Does Google Crawl And Index Iframe/Javascript Widgets?

The Answer Will Surprise You!

I have read the blogs and post by the “experts.” I’ve read everything I could find on the subject Google has out. I’ve even watched the videos by Matt Cutts on the subject and I was sure I new the answer. I was wrong! The conventional wisdom is that Google and the other search engines cannot and/or do not crawl the contents of an iframe or javascript widget therefore they cannot index it. This is incorrect. Not only does Google crawl and index the content, it uses that content to rank pages in their search results and I will prove it.

http://seowebdesigns.biz/merchantcircle-review-widget

On the above page this content appears ONLY in the iframe and no where else on the page; ”I am so pleased that I chose SEO Web Design services for my consignment website development and internet marketing.”

Below is a link to, and a partial screen shot of the search results for the above quoted text.

http://www.google.com/search?q=I+am+so+pleased+that+I+chose+SEO+Web+Design+services+for+my+consignment+website+development+and+internet+marketing.

As of this date there are 2 pages from this website on the first page of that search result. The MerchantCircle Review Widget blog linked above and 1 of the tag pages that blog also appears on. Notice that the text searched for appears in the page description of the search result. That text only appears in the iframe on those 2 pages. If Google doesn’t crawl AND index the iframe, how is it this text appears in the page description? Google obviously crawls and indexes the content in iframes.

The next question is does Google use that content for ranking pages in the search result? Since those 2 pages are on the first page of that search result, one would have to conclude that they do. But does that content carry as much weight with Google as hard coded content? I say yes and here is why. Those same reviews appear on the homepage.  But on the homepage they are not displayed in an iframe. The searched for text is hard coded on the page. So if the hard coded content has more weight, wouldn’t the homepage be in that search result? There are many possible reasons Google chose these 2 pages over the homepage, but I conclude from this that the content in the iframe carries just as much weight with Google as the hard coded content.

What about Javascript Widgets?

I believe the same applies to Javascript Widgets. Here is an example.

http://www.designbusinessengineering.com/

On the above page this content appears only in the MerchantCircle Review Widget and no where else on that page; “This is a top Notch company that is dedicated to making positive changes in peoples lives.”

This is a Javascript Widget.

Below is a link to, and a partial screen shot of the search results for the above quoted text.

http://www.google.com/search?q=This+is+a+top+Notch+company+that+is+dedicated+to+making+positive+changes+in+peoples+lives.

Again notice the text searched for appears in the page description of the search result. As of this date the above listing is #1 for that search term so Google has used the content of the Javascript widget to rank this page.

Bottom line is those iframe and javascript widgets are a great way to add fresh dynamic content to your website and they WILL help you with your rankings in Google search results!

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