[Javascript] How can search engines see a js include for navi gation?

Carl Adler carl at carladler.org
Fri Mar 22 15:50:22 CST 2002


In short the answer is...Yes it can
Carl

From:  "josh at urbicon.com" <josh at urbicon.com>
Reply-To: javascript at LaTech.edu
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 22:45:47 +0100
To:  <javascript at LaTech.edu>
Subject: Re: [Javascript] How can search engines see a js include for navi
gation?


Ok, so I'm getting the sense that it is not possible to do a Javascript
include for navigation that will also be understandable by a "user agent"
(i.e. the search engine can't follow the links)

Next question: can a user agent follow the links within navigation code
placed in an SSI? I'm not so familiar with SSI. Resources on implementing
this if it does in fact work?

- josh draper


on 22-03-02 19.39, Filipiak, Bob (Contractor) at filipiab at atsc.army.mil
wrote:


Sorry.... I do the includes server side so the <NOSCRIPT> getssent to the
browser. 

If you have to worry about lynx and other non-scripting browsers then jsut
do every thing important server side and only use client side JavaScript for
cosmetic stuff that doesn't matter wherethere the visitor sees it or not.

It's been fun....so long!

Bob Filipiak 
(Contractor) 


-----Original Message-----
From: Hassan Schroeder [mailto:hassan at webtuitive.com]
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 1:12 PM
To: javascript at LaTech.edu
Subject: Re: [Javascript] How can search engines see a js include for
navigation? 

> "Filipiak, Bob (Contractor)" wrote:
> 
> AFAIK Even if the browser has JavaScript disabled the code still downloads.

OK, that didn't seem logical -- what would be the point? -- so I
tested it. 

Neither Moz0.9.7/Win nor IE5.5/Win with scripting off display the
<noscript> content from an external *.js file.

And more relevant to the question -- re' /search engines/ following
JS menu links -- Lynx doesn't see the <noscript> content either ...

So I'd bet there's a high probability that most search engines do
/not/ follow external JS references ...

> If the term "include" is being used as in
> 
>   <script type="text/javascript" src="mystuff.js"></script>
> 
> rather than a server-scripting-based include --
> 
> Why would a user agent that doesn't understand JavaScript follow a
> script source link to a file that has <noscript> tags in it? :-)

FWIW! 




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