JavaScript backlinks in SEO have been the center of debate since day one.
With no insights on them from third-party tools, it seems quite a challenge for SEOs and webmasters to say for certain that they’re indexed as effectively as standard links executed in HTML.
It’s like this. If your website was designed on WordPress or written in HTML code, it will have links coded in HTML with traditional anchor text. But with a JS-rendered website, a number of backlinks may be executed in JavaScript. For them to get indexed, it’s essential to follow a set of guidelines to ensure they’re discovered by crawlers. In this blog, we go through common obstacles and solutions when trying to index JavaScript backlinks.
What Are JavaScript Backlinks?
JavaScript backlinks are commonly found in JS-rendered websites. These websites feature links in their JavaScript code with similar search indicators as traditional HTML backlinks. But due to the nature of the site’s programming framework, they’re often hard to track and index. Since these sites rely heavily on a responsive design and intuitive user interface, they’re widely executed in React, Angular, or Vue frameworks.
Are JavaScript backlinks different from HTML backlinks?
Yes, JavaScript backlinks differ from standard backlink types executed in the HTML code. While JavaScript is a high-level scripting language that runs on the client-side, HTML reflects the foundational elements of a website. HTML links are static, whereas JavaScript backlinks are part of a dynamic user experience. Except that the latter runs on a web browser, which is why the SEO becomes a bit challenging for this type of backlink.
The main issue arises when trying to ensure indexing and monitoring of JavaScript backlinks. Optimizing and analyzing them for indexing and other attributes is a common issue SEOs and webmasters face frequently.
Examples of JavaScript Backlinks
The objective should be to ensure that backlinks implemented in JavaScript are effectively discovered and indexed by Google. These backlinks may come from interactive website elements like redirects, drop-downs, or dynamically inserted content on websites.
All these are user-friendly features rendered via JavaScript code and often work alongside the HTML (the website’s foundational code) to enable an interactive design. Here are some website features that establish JS backlinks.
Redirect Backlinks
Have you ever submitted a deal or subscription form on a website? When you finish submission, the page is redirected to a Thank You page or Congratulations page that may look something like this.
This link delivers SEO value as it works as a JavaScript redirect link for the URL constituting the form.
Pop-Ups
Pop-ups are JavaScript-enabled website elements that improve the UI of a website. A pop-up may show up on a website when you scroll or click on certain pages. The button on them is often attached to a link, which, when clicked, leads them to a different page. This triggers a backlink powered by JS instead of HTML.
Drop Down Menus
Large websites like e-commerce stores with a huge variety of categories often use drop-down menus to establish a hierarchy across the site. In some cases, the navigation might trigger a JavaScript backlink when you click on a listed category. Because this dynamic interface is part of a JavaScript programming network, it becomes harder for search engines to ‘see’ them.
Widgets & Badges
Sites delivering widgets or badges often end up getting JavaScript backlinks from sites using embed codes to insert these dynamic features into their interface. Let’s use an example here. The owner of Site A embeds a script that loads JavaScript from another domain (Site B). In this case, if the JavaScript dynamically injects HTML into the page, that HTML tag works as a JavaScript-generated backlink pointing to the widget provider’s site (Site B). The same mechanism applies to review badges or social share buttons.
The list outlines some of the best backlinks for JavaScript-rendered websites, obtained as a result of a user-focused website design with the intent to improve a visitor’s experience on the site.
Benefits of Optimizing JavaScript Backlinks
JavaScript backlinks carry the same SEO value as any classic HTML backlink. They work to strengthen your backlink profile and redirect authority where authority is due. But why should you consider putting more focus on getting them indexed? Let’s find out.
Authority Building
JavaScript backlinks with strong referral sources signal credibility for the linked site. Backlinko lists backlinks among the top three ranking factors, placing them as a trusted source to propel a website’s SEO rankings. Therefore, link building for JavaScript-heavy pages is a strategy most SEOs swear by today. Not only does it give you the much-needed “votes of confidence,” but it also redirects referral traffic and, in some cases, conversions.
Strengthens Link Building Profile
A powerful backlink profile forms the backbone of a website, and JavaScript backlinks bring their own superpower into the mix. With backlinks, it doesn’t matter whether they come from HTML or JavaScript, because a good quality backlink still carries positive domain signals despite a non-traditional rendering framework.
Assuming that these links derive from high authority websites, it’s likely they’ll contribute to domain authority, eventually leading website pages up the search results index. If you want to know how exactly backlinks can help SEO, check our blog “Importance of Consistent Link Building” that outlines how backlinks can help garner more traffic and leads besides higher rankings.
