indexer, and then the web pages get indexed.

In the JavaScript scenario, the crawlers crawl the website, download the files but do not keep any information with themselves and send it to the indexer. Now the indexer renders the content and executes the Javascript code to make the page. Then, the links go to the Google bots, and the content remains with the indexer so that the indexer can analyze the content and index it.

JavaScript SEO Issues And Solutions

Due to JavaScript CMS More SEO issues have been faced. Let us go through to some of them with the steps to combat them:

Rendering of Web Pages

JavaScript uses DOM (Document Object Model) for the rendering process. It refers to making the output visible to the browser. An SEOs can check if Google can render pages with a URL inspection tool. For this, it is vital to link the website with the Google Search Console.

The steps to check the rendering of a web page:

• Go to Google Search Console, click on the URL inspection button.
• In the URL field, type the full URL for the audit.
• Then, click the TEST LIVE URL.
• Once the test is completed, click on the view tested page.
• Finally, click on the screenshot tab to see the rendered page.

Rendering of web pages and content is crucial for Google Bots to get indexed and appear in search results.

Blocking Of JavaScript Files –

Render JavaScript blocking is blocking or slowing down the display of your website by the browser due to JavaScript codes. JavaScript blocking leads to an increase in the loading time of your website. It happens due to the browser that has to load a queue of JS, CSS, and HTML files before showing the main content to the user.

• To sort this issue out, always keep the code minimal and clear as much as possible.
• With WordPress websites, use plugins like Asset CleanUP, WP Rocket, Hummingbird.
• Use Inline JavaScripts.
• Defer JS loading, which is loading after the critical parts of your website.

Resolving the blocking issue will also go well with the page speed update.

Internal Links/ Link Structure

It is vital to have a proper link structure as Google requires proper <a href> links to find the URLs. Links that are added to DOM unable to Google to see when someone clicks on that link. Also, make your menu links visible to Google. Open Chrome, and in the chrome developer tools, click (Ctrl+Shift+J) that navigates to the elements tab. It helps Google in picking up the links from the website.

With the above precautions related to Javascript SEO, an SEO professional also has to consider the Google updates to achieve a higher position on SERP.

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