Does Google Read Javascript?
-
I would like to include a list of links in a select type box which I would like google to follow. In order to do this, I will be styling it with the help of javascript, and in turn change the select box into a ul and the options into li's. The li's would each contain a link, but if javascript is disabled it will fallback to a normal css styled select box.
My question is would google follow the links made by the javascript? Or would the bot just recognize the select box as a select box and not links.
Thanks for any help!
-
Some additional notes...
Traditionally, Google hasn't followed javascript, but they are getting much better at using it for link discovery.
Just a few weeks ago Matt Cutts made a video in which he recommended making your javascript more readable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8yTn_HLDaJs
And some evidence in the wild about Google becoming more script friendly:
http://www.webpronews.com/is-googlebot-getting-more-human-like-2012-05
That said, it's still by far better for SEO purposes to ensure that your links are HTML based. Although Google may still discover javascript links, it's unknown what link attributes like anchor text and PageRank pass through them. Best practices, for now, still say to use regular HTML links.
-
Matt says that Google can read some javascript...
Danny Sullivan speculates that they will be able to see those links:
http://searchengineland.com/google-can-now-execute-ajax-javascript-for-indexing-99518
But in my opinion, if you want your links to be seen without a doubt, don't put them in java.
-
I would assume you're talking about using a JS method to create links in the DOM. The answer here is no, Googlebot will not recognize them. Google has improved their ability to read some JS (like if you use an embedded JS link Googlebot can understand that) but it does not interpret or execute JS that I know of.
If you go this route, I would suggest enumerating your links in a noscript block.
-
Google doesn't follow javascript so if you want the links followed on that page you'll need to somehow include them in your code.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Why Google de-rank a website.
Hi, I was inspecting a website which is covering the topic of best wheelbarrow of 2021, it is a new website and and starts ranking on google. But, after few days it got de-rank automatically and Moz is also not showing any result to that. I was wandering why this just happened and what should I do if I made my website and will not face this kind of situation?
Technical SEO | | Moeen22330 -
Google not Indexing images on CDN.
My URL is: https://bit.ly/2hWAApQ We have set up a CDN on our own domain: https://bit.ly/2KspW3C We have a main xml sitemap: https://bit.ly/2rd2jEb and https://bit.ly/2JMu7GB is one the sub sitemaps with images listed within. The image sitemap uses the CDN URLs. We verified the CDN subdomain in GWT. The robots.txt does not restrict any of the photos: https://bit.ly/2FAWJjk. Yet, GWT still reports none of our images on the CDN are indexed. I ve followed all the steps and still none of the images are being indexed. My problem seems similar to this ticket https://bit.ly/2FzUnBl but however different because we don't have a separate image sitemap but instead have listed image urls within the sitemaps itself. Can anyone help please? I will promptly respond to any queries. Thanks
Technical SEO | | TNZ
Deepinder0 -
Different user experience with javascript on/off
I was wondered if the site is serving different user experience when JS is disabled is sort of cloaking
Technical SEO | | John_Smith_0 -
Paid Links - How does Google classify them?
Greetings All, I have a question regarding "Paid Links." My company creates custom websites for other small businesses across the country. We always have backlinks to our primary website from our "Dealer Sites." Would Google and other search engines consider links from our "dealer sites" to be "paid links?" Example:
Technical SEO | | CFSSEO
http://www.atlanticautoinc.com/ is the "dealer site." Would Google consider the links from Atlantic Auto to be a "paid link," and therefor have less of an impact for page rankings, due to it not being organic? Any insight on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!0 -
Google Schema Code for Organisation
I've created the Google Schema code for an organisation. Should this go in the template HTML so it would be shown on all pages or just on the home page?
Technical SEO | | CharlBritton0 -
Google Places for Local SEO
I am a webmaster at a company with over 50 clients, and I have to list the businesses of our clients in Google Places. Most of our clients are architecture agencies and construction companies, so they are unfamiliar with these things, and that's why I have to list their businesses on Google Places. It would be easier for me to manage all the places for these different businesses if I create the places with one gmail account. Can I use one gmail account to list the businesses for all our clients?
Technical SEO | | Arianittt2 -
Websites not being included on google from mobiles?
Hi, Just had a call from a guy saying that google have made a statement saying that it will be stopping people finding websites from mobule devices if they dont have a mobile domain name. Doesn anyone know anything about any Google statements or is this just rubbish?
Technical SEO | | Ant710 -
How often Google Places updates?
Hi, My first question in SEOMoz :). I have just finished doing citations and optimisations for a local business. I now want to know how often Google Places update their database to look for citations etc to improve rankings? Many Thanks
Technical SEO | | TheReachers0