Does Google Read Javascript?

[BrianJenkins]

I would like to include a list of links in a select type box which I would like google to follow.  In order to do this, I will be styling it with the help of javascript, and in turn change the select box into a ul and the options into li's.  The li's would each contain a link, but if javascript is disabled it will fallback to a normal css styled select box.

My question is would google follow the links made by the javascript?  Or would the bot just recognize the select box as a select box and not links.

Thanks for any help!

[blu42media]

Google doesn't follow javascript so if you want the links followed on that page you'll need to somehow include them in your code.

[Highland]

I would assume you're talking about using a JS method to create links in the DOM. The answer here is no, Googlebot will not recognize them. Google has improved their ability to read some JS (like if you use an embedded JS link Googlebot can understand that) but it does not interpret or execute JS that I know of.

If you go this route, I would suggest enumerating your links in a noscript block.

[CustomerSolutionz]

This post is deleted!

[Thos003]

Matt says that Google can read some javascript...

Danny Sullivan speculates that they will be able to see those links:

http://searchengineland.com/google-can-now-execute-ajax-javascript-for-indexing-99518

But in my opinion, if you want your links to be seen without a doubt, don't put them in java.

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Some additional notes...

Traditionally, Google hasn't followed javascript, but they are getting much better at using it for link discovery.

Just a few weeks ago Matt Cutts made a video in which he recommended making your javascript more readable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8yTn_HLDaJs

And some evidence in the wild about Google becoming more script friendly:

http://www.webpronews.com/is-googlebot-getting-more-human-like-2012-05

That said, it's still by far better for SEO purposes to ensure that your links are HTML based. Although Google may still discover javascript links, it's unknown what link attributes like anchor text and PageRank pass through them. Best practices, for now, still say to use regular HTML links.