By Shad Super in Questions —

What Tools Test the Crawlability of JavaScript Links?

Summary

Testing the crawlability of JavaScript links is essential to ensure that search engines can effectively index your website. Several tools are available for this purpose, including Google's own resources and third-party solutions. These tools help identify issues with JavaScript rendering, linking, and accessibility, enabling optimal SEO performance.

Google Search Console

Overview

Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results. One of its features is to test how Googlebot sees and renders your content, including JavaScript links.

Key Features

  • URL Inspection Tool: Allows you to check individual URLs for crawlability and indexing status.
  • Coverage Report: Provides a report on the site's overall index coverage and highlights errors.

How to Use

To use Google Search Console for testing JavaScript links, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Google Search Console.
  2. Submit your site's URL for indexing using the URL Inspection Tool.
  3. Analyze the rendered version of your webpage to ensure JavaScript links are accessible to Googlebot.
  4. Check the Coverage Report for any crawlability issues.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Overview

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a powerful tool for crawling websites and identifying technical and SEO issues, including those related to JavaScript links.

Key Features

  • Rendering JavaScript: Option to render websites in a way similar to how search engines do.
  • Link and Crawl Analysis: Analyzes link structures, identifies broken links, and uncovers crawl issues.

How to Use

To test JavaScript links using Screaming Frog SEO Spider, follow these steps:

  1. Download and install Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
  2. Configure the tool to render JavaScript by navigating to 'Configuration' > 'Spider' > 'Rendering' and selecting 'JavaScript'.
  3. Enter your site’s URL and start the crawl.
  4. Analyze the crawl results, focusing on the 'Rendering' and 'Internal' tabs to identify any issues with JavaScript links.

DeepCrawl

Overview

DeepCrawl is a cloud-based SEO tool that provides detailed website audits. It allows for comprehensive crawling and analysis of JavaScript to ensure proper indexing.

Key Features

  • JavaScript Crawling: Specialized crawling of JavaScript and Single Page Applications (SPAs).
  • Issue Tracking: Identifies issues with internal linking, JavaScript rendering, and more.

How to Use

To test JavaScript links with DeepCrawl, proceed as follows:

  1. Sign up for a DeepCrawl account and set up your project.
  2. Configure your crawl settings to include JavaScript rendering.
  3. Initiate the crawl and review the generated reports to identify any issues with JavaScript crawlability.

Google Mobile-Friendly Test

Overview

Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool not only assesses the mobile usability of your site but also checks how well Googlebot can crawl and render JavaScript links.

Key Features

  • Rendering Analysis: Displays how your page renders on mobile devices.
  • JavaScript Diagnostics: Identifies issues related to JavaScript rendering and crawlability.

How to Use

To use the Google Mobile-Friendly Test tool, follow these steps:

  1. Visit the Google Mobile-Friendly Test page.
  2. Enter your URL and start the test.
  3. Review the results, focusing on any issues related to JavaScript rendering and crawlability.

Chrome DevTools

Overview

Chrome DevTools, accessible directly in the Google Chrome browser, offers advanced web development tools. These tools can simulate Googlebot's view of a page and check for JavaScript crawlability issues.

Key Features

  • Rendering View: Allows you to render pages as Googlebot would.
  • Network Analysis: Helps debug issues related to JavaScript loading and rendering.

How to Use

To use Chrome DevTools for testing JavaScript links, do the following:

  1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to your website.
  2. Press `Ctrl+Shift+I` (Cmd+Option+I on Mac) to open DevTools.
  3. Navigate to the 'Network' tab, select 'No throttling' and reload the page.
  4. Review the network requests to ensure all JavaScript files are loaded and rendered correctly.

Conclusion

Using these tools will help you ensure that your JavaScript links are crawlable and render correctly for search engines. Proper setup and regular testing using Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, DeepCrawl, Google Mobile-Friendly Test, and Chrome DevTools can significantly improve your site's SEO performance.

References