In a significant step towards debunking some persistent SEO myths and increasing industry understanding of search engine crawling and rendering, Merj has partnered with Vercel to explore how effectively search engines render JavaScript pages, providing indispensable insight for SEOs, developers, Chief Marketing Officers, and Chief Technology Officers responsible for building, maintaining, and optimising websites.
📢 This research puts to bed a question that still hangs over modern web development: can search engines fully and reliably render a JavaScript website?
Part 1 focuses exclusively on Google, and analysed data from over 100,000 Googlebot fetches, shedding light on critical questions regarding whether and how Google renders JavaScript, the effect of JS on the rendering queue and page discover, and the impact of all this on SEO. Through rigorous analysis, we dispel common myths and provide practical guidance for anyone striving to optimise their web presence.
Full research findings
For a detailed exploration of the findings from this research read the full article on Vercel’s blog. There, you will discover the nuances of our methodology, the myths we addressed, and the practical implications of our findings for web developers and businesses alike.
🔗 Read the full article on Vercel’s blog here.
About Vercel and our partnership
Vercel’s Frontend Cloud provides the developer experience and infrastructure to build, scale, and secure a faster, more personalized web. Customers like Under Armour, Chico’s, The Washington Post, Johnson & Johnson, and Zapier use Vercel to build dynamic user experiences that rank highly in search.
Looking ahead: Part 2
The journey does not end here. Part 2 of this research, which as I write this is already nearing completion, broadens our scope to examine the JavaScript rendering capabilities of other search engines, including non-Western search engines and large language model companies such as OpenAI (ChatGPT). Part 2 will complete your understanding of the global rendering landscape and offer further strategic insights for optimising web content across diverse search platforms.
For further information, or to talk to someone about how your technical infrastructure might be impacting search engine rendering and discovery, please contact us.
