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Paul Matthews
Paul Matthews

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A Modern Guide To Javascript SEO

Is Javascript A Problem For SEO?

Google has mentioned multiple times how their bot is perfectly able to crawl, render and index any form of content included in Javascript but this simply isn't the case. Many SEOs all over the world have mentioned how their pages which contained jQuery-based, Vanilla and even React scripts were ranking far below HTML and CSS-based ones. Recently, SEO and Javascript have become quite important in the world of CMS SEO, given the predominance of DOM-methods animations used in architectures like Wordpress, Magento and Shopify.

Should I Remove All The Javascript, Then?

Absolutely not. Javascript is a delicate subject for SEO but it could easily be optimised. The only guideline when it comes to removing Javascript from your site would be related to deleting DOM Methods-related animations from the pieces of content which are keyword focused. If these keywords are included within a native application, for example, you should look into SSR Server Side Rendering processes like prerender.io, as most of the times pieces of content included within Googlebot's rendering queues are due to the fact that the frameworks are rendered client-side.

Moving JS To CSS

With Javascript, especially within architectures like Wordpress, there are multiple times in which its usage is connected to minor tasks like opening an accordion, for example. By simply removing JS from it, what could happen is, in fact, a considerable loss of content within such process. For this very reason, using CSS properties and pure CSS accordions could be extremely helpful and will also save you some time, speeding up your landing page.

JS SEO and Mobile

Many app developers in the UK have stated how impactful JS SEO has been when launching keyword-oriented applications, or apps which are merely focusing on content-related features. Google's mobile index first demands your content to be separated from JS even on its mobile version.

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