How to Run a Full JavaScript SEO Audit Using Chrome DevTools
As a web developer or SEO specialist, conducting a thorough audit of your website’s JavaScript code is crucial to ensure it’s crawlable and indexable by search engines like Google. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of running a full JavaScript SEO audit using Chrome DevTools.
Prerequisites
Before we dive into the auditing process, make sure you have:
- Chrome DevTools installed in your browser.
- JavaScript and HTML knowledge, preferably with some experience working with web development frameworks like React or Angular.
- A website to test (this article will use a hypothetical website called “Example.com” for illustration purposes).
Step 1: Inspect the Page
To start, navigate to the webpage you want to audit using Chrome DevTools. Open the browser console by pressing Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Opt + I (macOS), and select “Console” from the menu.
Next, right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect. This will open the Elements panel in the DevTools window.
In the Elements panel, navigate to the <head> section of your webpage’s HTML code.
“`html
“`
Now that we have a good starting point, let’s proceed with our audit!
Step 2: Check for JavaScript-Related Errors
In the Console panel, look for any JavaScript-related errors by searching for keywords like “error,” “warning,” or specific error messages.
For example, if you encounter an error message like TypeError: Cannot read property 'title' of undefined, this suggests that there’s a problem with how your code is trying to access properties on an object.
Use the console function to log variables and debug your code. This will help identify any potential errors or issues related to JavaScript execution.
javascript
// Try logging variables to the console
const myVariable = "Hello, World!";
console.log(myVariable);
Step 3: Analyze JavaScript Files
Next, navigate to the Sources tab in DevTools and look for your website’s JavaScript files. You can do this by searching for specific file names or path patterns.
In our hypothetical case, we’ll be looking at a script named script.js located within a directory called /src.
javascript
// Look for scripts like this one:
function helloWorld() {
console.log("Hello from Example.com!");
}
Step 4: Check for Dynamic Content Generation
Many modern websites rely on JavaScript frameworks to generate dynamic content. If your website falls into this category, you might want to look at how it’s generating and serving dynamic HTML elements.
For example, React-based applications often use a virtual DOM to render components dynamically. To inspect these components in Chrome DevTools:
- Switch to the Elements panel.
- Click on an element that should be generated by JavaScript (like a button or form field).
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + E(Windows/Linux) orCmd + Opt + E(macOS) to view the element’s details.
Look for any signs of dynamic content generation in your website’s code, such as:
javascript
// This might be indicative of a React component:
function Button(props) {
return (
<button onClick={props.handleClick}>
{props.children}
</button>
);
}
Step 5: Verify JavaScript Execution
To ensure that your website’s JavaScript code is being executed correctly, you can use the following techniques:
- Press F12 to open DevTools, then click on the Console panel.
- Type
javascriptin the console and press Enter.
javascript
// Execute arbitrary JavaScript code like this:
const example = { message: "Hello from Example.com!" };
console.log(example);
If your website relies heavily on external libraries or frameworks, you might need to check if they are being included correctly. For example:
“`html
“`
Step 6: Run a Full JavaScript SEO Audit
Using the techniques outlined above, it’s time to run your full JavaScript SEO audit! Here are some best practices and tools you can use:
- Use Google’s Search Console: This tool will help identify any crawlability issues related to JavaScript code.
- Verify website ownership: Make sure that you’re authorized to make changes on the target website.
- Use Chrome DevTools’ Elements panel to inspect the HTML structure of your webpage.
-
Run a full audit using tools like:
- WebPageTest: This will provide detailed insights into how well your website’s JavaScript code is performing.
Conclusion
By following these steps and leveraging Chrome DevTools, you’ve successfully completed a comprehensive JavaScript SEO audit for the Example.com website. Make sure to apply this knowledge to other projects you’re working on and always prioritize web performance optimization in your development workflow!
