SEO & iFrames: A Glimpse at What Search Engines See

I like to think of iFrames as little windows on websites that content peaks through. It's not really on the page, but is being displayed to the user as an element of that page and more often than not, blends seamlessly into the surrounding design.

From your browser it can be difficult to determine if content is on-page or is being displayed through an iFrame, but from an SEO or search engine perspective, it is oh-so-evident.

Two iFrame Scenarios: Your Domain and Theirs

As an SEO, under most conditions I would recommend that my clients NOT use iFrames to display text/content on their pages. In the end, unless there are very specific circumstances, having on-page content is the most beneficial to the website in terms of search engine optimization.

But what does it really mean for SEO? There are a two scenarios I would like to discuss here. First of all, when the content displayed in the iFrame is from another site/domain. And secondly, when the content is from the same domain, but a different file.

When the Content is Theirs

This one's pretty simple. When the content displayed on your site through an iFrame is from another domain, your site does not benefit from this content. Even though it's being displayed on your pages, it still is being pulled from another source and does not live on your domain. I've seen this happen when a company's blog is being hosted on another domain and is being pulled to the main domain through an iFrame. Even though the content is unique and exclusive to that company, their site is not benefiting from the frequently updated and content-rich resource.

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