Troubleshooting Indexing Issues for New React-Based Category Pages: Insights and Recommendations

Recently, a website launched a new Web Design built with React. Since the update, the site has faced persistent challenges with search engine indexing—specifically, category pages are not appearing in Google search results, despite apparent positive signals in Search Console.

Understanding the Issue

The core problem is as follows: While viewing the category page URLs in Google Search Console’s URL inspection tool, the HTML returned displays appropriate meta titles, descriptions, H1 tags, and canonical links. However, when inspecting the raw HTML source via the browser’s “View Source” feature, these elements are either missing or appear differently. Consequently, Google seems to recognize certain SEO tags present in Search Console but does not index the pages.

Furthermore, the raw HTML source contains duplicate meta titles, yet these duplicates are not reflected in the Search Console test results. Despite correct canonical links, the pages remain unindexed.

Common Causes and Considerations

1. Client-Side Rendering Challenges:
   React applications often rely on client-side rendering (CSR), which can hinder search engine crawlers that do not execute JavaScript by default, leading to incomplete or incorrect indexing data.

2. Meta Tag Visibility in Page Source:
   If the crucial SEO tags are injected dynamically via JavaScript, they may not appear in the static HTML source but are rendered in the DOM for user view. Search engine crawlers may or may not execute JavaScript effectively, depending on their rendering capabilities.

3. Incorrect Canonical and Duplicate Metadata:
   Duplicate meta titles in source HTML can signal technical misconfigurations that confuse search engines, potentially impacting indexing.

4. Rendering Delays or SSR Absence:
   Without server-side rendering (SSR) or pre-rendering, pages may not be fully rendered when crawlers access them, causing indexing issues.

Recommended Strategies

• Implement Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Static Generation:
  Transitioning to SSR or static site generation (SSG) with React (using frameworks like Next.js) ensures that SEO-critical elements are present in the initial HTML response, enhancing crawlability and indexability.

• Use Pre-Rendering Tools:
  For dynamic React pages, tools like Prerender.io or Rendertron can generate static snapshots of pages for crawlers, improving indexing performance.

• Verify Meta Tag Injection & Consistency:
  Ensure all SEO tags are present