React SEO: Best practices to make it SEO-friendly

SEO challenges in React JS applications

Problems with indexing by search engine bots

Search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo use bots (crawlers) to crawl and index websites. Googlebot, for example, is able to interpret and render JavaScript to a certain extent, which allows it to index content generated by CSRs. Nevertheless, this does not always work perfectly, especially for more complex React applications.

Other search engines, such as Bing and Yahoo, may have more difficulty rendering JavaScript. As a result, client-side rendered pages may be indexed incorrectly or not at all. This can lead to a situation where important content is not visible in search results, negatively impacting SEO and organic traffic.

Specific SEO challenges for CSR applications

Blank pages: As bots may encounter a blank page before the JavaScript has finished generating content, important information may not be indexed.

Long load times: If the application is resource-intensive or requires complex JavaScript, the page load time may increase, which also negatively affects the User Experience and therefore SEO. Page load time is a key element of Core Web Vitals, and Google evaluates it when determining a page’s ranking. Therefore, optimising the performance of React applications, including limiting file size and implementing mechanisms such as lazy loading, is essential.

Metadata and sitemap management: In React, metadata management and sitemap creation require additional tools and work, as the framework does not offer built-in solutions for these tasks. Metadata issues can also affect social media sharing – a lack of pre-rendered titles and descriptions can make content less appealing when shared, negatively impacting click-through rates and traffic.

Are you looking for a trusted IT company?

Contact us!

SPA (Single Page Application) and SEO

To make SPA applications SEO-friendly, it is necessary to focus on optimising JavaScript performance, using friendly URLs, and providing metadata in static HTML. Pre-rendering and SSR are key techniques to help content be better indexed by search engine bots.

SEO-friendly URLs and internal linking

Unique, clean URLs are key to indexing different views of the SPA app. Using the History API instead of hash-based routing is more SEO-friendly. In addition, proper internal linking helps crawlers reach all relevant subpages, which increases the chances of a page being fully indexed.

Pre-rendering and Server-side Rendering (SSR)

Pre-rendering is a simpler solution for smaller applications with a limited number of sub-pages. SSR is more complex, but necessary for large applications with dynamic content. Server-Side Rendering requires Node.js and increases infrastructure requirements. Next.js is an example of a tool that allows easy implementation of SSR and also has built-in caching mechanisms. Caching in Next.js allows finished versions of pages to be stored, which speeds up delivery to the user and reduces server load, thus improving both performance and SEO.

Metadata and optimisation

Dynamising metadata with front-end frameworks and libraries is key, but it is best delivered with the initial HTML. Pre-rendering and SSR allow content to be more easily indexed by bots. It is also worth remembering to optimise metadata to ensure that each page has a unique title and description that is available as soon as the page loads, increasing the chances of the content being indexed correctly.

Dynamic rendering

Recommended by Google, dynamic rendering allows different content to be served to users and bots. Users receive client-side rendering, while bots are redirected to a dynamic renderer with pre-rendered HTML. This is a solution that can be helpful in cases where implementing SSR is too expensive or complicated, but it involves maintaining an additional renderer, which can be difficult in the long run.

Examples of tools and libraries to help with SSR implementation

Next.js: Next.js is a popular framework for React that enables easy implementation of Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and static page generation (SSG). As a result, applications built using Next.js are better indexed by search engines. Next.js also offers automatic metadata management, performance optimisation and caching mechanisms, which significantly improves page load time and SEO.

Gatsby: Gatsby is another framework for React that focuses on Static Site Generation (SSG). Gatsby integrates with various data sources (CMS, APIs, etc.) and generates fast, optimised pages that are easily indexed by search engines. Gatsby also has built-in image and metadata management features.

React Helmet: React Helmet is a library that enables dynamic metadata management in React applications. It allows you to set page titles, meta descriptions, Open Graph tags and more, which is crucial for SEO.

React Lazy/Suspense: React Lazy and Suspense enable the implementation of lazy loading in React applications, which improves page load times. This allows search engine bots to access content faster. It is worth remembering that proper lazy loading management allows key content elements to be loaded first, which has a positive impact on SEO.

What is Client-Side Rendering?

Client-Side Rendering (CSR) is a technique in which the user’s browser executes JavaScript to dynamically create and display page content. In the case of SPA applications in React, CSR means that the server sends minimal HTML and the browser downloads and executes JavaScript to build the full page. This approach makes the app more interactive and responsive, as subsequent state changes are handled without reloading the entire page. However, CSR can cause SEO issues as search engines may not be able to see the full page content without executing JavaScript.

What is Server-Side Rendering?

Server-Side Rendering (SSR) is the process by which the server generates full HTML pages and sends them to the client. In the context of React, this means that the server renders the React components before sending the page to the user’s browser. With SSR, the content of the page is available to search engines and users immediately, improving indexability and loading time. SSR is particularly useful for applications that require good SEO optimisation, as it enables the creation of full HTML pages that can be easily indexed by search engine bots.

Does page performance affect SEO ranking?

Optimising page load times is key to improving SEO and user experience. In React applications, this can be achieved through several techniques:

Lazy Loading: Use React.lazy() and Suspense to dynamically load components only when they are needed.

import React, { Suspense, lazy } from 'react';

const LazyComponent = lazy(() => import('./LazyComponent'));

const App = () => (

  <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>

    <LazyComponent />

  </Suspense>

);

export default App;

Image compression: Use formats such as WebP and tools to compress images before loading them. An example of a tool: ImageOptim.

File minification: Minify CSS and JavaScript files using tools such as Terser and CSSNano.

Use of CDNs: Host static resources on a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to reduce loading times by serving files from the nearest server.

Pre-fetching and pre-loading: Pre-fetch data and pre-load critical resources to reduce loading times for subsequent pages. These techniques are particularly effective when used in conjunction with SSR, as they allow for efficient delivery of both static and dynamic content.

Summary and best practices

To effectively optimise React applications for SEO, follow best practices: implement Server-Side Rendering (SSR) using frameworks such as Next.js, use React Helmet for dynamic metadata management, implement lazy loading for components and images, and minimise JavaScript and CSS files. Ensure URLs are SEO-friendly and use performance monitoring tools such as Google Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights. Caching pages and user interface elements and optimising Core Web Vitals are key steps that will improve SEO and overall application performance.