Traffic fell after the rebuild
Visits dropped when the new front end launched, though the content did not change.
Headless SEO
Make sure Google sees the site your customers see.
A site built in JavaScript can look perfect in a browser and arrive half empty for a search engine. We check what crawlers receive, fix what is missing, and build search checks into every release.
What we measureHeadless SEO3/3
- Content present in the first response
- Pages indexed with their full content
- Search visits and leads after release
Get your free SEO audit
No cost and no commitment.
The search problem
What a browser shows and what a crawler receives can differ.
The new site is fast and beautiful, and a few months after launch search traffic has fallen. The pages load their content with scripts after the first response. Titles are the same on every route. Links are buttons a crawler cannot follow. Everything works for a person with a browser, and much of it is missing for Google.
We test what a search engine receives from each kind of page, fix the rendering, links and metadata at the source, and add automatic checks so that a later release cannot quietly undo the work.
In plain terms
Does Google index JavaScript sites?
Google can index content built with JavaScript, under conditions that catch many sites out. It crawls the first response, then puts the page in a queue to be rendered later, and only pages that return a normal success status are sure to be rendered. Anything that depends on a click, a scroll or a script that fails is not seen. Other crawlers, several used by AI assistants among them, do not run scripts at all.
So the dependable approach is to send the important content, the title, the preferred address and the links in the first response, through server rendering or pages built ahead of time. Google’s own documentation names that as the lasting answer, and calls the older trick of serving crawlers a separate rendered version a workaround. This is technical SEO with a narrower focus, and it matters most during a migration to a new front end.
Signs crawlers are getting less than visitors
One title on every page
Search results show the same title and description for different pages.
Pages indexed without their content
Google has the page, and its copy of the page is nearly empty.
Missing pages that report success
An address that does not exist returns a success status, and Google files it as a thin page.
What we do in headless SEO
For each kind of page we look at the raw HTML a crawler receives before any script runs. The main content, the title, the description, the preferred address and the links should all be there.
With your developers we move critical content into the server response or a pre-built page, and make sure nothing important waits on a click or a scroll.
Navigation becomes real links with real addresses. Missing pages return a true not-found status. Redirects, sitemaps and preferred addresses are generated from the same source as the pages.
We add automatic tests that fail a release if a page loses its title, its content or its links. A search fault is caught in the build, before it reaches Google.
Check it yourself
View the page the way a crawler does.
There is a thirty-second test for any JavaScript site. Open a key page, right-click and choose View Page Source. This shows the first response, before scripts run. Search that source for a sentence from the middle of the page.
If the sentence is there, the content is in the first response. If the source is a short shell with a few script tags, your content depends on rendering, and every crawler that does not run scripts sees an empty page. Google’s URL Inspection tool will show you what it managed to render.
- 01View Page Source on a key page, and search it for a sentence from the body copy.
- 02In the same source, find the title tag and the canonical link. Each should be specific to that page.
- 03Check that menu and product links are real links with an address, not buttons.
- 04Visit an address that does not exist, and check that the status returned is 404.
- 05Run the page through URL Inspection in Search Console, and open the rendered HTML.
What you get
Work you can hold.
- A rendering audit for every kind of page
- A fix list for content, metadata, links and status codes
- Working sessions with your developers on each fix
- Automatic search checks in the release pipeline
- A read on index coverage and traffic after each release
The readout
How we know it worked.
We record a baseline before we change anything, then read search visibility beside the actions that pay the bills.
- Content present in the first response
- Pages indexed with their full content
- Search visits and leads after release
Pricing
Your investment in being found
Three ways to invest in your business showing up when buyers search. Each package is billed monthly, month to month, and each one includes everything in the one before it.
Foundation
The work every site needs, done properly and kept up every month.
$1,000a month
Month to month
We recommend
Growth
Foundation, plus the pages, articles and links that reach more of your buyers.
$2,500a month
Month to month
Leadership
Growth, plus press outreach, more markets and reporting that follows each lead to revenue.
$5,000a month
Month to month
The price changes only when the scope does, such as a very large catalog, many locations or a move to a new platform, and we agree any change in writing before the work starts.
Questions
Before we start.
Do we need server-side rendering for SEO?
For any page you want to rank, yes, or pages built ahead of time. Google can render scripts, on its own schedule and with exceptions. Sending the content in the first response removes the uncertainty, and it serves the crawlers that do not run scripts.
Will moving to a headless setup hurt our SEO?
It often does when search is left out of the build, and it need not. The risks are known: content that loads late, lost metadata, changed addresses and broken links. We check each one before launch.
Can AI search tools read a JavaScript site?
Many cannot. A 2024 study by Vercel found that the crawlers behind ChatGPT and Perplexity did not run JavaScript. If your content is not in the first response, those tools see little of it.
Is dynamic rendering still a good fix?
Google calls it a workaround and does not recommend it as a lasting answer. It points to sending the finished page from the server, or building pages ahead of time.
How do you work with our developers?
Directly. Findings come as tickets with the affected routes, the expected output and a test. We review each fix on a preview build before it ships.
Keep exploring
Find the next useful page.
All SEO servicesExplore the full search program and its specialized services.Technical SEOThe crawl and index method this work sits inside.SEO Website MigrationsMoving to a new front end with the traffic kept.Enterprise SEOSearch standards across many teams and releases.SaaS SEOMarketing sites and product pages for software.Web developmentSites built so the content arrives in the first response.
Send us the site. We will show you what a crawler receives from your key pages, and what is missing.
- How your buyers search for what you sell
- Who shows up above you today, and why
- Your website, as Google reads it
Prefer email? Write to hello@wearemachina.com
Prefer to talk? Call (831) 230-7787
What we measureHeadless SEO3/3
- Content present in the first response
- Pages indexed with their full content
- Search visits and leads after release
Get your free SEO audit
No cost and no commitment.