Ajax, XML, and SEO

~ The 34 Year Buzz!! · 03-18-2008, 03:12 PM

A question about Ajax, XML, and SEO:

The end-user sees a page with titles, brief descriptions, and perhaps dates or locations listed on the left side.
The right side of the web page is a section for details, initially showing only the 'default' info.

Now the end user clicks on any of the titles, and Ajax + an XML document produce the expanded details on the right side.

Q) Will Google bots 'see', and index, the entire XML page-with all the details (and links?), or is the indexing limited to what the end-user first sees?

Do bots 'follow along' when Ajax is involved??

Thank you.

Teddy · 03-18-2008, 03:19 PM

This is one of the major problems with bots and Ajax. They do not follow the pages or index the content that is loaded with Ajax. If the content is not able to be called upon from a URL (for example using Ajax to load content on a page) it can not be spidered by a SE. The content must be accessible by a separate URL for a bot to spider it.

This is how I understand it and I don't always get it right, so if anyone has anymore info on this please feel free to correct me.

~ The 34 Year Buzz!! · 03-18-2008, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Teddy

This is one of the major problems with bots and Ajax. They do not follow the pages or index the content that is loaded with Ajax. If the content is not able to be called upon from a URL (for example using Ajax to load content on a page) it can not be spidered by a SE. The content must be accessible by a separate URL for a bot to spider it.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/programming/446292-ajax-xml-and-search-engine-optimization.html

This is how I understand it and I don't always get it right, so if anyone has anymore info on this please feel free to correct me.

Thanks, for the quick answer.
I found a solution, but don't understand how to use it.

AJAX and SEO: How to have an SEO Friendly AJAX website using jquery

DylanButler · 03-18-2008, 07:06 PM

That author is just dancing around a basic topic of web usability which is to make gracefully degrading code, this includes creating fallthroughs for non-JS users. That means create a non-JS version, set the <a href="nonjsversion.htm"> and just override the default event when the link is clicked (by returning false, or using YUI's preventDefault() as I prefer).

<a href="addToCart.php?item=apples" onclick="addToCart(apples, event)">
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=446292

Is better than

<a href="#" onclick="addToCart()">

It often creates work that you'll sometimes feel is pointless, but it can actually help out a lot (not only for SEO, but also printing and also accessibility).

Hope this helps,

Dylan

03-18-2008, 03:12 PM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
~ The 34 Year Buzz!! NamePros Regular Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Cyberspace Posts: 654	Ajax, XML, and SEO A question about Ajax, XML, and SEO: The end-user sees a page with titles, brief descriptions, and perhaps dates or locations listed on the left side. The right side of the web page is a section for details, initially showing only the 'default' info. Now the end user clicks on any of the titles, and Ajax + an XML document produce the expanded details on the right side. Q) Will Google bots 'see', and index, the entire XML page-with all the details (and links?), or is the indexing limited to what the end-user first sees? Do bots 'follow along' when Ajax is involved?? Thank you. __________________ Are You Happy Today! :o)

03-18-2008, 03:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Teddy NamePros Regular Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New Jersey / Boston Posts: 649	This is one of the major problems with bots and Ajax. They do not follow the pages or index the content that is loaded with Ajax. If the content is not able to be called upon from a URL (for example using Ajax to load content on a page) it can not be spidered by a SE. The content must be accessible by a separate URL for a bot to spider it. This is how I understand it and I don't always get it right, so if anyone has anymore info on this please feel free to correct me. __________________ Previously known as Schoolsux I've finally returned. Current project: Your Free Forum

03-18-2008, 07:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
DylanButler NamePros Regular Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 735	That author is just dancing around a basic topic of web usability which is to make gracefully degrading code, this includes creating fallthroughs for non-JS users. That means create a non-JS version, set the <a href="nonjsversion.htm"> and just override the default event when the link is clicked (by returning false, or using YUI's preventDefault() as I prefer). <a href="addToCart.php?item=apples" onclick="addToCart(apples, event)"> ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=446292 Is better than <a href="#" onclick="addToCart()"> It often creates work that you'll sometimes feel is pointless, but it can actually help out a lot (not only for SEO, but also printing and also accessibility). Hope this helps, Dylan __________________ -Dylan Butler EXAMP - San Diego Web Design Last edited by DylanButler; 03-18-2008 at 07:16 PM.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Ajax, XML, and SEO

More info...