javascript links

[thebookiesoffers]

Bit of an idiot question here but I was advised to change my affiliate codes from html to javascript as the SE's cant see them, are these javascript link the ones <iframe>blaa blaa blaa</iframe>?

[Adzooma]

Hello, I would leave your links as HTML links. Google can most definitely see HTML links. Can you post an example of your current links?

[zigojacko]

Who advised you that??

Javascript is <script></script> (<script type="text/javascript">) tags not iframe

[Andy Walpole]

I was testing this out last year and there are ways of creating JavaScript links that the search bots can't follow, but for affiliate links you're best either hiding articles with using robots.txt or putting nofollow on the links (rel="nofollow").

[thebookiesoffers]

Who advised you that??

Javascript is <script></script> (<script type="text/javascript">) tags not iframe

i wont say who said it but they are a very well respected member of the forum

what are iframes then mate if they arent javascript

[Andy Walpole]

iframes are a way of inserting content into a page

The content within an iframe will be a different URL then that from the page it appears to be

[Kev Jaques]

You can also use the object tag to load in a separate html page, this way it gets around the xhtml strict issue and treats it pretty much the same as an iframe.

Both are not great in terms of adding content to your site.

As for JS links, Google frown upon those kinds of things as you are typically trying to cloak them. However using some kind of internal tracking url for redirects I would say is ok albeit still a kind of cloaking but then it's for internal tracking purposes more so than trying to hide them.

Remember the FTC also have their new rules/guidelines so you have to make it clear they are affiliate links and that you stand to make a commission one way or another.

The main thing really is it's time to stop making pages for search engines and think of the people visiting the site. What's innit for them?

[awebapart.com]

Bit of an idiot question here but I was advised to change my affiliate codes from html to javascript as the SE's cant see them, are these javascript link the ones <iframe>blaa blaa blaa</iframe>?
What exactly are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to stop google from seeing your affiliate links out to other sites?

If so, then there are a number of ways to do this, including:

1. iframes where the iframe page is prevented from being indexed, e.g. using robots.txt

2. links to your own pages (again which are prevented from being indexed) which in turn redirect to the affiliate page, this is a common approach some directories take

3. obfuscated (complex) javascript, perhaps using a function in a separate js file which again is prevented from being indexed

But simple javascript links wont prevent google from seeing your links, because google has been following some javascript (http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/04/crawling-through-html-forms.html) and simple javascript links for quite some time.

I've conducted some SEO javascript link tests (http://www.seo4uk.com/home/seo_tests/Link_Building) myself in the past to confirm this.

Out of the above techniques it is probably technique 2 which is the most white hat, the most above board, the least sneaky. You might need to check with your affiliate site's terms and conditions too, some might want proper links (for SEO benefit to their sites).

[fisicx]

And using an iframe doesn't necessarily hide the links from Google either. If the content is on the page then Google can read the content.

To use an iframe properly you need something like:
<iframe src="afilliatecode.htm" width="200px" height="200px"></iframe>

[tpowell]

Don't use javascript for links...