Attaching hashtag to URL with javascript

Question

I want to build an ajax site without sacrificing SEO. My question is: If I have link on my page like this:

Answer 1

You cannot set the window.location.href without reloading the page in javascript for security reasons.

From what I've seen some people are saying Google will index # urls but they will be not considered separate pages and I think that is not what you want. I also have very little experience with SEO.

Answer 2

You can change the location.hash property, it will change the current anchor identifier without navigating away form the page, for example you could:

<a href="http://mysite.com/cats" id="cats" class="ajaxLink">Cats</a>
<a href="http://mysite.com/dogs" id="dogs" class="ajaxLink">Dogs</a>

Then:

$('.ajaxLink').click(function (e) {
  location.hash = this.id; // get the clicked link id
  e.preventDefault(); // cancel navigation

  // get content with Ajax...
});​

Answer 3

BenMills, noone mentioned location.href, it's about location.hash which does not require page reload.

Answer 4

Although simplicity is best, but if you just want to automate this process or make it genericise then you can use this lite plugin jquery.hashTag.js

$('a').hashTag({
    source: function() {
      return $(this).attr('id');
    }
  });

Just put this snippet inside $(document).ready.

It will do rest of the work itself. Like auto clicking on the link whose id was provided as the hash.

Answer 5

Google will index a hash if it has an exclamation mark in the form: #!dogs

It then assumes that these are AJAX-oriented:

• Google's FAQ about AJAX
• Google's guide on how to make AJAX website crawlable