Javascript Basics and SEO (search engine optimisation)

What is Javascript?

Javascript is a script that your browser will run [if your browser’s settings allow scripts to be run] as requested by the webpage content being provided by the server. Typically, Javascript is used to manipulate the GUI (Graphical User Interface), calculate and display information, validate forms, etc –examples:

• GUI: Javascript is often used to manipulate menus (that are displayed/hidden as required).


• Calculate: from your browser, instead of sending data to the server, then calculating [server side] and resending back new data to your browser, it is much more efficient to calculate & display using your browser/computer!


• Display: a web page can be better laid out to suit your browser’s window size (to avoid unnecessary sideways scrolling for example).


• Validate: before sending data from a form, it can be checked to see that necessary bit are filled in or valid information is entered (for an valid email address for example).


• Etc.: if you are so minded, you can avoid serving content to spiders that they don’t need to see, like form validation code (after all, a spider is not going to be filling in forms on you website!) this also speeds up delivery of your page to the spider - this is a good thing :¬].

Huh?

It’s probably best to see an example – let us show the user a pop-up message. You can’t do this with just HTML. Lookout for the Javascript defined within the ‘script’ tag.

Here is another example:

This link does not take you anywhere - DO NOT CLICK IT !!!!

OK – so where does the SEO come in?

I’m just coming to that! So you can do wonderful pop-ups with Javascript. The problem is that search engines won’t necessarily process your Javascript and if you have links to other pages, then the spider may not know about those pages [and therefore will not crawl them].

What can you do about this?

There are a few simple things you can do:

• If you think there is a chance that your pages might not be visible to a spider, then simply add some normal [i.e. non-Javascripted] text or images with links to those pages (you can have text links at the bottom of all your pages to all you most important pages).


• You can define your menus on layer and use Javascript to manipulate those layers (so the spider will crawl your links even if it can’t process the Javascript that hides/shows those layers.

If you want to look into Javascript & HTML some more:

• Javascript Tutorials


• HTML: onClick

Google, PageRank and links to Software

I just woke up and suddenly realised why this site has ZREO PageRank since about 2 weeks ago (it dropped from PR3).

Oh yes, I couldn't just lie in bed - I just felt compelled to remove the offending item, and now that I'm wide awake, I might as well let you all know about this.

Well, when I first got this blog, I changed the template amongst other things. I also added a little panel with an ad. The ad was for a 'SEO Program' that would work with your keywords (generate lists, analyze competitors AdWords, etc) - it was an affiliate link. This was all about a year ago.

Anyway, a while back, about 6 months ago, I noticed that this software's own website had stopped showing Google AdSense. 'Strange...' I thought, '...must have upset Google'. I guess if you looked at the program, then you could find things it did that Google wouldn't have liked. Seeing as the commissions on this product was high, I didn't really worry about it and left the link in.

Then suddenly, about 2 weeks ago BHAM! PageRank ZERO! What on earth? I of course didn't have a clue why that might have happened, and therefore didn't change a thing.

Today I woke up and immediately thought: it is by pointing to a product that upsets Google (remember I said that their AdSense stopped working), that I have put my blog in the Google firing line. Of course you won't get any warnings - you'd better be able to think for yourself about 'things good' and more importantly 'things bad'.

In conclusion, if Google traffic and Google PageRank are important to your website, then you really ought to keep your nose (read 'website') clean - as Google would see 'clean' that is.

Now that I've removed the (what I believe) offending article, I'll hope to get the PageRank back. In a couple of months? Hope so - though sooner would be good.

Click Quality & Click Fraud

So you spend a lot of money on CPC (cost per click using AdWords, Miva, Yahoo Search Marketing, Bidvertiser, etc) and wondered - or perhaps need to understand - 'Am I getting the best out of CPC adevertising?' or 'Am I losing money on fraudulent clicks?'

Check out some of these articles:

• Clicking Content Ads in Exchange for A Quality Post: Here is an ethical dilemma in the click fraud arena, please leave your point of view in the comment field below. Joe Bloggs is a tech savvy individual who reads many online blogs. Whilst searching for a technical answer, he is directed to a particular site via ...
• Click Fraud and The Presedential Race: I am seeing a lot of chatter on the net about how click fraud may be used as a tool in the upcoming presedential campaign. Internet marketing techniques will play a big part in the upcoming campaign, and the ability to deplete a candidate’s ad budget ...
• Survey Results In: I recently ran a survey on this site to see what type of articles you would like me to write. The overwhelming result was that you would like to read how-to articles. With this in mind I have decided to create a lot more detailed ...
• Entrecard Bans ClickBots/DropBots: A number of months ago, I wrote an article about gaming Entrecard and asked if it was a type of click fraud.
  The crux of this post was that people were creating click bots or drop bots to drop a virtual business card on other ...