Improved Site Architecture
Most JavaScript backlinks are integrated into the website architecture to deliver a more user-friendly interface to visitors. It’s important to note that any backlinks that redirect to internal pages can assist crawlers in mapping out your site’s architecture. With a clearer view of the website hierarchy and internally linked pages, Google bots can easily sift through content to discover important pages to rank.
Beware while analyzing and managing JavaScript backlinks. Sometimes, pages rendered in JavaScript can be attacked by spam domains trying to hack their way into the site to inject unnatural backlinks. That is why it’s best to keep an eye out for JS backlinks with tools like Ahrefs — they claim that they can process such links — so you can review any shady links coming to your site in time and apply strategic steps to counter their negative impact. For more on the topic, review this discussion on Google’s community center.
Challenges Associated With JavaScript Backlinks
Google now requires website owners to utilize JavaScript to make their websites more dynamic and user-friendly. However, there is still little we know about how discoverable backlinks contained in the JavaScript code are.
Up until May 2014, it was speculated that Google couldn’t see or read JavaScript. Since this programming language runs on a web browser and Google didn’t initially use a browser for crawling, it was clear that any links rendered in this programming language would not be discovered. While Google can read them now, it is still up for debate how efficiently.
Besides this, JavaScript website links are notorious for triggering other SEO-related issues. For example,
- If website navigation uses a JavaScript framework, it may hide links from crawlers.
- Single-Page Applications (SPAs) or JS-heavy landing pages can hinder indexing.
- Websites using client-side rendering to display webpages are likely to present an empty initial HTML to crawlers.
- Most tracking and monitoring tools for SEO can not represent JavaScript backlink data, leaving SEOs and webmasters in the dark with no insights.
How To Work Around JavaScript Backlinks
Google reaffirmed in its 2014 JavaScript blog that they are working on improving the search engine’s capability to crawl and index pages. However, they later defined best practices to facilitate this by ensuring SEOs know how to optimize their JavaScript backlinks for faster and surer indexation. As a website owner, you should follow these guidelines to ensure that backlinks rendered in JavaScript are crawled and indexed effectively.
Review & Fix Blocked JS Files
If JavaScript and CSS files on your website are blocked, it can prevent Google bots from fully rendering and understanding your pages, which may impact a website’s SEO visibility. How to counter this issue? Determine the root cause for blockage — is it server or file permission settings, robots.txt, client-side rendering, or incompatible plugins? Once diagnosed, address the issue to make sure all content is accessible to Google bots for retrieval.
Analyze Crawl Resources
Review the crawl budget to make sure that crawl requests do not exceed the website limit. By retaining your crawl resources, you ensure that Google’s ability to render pages is not hindered, and servers are not overburdened. In effect, this can improve the chances of JavaScript backlink indexation.
Simplify Complex Coding
Analyze all code to determine areas of complexity and relay this information to the development team with a recommendation for simplification. A highly concealed or cryptic code makes it harder for crawlers to fully execute and index backlinks for JS-based websites.
Specify JS Backlinks with Appropriate Tags
Google can crawl links with the HTML tag <a> followed by an href attribute. Therefore, JavaScript links must be identified with an HTML markup to make them easier for crawlers to extract and render. In their guidelines, ruling out the best practices for Google links, they clearly state that:
“Links are also crawlable when you use JavaScript to insert them into a page dynamically as long as it uses the HTML markup shown above.”
The HTML markup they talk about is as follows:
- <a href=”/products/category/shoes” onclick=”javascript:goTo(‘shoes’)”>
You can apply this HTML markup for JavaScript links to make them crawlable.
Optimize Anchor Text
If you are using JavaScript to insert anchor text, don’t forget to verify that the link and anchor text are present in the rendered HTML. This will help ensure they are crawlable and indexable for search bots.
Takeaway?
Link building with JavaScript-heavy sites can be challenging. But it also carries the potential to kill two birds with one stone. How? The end user gets a great experience navigating through the site, and the search engines pass on authority signals to the linking pages. However, JavaScript backlinks will not pass on link equity unless rendered fully and implemented efficiently.
That is why, aligning backlink strategy to address issues related to these backlinks is essential for all JS-rendered websites, particularly:
- SaaS and tech websites integrating JS code
- React, Angular, or Vue-based websites
- JS-heavy landing pages
A strategic optimization approach is essential to ensure that links on these pages are not ignored or missed by search crawlers. Without discovery, any effort applied to link building for JavaScript is not worthwhile, as your links will not be able to carry any link juice to the referring pages.
Whether you’re a website owner or a developer looking to align SEO and frontend performance, we can help you apply the right JavaScript backlinking techniques to push for faster indexing and authority building. Get in touch to start your journey today!
