Links In JavaScript & Flash: Damned If You Do & Damned If You Don't

Dec 19, 2008 - 7:52 am 2 by
Filed Under Link Building

A Google Webmaster Help thread asks, can Google read links in Flash files or JavaScript? The simple answer is yes, they can. But it is not that simple.

Some people want to know the answer to this question because they want to know if their content will be indexed or not. Some want the links in those files to be found, while some don't. In fact, years ago, if you did not want a search engine to crawl a link, typically a duplicate content page, you would use JavaScript. Now, you are no longer safe, you must nofollow the link or noindex those duplicate pages or take other action.

The thing is, Google won't always crawl links in JavaScript or Flash either. So if you want your links to be found, be safe and put them in standard html format. But if you don't want your links to be found, putting them in JavaScript or Flash won't guarantee that.

Top contributor, Webado said:

1) don't rely on discovery of text and links in flash or javascript - ensure proper html content and navigation are available as well.

2) don't rely on Google NOT discovering text and links in flash or javascript either if you don't want them to. Ensure robots are clearly disallowed from all such content, otherwise they can be really nosy :)

JohnMu of Google confirmed that post.

As you can see, in this case, your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Updates

Google Search Ranking Volatility Spiked Friday - April 25th

Apr 27, 2025 - 8:45 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: April 25, 2025

Apr 25, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Earnings Report, Ranking Volatility, AI Overviews Harm Clicks, Search Ads Grow & More

Apr 25, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Image Streaming Is Not SEO Friendly

Apr 25, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Mobile Tests Search Snippet With Blue URL & URL / Site Name Switch

Apr 25, 2025 - 7:41 am
Bing Ads

Microsoft Advertising Suspends Client Connection Requests Temporarily

Apr 25, 2025 - 7:31 am
Previous Story: Daily Search Forum Recap: December 18, 2008