Alternative HTML Structure for indexation of JavaScript Single Page Content

[FranktheTank-47497]

Hi there,

we are currently setting up a pure html version for Bots on our site amazine.com so the content as well as navigation will be fully indexed by google. We will show google exactly the same content the user sees (except for the fancy JS effects). So all bots get pure html and real users see the JS based version.

My questions are first, if everyone agrees that this is the way to go or if there are alternatives to this to get the content indexed. Are there best practices? All JS-based websites must have this problem, so I am hoping someone can share their experience.

The second question regards the optimal number of content pieces ('Stories') displayed per page and the best method to paginate. Should we display e.g. 10 stories and use ?offset in the URL or display 100 stories to google per page and maybe use rel=”next”/"pref" instead.

Generally, I would really appreciate any pointers and experiences from you guys as we haven't done this sort of thing before!

Cheers, Frank

[GreenHatWeb]

Frank,

I don't think your question is very clear. Are you setting up a separate that is pure HTML, or does it also include some fancy JS?

Regarding pagination, I don't think it matters how many 'Stories' you have per page, or how you link to them (just as long as it's crawlable). What does matter, though, is duplicate content. On the paginated pages, do the 'Stories' display in full or just an excerpt, that then link to a unique URL? When possible, avoid the same content appearing on multiple URLs.

Ryan

[FranktheTank-47497]

Hey Ryan, thanks, and sorry about that:

Users will of see the JS version and googlebot (and other bots) will see a purely html based site. I will change the original question accordingly.

Frank

[GreenHatWeb]

Frank,

Are you using a different URL for your HTML-only site? Are you noindexing/nofollowing your JS site?

Some JS is crawlable/processable by bots: http://www.thoughtspacedesigns.com/blog/search-engine-optimization/whats-this-googlebot-processes-javascript/

[FranktheTank-47497]

Hey Ryan,

it will be the same URL but we won't display the complicated JS (which the bot unfortunately can't interpret) to the googlebot, just the same structure. Thanks for your help, I'm afraid despite your best efforts, I'm still not sure what the best practice is here... Anyone?

Thanks, Frank