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AJAX is a method of mixing the two "languages" of XML and Javascript. It stands for Asynchronous Javascript and XML, allowing partial refreshes of web pages.

(It's also a very effective bathroom cleaning agent, but you're probably not interested in that right now).

AJAX allows websites to refresh small sections of a web page without having to refresh the whole web page.

AJAX allows websites to refresh small sections of a web page without having to refresh the whole web page like we had to do only a few years ago. This gives the user a superior, faster experience of the online program and it usually reduces the burden on the website server itself because the server is being asked to do less work.

Anyone who is familiar with Gmail knows how convenient it is to be able to refresh only a section of a page. AJAX is very clever. It narrows the usability gap between highly interactive desktop style programs and the "all or nothing" experience presented by browsers in the past. Gmail (and many, many other programs) also change sections of a page automatically as events occur. Notice how when one of your Gmail contacts comes online, Gmail quietly adds it to the contact list box without you or it having to refresh the whole page.

The problem is, search engines find it almost impossible to find links within AJAX, because to get to those links, a user would have to interact with the AJAX in the web page. Search engines can't do that.

Be aware that search engines have difficulty indexing pages with AJAX. Make sure embedded links are also available elsewhere, that is, if you want the pages they reference to be found by search engines.