Our places a small "loader" script into the head section of each page on a monitored site. This JavaScript instrumentation has been designed to:
- Provide maximum visibility into frontend performance, accurately time how long it takes for pages to load in all browsers, and to report details for JavaScript errors and AJAX calls.
- Have minimal impact on overall page load time and search engine optimization (SEO), including search engine ranking, indexing, crawl efficiency, or other SEO-related concerns.
Efficiency of inline JavaScript
The most effective method for browser monitoring is to include a minimal amount of JavaScript instrumentation code inline in the head of the monitored page. This code then retrieves the remainder of the necessary code after the page finishes loading.
Other browser monitoring methods include JavaScript code at the end of the page body or exclusively using an external script. However, these methods can limit visibility into the end users' experience.
Impact on SEO
Performance testing results indicate that using browser monitoring's JavaScript has a negligible effect on page load time. In addition, it has no negative impact on how users or search engines interact with your site.
Google's consistent recommendation to website owners is to build a site that is valuable to users and accessible to search engine crawlers. Google rankings favor sites that provide the most relevant information and the best user experience.
Browser monitoring can help you improve user experience by identifying performance bottlenecks, including:
Identifying Javascript errors is especially helpful because Google's bots are increasingly running the JavaScript code on websites they crawl in order to access content provided by AJAX-heavy web applications. A JavaScript error that previously was only visible to human users (for example, a broken button) could affect whether the Google bots can successfully interact with your site.
We understand that SEO and traffic referred by search engines are critically important to many businesses. When used effectively, browser monitoring can even increase a site's ranking in Google and other search engines by improving performance and user experience.