Express js and SEO?

[musthavemarketing]

Hi fellow Mozzers,

I have been tasked with providing some SEO recommendations for a website that is to be built using express.js and Angular.  I wondered whether anyone has had any experience in such a framework?

On checking a website built in this and viewing as a GoogleBot etc using the following tools it appears as though most of the content is invisible:

http://www.webconfs.com/search-engine-spider-simulator.php

http://www.browseo.net/

Obviously this is a huge issue and wonder if there are any workarounds, or reccomendations to assist (even if means moving away from this  - would love to hear about it)

[SurgeStream]

Hi Allie McFadyen,

I am not familiar with using express.js and Angular, but since it is JavaScript based then historically Google has had issues with JS in the past.  Now, Google says they can now crawl JS, but still there are issues that might arise that can hinder your sites SEO if not done properly.

It seems like the test you have done has shown that it is not crawlable and viewable, but have you tried creating your own test page and then using the "Fetch as Google" tool within Google Search Console?

Even if the test comes back and it is crawlable, I would always be cautious using a technology that has questionable SEO results.  To this day I am still cautious using JavaScript in certain sections of a website, even though Google says they can crawl it.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Kevin