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:

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

...when each link is clicked I would like to update the address bar with the corresponding hashtag. So, if "Cats" link is clicked the current location will be http://example.com/#cats and I can use this to show my ajax content. If javascript is off or user is search engine, they will go directly to /cats

Answer 1

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 2

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