I am pretty new to web development, and changed my company website to a single page site last year that utilizes a ton of js so that the user can complete many tasks simultaneously without having to leave the front page. While my users really seem to like the new layout, I did not realize the effect this would have on my SEO, and I dropped out of google searches completely.
So, on this new version of my site, I am detecting whether or not the user has js enabled. If the user links to www.myAddress.com/howItWorks.php, for example, and has js disabled, like the google bot, they will be able to use view the content. If they have js enabled, though, I want to redirect to my main page, www.MyAddress.com, which remains a single-page layout. Essentially, I want only google (and the few with js disabled) to see the old layout, while everyone else uses the newer stuff.
I heard meta redirects are horrible to use with SEO and that some search engines ignore sites that use them because they are a common tool for spammers.
- If I use a meta redirect after detecting that the user has js enabled, will it hurt my SEO?
- Is there something else I should use?
I wouldn’t recommend using javascript to try to present a different view of your content to Google than to normal users as you could find this negatively impacts your SEO performance even further.
If part of this site is highly interactive and mainly for existing customers I’d prevent Google from indexing this page, and build a separate set of pages using the kind of content you want to attract new customers with. Build these pages using good SEO practice and with a bit of effort you should be able to restore your SEO rankings.