The pivotal role SEO plays to make a website stand out among its competitors is not a secret. But, there is a common myth is that SEO knowledge is restricted among analysts and writers. Through this reading let’s know why React web developers need to understand SEO practices while building the website. 

SEO is the practice of bringing the quantity and quality of search engine traffic to a website. People depend on a search engine to seek information and your website must rank as high as possible in search results. 

React websites are SEO-friendly when properly optimized during the development phase. Implementing react SEO best practices will higher your rank and the traffic you will receive. Let’s know the potential challenges React websites face from an SEO perspective(Technical SEO & On-Page SEO).

Challenges in developing an SEO-friendly React website 

JavaScript pages are less likely to get crawled

Google used to crawl only HTML pages before, but now, it crawls JavaScript pages as well. But, The possibility of these pages being crawled is determined by a variety of factors and it is uncertain whether Google loads JS pages or not.

Meta Tags cannot be changed

A webpage must have distinct titles and descriptions for each page to get higher search engine rankings. This method will avoid the scenario of all pages showing in the same Google listing. Unfortunately, It is not possible to change the tags in React as we wish and we need to find a parallel solution to tackle this problem.

Single page application usage

The use of React-based single-page applications (SPA) is favoured for websites as it significantly improves loading time. However, SPAs are prone to indexing issues. A single-page website can only deliver content when the page has been completely loaded. If the loading is unfinished while a bot is crawling the page, the bot will see an empty page. Due to this, a significant area of the website will not be indexed, resulting in a lower search ranking.

The inability to generate built-in sitemaps

In order to crawl a web page, Google bots will evaluate sitemap files containing critical information about a web page. But within the constraints of the framework, React is unable to generate sitemaps.

Best practices to make your React website SEO friendly

● Isomorphic JS technology:

This technology identifies whether the client side has deactivated the JS page or not. If the JS is disabled, it will render the code and in this way, when the website loads, the crawling bots have access to all of the essential contents.

● Prerendering:

When a crawler performs a request, the prerender provides a cached static version of HTML to the website. The website loads normally if your set sends the request.

● Server-side rendering:

Browsers/bots receive HTML files with the complete content. So, the webpage will be correctly indexed, leading to improved search engine rankings.

● URL case and ‘Href’ Usage:

It is advised to set all URLs in lower case and specify web page links using a"href." This makes it easier for bots to find and visit your page.

● Try not to use hashed URLs:

The Google bot does not view anything after the hash in URLs, so it is highly recommended to avoid hash in URLs while developing an SEO-friendly react website.

React is unquestionably one of the greatest frameworks for creating an SEO-friendly website. It is a fact that making the React website SEO-friendly is a difficult process. Yet, knowing current trends and implementing SEO best practices 2022 on React helps you in making your website rank higher on search engines.If you have any inquiries about how to optimize a react website for search engines, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Related : Perfect SEO guide , Local SEO

Frequently Asked Questions

Is React website good for SEO?

React helps develop a user-friendly UI valuable to SEO, so you don't avoid creating a user interface for your app/website. However, you should use best practices to ensure that your React site is suitable for Google crawlers, and that's good for SEO.

How do I make my React more SEO-friendly?

Using Sever-Side Rendering (SSR) will help to make your react website more seo friendly, and Browsers/bots receive HTML files with the complete content. The webpage will be correctly indexed, leading to improved search engine rankings.

Should you avoid using React for SEO reasons?

No. React.js help the developer create a great UI experience favourable for SEO and user interaction.