How Do Search Engines See AJAX Content?

[DaveSawers]

If a site is developed extensively using AJAX to fill in content windows and if that site effectively consists of a single page with links to different content from the menu items, how do the search engines see the result?

When you use the developer tools in Firefox to view a page's source code, all you get to see is the basic coding for the page without any of the AJAX generated content no matter what menu items you select or what is actually visible on the screen. If this is what the search engines see too then they're not going to look kindly on your content.

So, does anyone know how the search engines view AJAX sites?

[stymiee]

They don't see ajax content. Turn off javascript and that is what the search engines see. That's why all Ajax content must also be available without javascript being available. That's basic accessibility and should always be the priority and concern when using JavaScript to deliver content.

[DaveSawers]

That's what I suspected.

I take slight issue with your comment:


That's why all Ajax content must also be available without javascript being available.

and would prefer to say that when you provide AJAX content you should be aware that search engines and some users aren't going to see it.

So I guess the real question I would like answered is when will the search engines get to grips with the reality that AJAX is a much better way to deliver content than traditional web pages that refresh the entire page when a link is selected?

There's no good reason why search engines shouldn't look into Javascript content. They're beginning (at last) to look inside Flash files, so why not Javascript?

[kgun]

So I guess the real question I would like answered is when will the search engines get to grips with the reality that AJAX is a much better way to deliver content than traditional web pages that refresh the entire page when a link is selected?

There's no good reason why search engines shouldn't look into Javascript content. They're beginning (at last) to look inside Flash files, so why not Javascript?

Did you note this WPW post:

AJAX and SEO (http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/57072-ajax-search-engine-optimization.html#post302022)

There is a newer thread with the same title (http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/59627-ajax-search-engine-optimization.html#post319606) and and an older, also with the same title (http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/56451-ajax-search-engine-optimization.html).

May be time to make a sticky. There are similar threads like this one that could profit from such a sticky (http://www.webproworld.com/search-engine-optimization-forum/61049-search-engine-optimization-web-2-0-a.html#post326943).

[DaveSawers]

Thanks for the links. There's some interesting reading there although I'm surprised at the tone of most of the respondents.

Most posters are saying that AJAX shouldn't be used for important content because the search engines won't see it. Isn't that like the tail wagging the dog?

Surely it is the search engine's responsibility to index the content that is on the internet not to exclude (censor) a whole raft of good content just because they can't be bothered to implement Javascript aware robots?

[stymiee]

Most posters are saying that AJAX shouldn't be used for important content because the search engines won't see it. Isn't that like the tail wagging the dog?

Surely it is the search engine's responsibility to index the content that is on the internet not to exclude (censor) a whole raft of good content just because they can't be bothered to implement Javascript aware robots?

Search engines don't see it, but neither do users without javascript. That includes people who turn it off for security reasons or use accessibility software. There's more to the Internet then search engines. The human factor is the most important thing. When you don't design your site for everybody your intentionally leaving out potential customers, etc, and in some areas it is even illegal to do so. regardless of that, that is why content served with ajax should always be just an enhancement and always available without ajax/javascript being available.

[kgun]

We may categorize these sites like this:

Static brochure, ad that is, information sites.
Traditional dynamic database driven sites.
Web applications using AJAX technology that can partly be indexed.
Web applications, eg. games that has now chance of being indexed beyond as site or other parts of the site.
Pure web applications comparable to desktop applications, may be using a new technology, where indexing content beyond the site name is unnatural and may be impossible. (Will all of them have some pages with text for SEO purposes?)It is clear that what we today may call web 1.0 fall in the first two chategories and SE will have no problem crawling pages and indexing and archiving content. The next two, what we today call web 2.0 sites, will be partly indexed. Parts of the site, some "pages" will not be indexed. The last category will concentrate on getting the site known.

Without knowing the 2007 version, Borland C++Builder® 2007 (http://www.codegear.com/products/cppbuilder)

"VCL for the Web lets you quickly and visually build interactive and responsive data-driven corporate Web applications that support Ajax techniques"

may be a platform that has the potential to develop pure web applications.