This is a question we get asked a lot at Klevu, since one of our popular integration methods is via JavaScript-generated search and category navigation. For any modern web application using client-side rendering, a common question is whether web crawlers will be able to find the content and index it correctly.
The first place you should start in answering this question is the Google article on Understanding JavaScript SEO basics. The video and content on that page explains how and when the Google search engine crawls and indexes JavaScript-generated content on your website.
There are multiple ways to integrate with Klevu, so after understanding the above article and reviewing your project’s requirements, you can make the appropriate integration choice. We will summarise the integration options below with respect to SEO implications.
- Klevu API Integration: Server-side rendering + client-side rendering.
- Klevu JS Library Integration: Client-side rendering with full control.
- Klevu Plug-and-Play JS Integration: Client-side rendering with limited control.
Klevu API Integration
The most powerful integration with Klevu is by directly using our API endpoints to power your website search and category pages, giving you complete control over how the content is rendered; be that server-side, client-side or a mixture of the two (aka. pre-rendering). This method gives you the flexibility of using our API’s advanced features to create your own implementation as per your own needs.
In order to achieve server-side rendering on SaaS platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce, one approach is to work with the native theme engine to display the products, however the native engine will display products in a different order to Klevu. Alternatively you can host the category and search results pages on your own servers, allowing you to use Klevu API to control the ordering of products of both server-side and client-side rendering.
If you choose to go for an API integration, you may still be interested in the next section for the client-side rendering aspects.
Klevu JS Library Integration
The Klevu JavaScript Library can be used to give you a head-start with client-side rendering. By using this approach you have full control over the HTML, JavaScript and CSS so you can follow the best practices to come up with an SEO friendly integration for your specific project and have direct access to apply any recommendations from your SEO agency.
We recommend using this approach for all client-side rendering projects, ideally alongside a server-side or pre-rendering approach described in the section above if you have the option.
Plug-and-Play JS Widget
Our plug-and-play widget involves the addition of a small snippet of JavaScript to your website and the Klevu HTML, JS and CSS will be injected into your pages from our servers. With this approach you have some customisation options available via the Klevu Merchant Centre (e.g. CSS and JS overrides) however any further customisation is limited to what our JavaScript widget can support.
This is the quickest integration method, but the trade-off is less flexibility and control.
Summary
As is often the case with SEO, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. If you are concerned about SEO we recommend you review the above options with your SEO agency and make a decision based on your specific project requirements, development resource availability and timelines.