Have you ever wondered why some React websites struggle to rank on search engines? React JS is a popular JavaScript library which is mainly used for building dynamic web applications.
Many developers love it because it makes UI development easier but when it comes to SEO, React JS has some challenges. If you want your website to rank well on Google and other search engines, you need to understand these issues and how to overcome them.
Table of Contents
How Search Engines Crawl React JS Websites
Search engine crawlers work by visiting a webpage, reading its content, and adding it to their index. Traditional websites with static HTML are easy for crawlers to process because the content is immediately available. However, React applications present a challenge because they use JavaScript to load content dynamically.
Behind the scene of SEO crawling
- Crawlers Request a Webpage – Search engines send bots (called crawlers) to request a webpage from the server.
- HTML Content is Received – The server sends an HTML file to the crawler.
- JavaScript Execution – If the page relies on JavaScript to render content, the crawler needs to execute the JavaScript to see the full content.
- Indexing the Page – Once the crawler processes the content, it stores the information in the search engine’s index.
SEO Issue with React: Empty HTML on Initial Load
When a crawler requests a React JS website, it often sees an empty <div id="root"></div>. Since the actual content is rendered later using JavaScript, some search engines might not wait long enough to index it properly. This can negatively affect rankings.
Example of what a crawler sees initially in a React app:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>React App</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="root"></div>
<script src="bundle.js"></script>
</body>
</html>This means the content is not readily available for crawlers unless JavaScript execution is enabled. Some crawlers, especially from smaller search engines, may not execute JavaScript correctly which can lead to incomplete indexing.
How Client Side Rendering Affects SEO in React JS
Client-Side Rendering (CSR) is a rendering method where the content of a web page is generated in the browser using JavaScript.
In a CSR-based React application, the server sends a minimal HTML file to the browser, and React takes over to build and update the user interface dynamically.
This allows for a fast and smooth user experience but can cause SEO challenges since search engine crawlers may struggle to see the content immediately.
How CSR Works in React
- The browser requests the page from the server.
- The server responds with an HTML file that mainly contains a
<div id="root"></div>and a reference to the JavaScript bundle. - The JavaScript file loads and React initializes the application inside the
<div id="root"></div>. - React fetches data (if needed) and renders the components dynamically.
In the example above, the content is fetched and rendered dynamically using JavaScript. If a search engine crawler visits the page before JavaScript loads the content, it might not see anything useful for indexing.
Reasons Why React JS Is Not SEO Friendly
Below I have listed some of the reasons why React JS apps aren’t SEO-friendly:
1. JavaScript client-side rendering
One of the biggest issues with React JS and SEO is how it handles content rendering. React is a JavaScript framework, which means that it renders content on the client side (in the browser).
When you visit a traditional website, the HTML is fully loaded with all the content when the page is rendered. However, React applications initially load a bare-bones HTML page, and the content is injected dynamically by JavaScript after the page is loaded.
This can be a problem because search engine bots, like Googlebot, may not always execute JavaScript properly or wait for the content to be fully loaded. As a result, these bots might miss key content on your page, such as text, images, or meta tags.
2. Slow page loading for Search Engines
Since React apps load content dynamically via JavaScript, they may take longer to render, especially if the app is large or complex. Search engine crawlers are designed to quickly scan websites to index their content.
If your React app takes too long to load and render its content, search engine bots may not be able to fully process the page before they move on to other tasks.
This slow loading time can cause delays in indexing, meaning that your site could be ranked lower or not indexed at all. To check your website speed, you can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
3. Crawlers can’t handle dynamic content
React is designed to handle dynamic content. For example, user interactions, data fetching, and updating the page without reloading. This is great for user experience because it allows pages to change without a full page reload. But for search engines, this can create problems.
If your React app shows content that changes based on user actions or fetches data after the initial load, the search engine bot might miss this dynamic content because it doesn’t interact with the page like a real user. So, important parts of your site might not get indexed properly.
4. No Meta Tags are available in React JS
Meta tags, such as the description, title, and Open Graph tags, are important for SEO. They help search engines understand what your page is about and how it should be displayed in search results or on social media. Here’s an example of meta tags:
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
<meta name="description" content="This is an amazing website for learning React.">
<meta name="author" content="John Doe">
<meta property="og:title" content="Example Website">
<meta property="og:description" content="This is an amazing website for learning React.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.example.com/image.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.example.com">
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<title>Website Title Here</title>
</head>In traditional websites, meta tags are included in the HTML code and are immediately accessible to search engine crawlers. However, React does not have built-in support for meta tags. To solve this problem, you can use another library called React Helmet. This library allows you to dynamically update the meta tags in the head of your React app.
6. Heavy Crawl Budget with React JS
Search engines have a limited “crawl budget” which refers to the number of pages the search engine bot will crawl on a given site.
If your React app takes longer to load and render, it may result in fewer pages being crawled within that crawl budget. This could mean that some pages on your site might not get indexed at all.
7. No Initial Content for Search Engine Bots
When a search engine bot first visits a React site, it typically sees an empty HTML page. The content is not immediately available because it’s rendered by JavaScript after the initial load.
If the bot doesn’t wait long enough for the content to be rendered, it may index an empty or incomplete page, which hurts your SEO performance.
Unlike traditional static websites, where the content is included directly in the HTML, React apps rely on JavaScript to populate the content after the page is loaded. This can cause issues with search engines that don’t fully support JavaScript execution or have limited processing capabilities.
FAQs
React is not inherently bad for SEO, but it requires additional optimization, such as server side rendering (SSR) or static site generation (SSG), to be fully SEO-friendly.
Google can index JavaScript-based websites, but there is no guarantee that all content will be properly indexed, especially for CSR-based applications.
The best way is to use Next.js with SSR or SSG, optimize page speed, and use proper meta tags.
Final thoughts
We hope that you now have a clear idea of why React JS isn’t SEO-friendly. React is a great JS library for building modern web apps but it has major SEO challenges because of JavaScript-based rendering. Search engines may struggle to crawl and index React pages properly.
However, by using server side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and other optimization techniques, you can make React applications more SEO-friendly. If you still have any questions in your mind, feel free to share them in the comments below.
Vivek ChaudharyVerified AuthorThis author is verified as a trusted expert and senior writer. A formal process has been completed to confirm their identity and qualifications.
