Almost all SEO's agree that using too much javascript can harm your rankings and might confuse the search engines. Is it true? We decided to answer this extremely simple question for the two leading search engines using a simple statistical analysis.
The methodology: I gathered the results of the queries that were naturally performed last month by myself and three associates using the two leading search engines and analyzed them. I had to visit each page and check the HTML source code to see if javascript was being used. I counted the number of pages found that utilized javascript for the first 8 rankings. The results for each of the two leading search engines were kept separate so that we could discover any differences between the two leading search engines for this factor.
The resulting graphs show the number of pages utilizing javascript for each ranking. The Y-axis shows the number of pages found utilizing javascript, while the X-axis shows rankings 1 through 8. Here are the graphs for each of the two leading search engines:
http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com/graphs/dcy02.jpg
http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com/graphs/dcg02.jpg
The result is very conclusive and very surprising. Both leading search engines rank pages that utilize javascript higher than pages that do not utilize javascript. This is another example of how the guesses of the SEO community are often just that... guesses... They have a 50% chance of being correct on any particular factor. In this case, the majority of the SEO community guessed wrong.
Notes:
1. There was no exercise to attempt to isolate different keywords. I merely took a random sampling of the queries performed by myself and three associates during the month.
Conclusion:
Pages which utilize javascript rank higher than pages that do not utilize javascript on both of the leading search engines.
This is merely a correlation study, so it cannot be determined from this study whether the leading search engines purposefully entertain this factor or not. The actual factors used may be far distant from the factor we studied, but the end result is that these search engines do, in fact, rank pages with javascript higher than pages without javascript in the study.
About The Author
Jon Ricerca is one of the leading researchers and authors of the Search Engine Ranking Factor (SERF) reports at SearchEngineGeek.com. For access to the other SERF reports, please visit: http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com
1. Additional Exposure For Your Site.At the end of 2003,... Read More
Webmasters always anxiously wait for a search engine update. Those... Read More
When it comes to promoting your website, you might think... Read More
"Dear David: I just created a website on baby toy... Read More
It is no secret that search engines are the number... Read More
If you spend much time reading the various webmaster forums,... Read More
Google Sitemaps is a new tool for website owners and... Read More
It's unfortunate that many website owners are so hung-up on... Read More
The following are a list of mistakes can ensure that... Read More
SEO or search engine optimization strategy now becomes widely popular... Read More
Computers have become a way of life for people around... Read More
This article is actually the summary to a book soon... Read More
You have put lot of sweat in making your site.... Read More
Keywords have turned into big business on the internet. If... Read More
Welcome to part four in this search engine positioning series.... Read More
Getting top search engine listing is perhaps one of the... Read More
The Site Map is a too often overlooked piece of... Read More
Unfortunately, not many Search Engine Optimization companies know what this... Read More
Want to drive more targeted traffic to your web site?Want... Read More
Onpage optimization is the process by which various elements on... Read More
Blogging software is really a simple Content Management System (CMS)... Read More
This article will cause many companies to stir, but it's... Read More
If you would like to know when your site was... Read More
First of all, What is SEO? SEO stands for Search... Read More
"Nothing last forever but the Earth and sky." - from... Read More
Perhaps the simplest of all the lessons I have learned... Read More
As we all know Google uses their PageRank technology to... Read More
Good Content: The Key To Search Engine RankingWhat drives visitors... Read More
The internet marketing industry is now flooded with various page... Read More
Why Start A Blog?I knew about blogging and blogs for... Read More
MSN finally unleashed its new search technology to the world... Read More
All the great efforts made for making your own site,... Read More
Finding Targeted Keyword Phrases Your Competitors MissFinding keyword phrases your... Read More
Ever felt intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet... Read More
Question 1Does it help to track visitor behavior on websites... Read More
Are You Really Measuring for Return on Investment (ROI) with... Read More
Once you have your web site complete and ready to... Read More
Most web surfers start their sessions at a search engine... Read More
For your business web site, good search engine rankings and... Read More
In part I of our series of how to make... Read More
In parts 1 - 6 you learnt how to develop... Read More
To see each and every page during 10 seconds would... Read More
The first months my website was online, I was constantly... Read More
I admit it, our SEO services are pretty bad.Speaking of... Read More
In recent times, I have been closely studying keywords that... Read More
It is a well known fact that writing, distributing and... Read More
Searching online can not only be fun, but you sometimes... Read More
Some very early users of the Internet - not the... Read More
Incorporating writing as a means of boosting your link popularity... Read More
This article will cause many companies to stir, but it's... Read More
When does long term SEO show ranking results? It takes... Read More
... and why I 'm dying to get finally in... Read More
Search engine optimization is best left in the mystical land... Read More
Whether you launch a search engine optimization program in-house or... Read More
Internet search engines exist to organize the seemingly immeasurable amount... Read More
So you have built a nice web site with good... Read More
Your title tag is the most important 3 to 12... Read More
The first question most people have is, "What the heck... Read More
After 105 days Google finally updated PR. And it's about... Read More
1. Search Engine - Is a database of web sites... Read More
Having a Google Sitemap just got better! Not only does... Read More
Source code optimization.{title}...{/title}This tag is to be a winner. This... Read More
There are a lot of things in Search Engine Optimization... Read More
Getting SEO right is an art and it's based on... Read More
Alexa toolbar also useful to Browse expired websites database. Many... Read More
... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |