I encountered an issue with a client today where their site’s section pages were in JavaScript – the entire site. Search engines basically ignore JavaScript, so they’re passing over nearly ever single page on the site! Not only that, but they had just gotten a site redesign for all their sites and relied on the programmer/designer to be up on his SEO knowledge, as most site owners would, so they had just paid quite a sum of money for four sites that will barely be indexed/rank. It’s just a shame to see what happens when a programmer knows little about SEO.

There’s tons of programmers out there who are phenomenal at creating an SEO friendly site right from the time the site goes live, and I applaud you. I feel that every programmer and designer should at least know the basics of SEO, consult the Google Webmaster Guidelines, and put those guidelines into practice. Save the more advanced SEO strategies for the SEO specialists, but at least give the site a fighting chance. Same goes for us in the SEO industry – know at least the basics of what goes on behind the scenes of a website and the structural elements that can make or break a site’s SEO.

JavaScript can be a great tool, but use it in moderation, just like everything else in SEO. Think like a human visitor would – say the person wanted to link to my client’s section pages, only to find that they’re not real links – they’d be completely confused. Search engines ultimately want to please real, human searchers, so do what seems logical.