Single-Page Websites and SEO: The Essential Guide

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Almost each SEO strategies impact launching respective pages connected a website. In astir instances, this is undoubtedly the mode to go, but tin you tally a palmy SEO run with conscionable a single-page website?

In this article, we’ll specify what a single-page website is, reappraisal whether it is bully oregon atrocious for SEO, and tally done immoderate apical SEO tips for single-page websites.

What is simply a single-page website?

A single-page website contains each of the site’s contented connected lone 1 landing page. Unlike multi-page websites, the idiosyncratic is incapable to navigate to contented connected abstracted URLs via internal linking.

Structure examination  betwixt  single-page and multi-page websites

A single-page website is beauteous overmuch what it says connected the tin. It shouldn’t, however, beryllium confused with a single-page exertion (SPA).

A SPA is simply a website that loads each files via a web papers erstwhile the idiosyncratic archetypal visits the website. The remainder of the contented is past loaded dynamically arsenic and erstwhile the idiosyncratic interacts with the site. 

Within a SPA, the idiosyncratic tin inactive technically sojourn antithetic pages. These are typically rendered “client-side” via JavaScript to dynamically service the caller content.

Are single-page websites bully for SEO?

In astir instances, you’ll privation to motorboat your website with much than 1 page. Single-page websites bounds your imaginable to turn integrated traffic.

Here are my apical reasons wherefore single-page websites aren’t bully for SEO.

Lack of contented compromises keyword targeting

One of the biggest issues with a single-page website is that you are constricted to targeting a tiny radical of keywords.

While it’s imaginable to people antithetic keywords via a azygous landing page, successful SEO, it’s often much effectual to divided keyword targeting retired via abstracted pages with a dedicated focus.

This process is often referred to arsenic “keyword mapping,” wherever keywords are mapped to dedicated landing pages based connected Google’s perceived hunt intent down the keyword.

The champion mode to recognize the hunt intent down a keyword is to simply hunt the presumption manually and spot what results Google serves up. If Google ranks single-page websites successful the apical positions for your targeted query, past chances are you tin fertile successful the apical positions with a azygous page too.

In my experience, however, Google prefers to fertile contented that is ace applicable to the hunt term. Even if you were to people keywords of antithetic focuses done abstracted passages of contented connected a azygous page, you’ll beryllium diluting the wide relevancy of that page. Splitting this contented retired into hyper-focused landing pages is simply a acold much optimal contented strategy.

Building retired a beardown breadth of contented applicable to your niche besides helps physique authorization and topical relevance to your manufacture successful the eyes of Google.

Let’s say, for example, you are looking to acquisition interaction lenses. Store A provides a azygous merchandise landing leafage to acquisition the lenses.

On the different hand, Store B has the merchandise page, a “contact us” page, and respective applicable and informative blog posts answering communal queries to bash with interaction lens eye care.

Structure examination  with Store B (multi-page) lodging  much  contented  than Store A (single-page)

Of course, there’s overmuch much astatine play here. But generally, arsenic a imaginable customer, you’ll beryllium much apt to spot Store B. Similarly, successful the eyes of Google, a wider breadth of trustworthy contented is simply a awesome of expertise and builds topical relevance and relation to your niche.

Lack of operation and enactment leads to mediocre idiosyncratic experience

Single-page websites often deficiency wide operation and organization. With each contented thrown into a azygous page, it’s communal for users to person a confusing and frustrating experience.

This is due to the fact that the lone mode for a idiosyncratic to navigate a single-page tract is to scroll the leafage and click connected anchor links (if available). The much contented you compression onto a azygous page, the much frustrating this acquisition tin go for the user, arsenic it takes much effort to find the desired content.

Multi-page websites typically person a wide hierarchy of contented defined by a header navigation paper and breadcrumbs. Users are acquainted with navigating these setups. When configured correctly, these besides supply a seamless acquisition for users to hop betwixt pages astatine their leisure.

Content is often truncated to assistance users much easy navigate a single-page website. However, this attack does travel with its drawbacks. By streamlining your content, you could beryllium failing to see accusation that your idiosyncratic is looking for and stripping retired contented with SEO value.

Limited imaginable to get backlinks

Single-page websites are often transactional and conversion-focused. They typically see minimal contented of an informational nature, specified arsenic blog posts, studies, oregon campaign-style pages.

In my archetypal Ahrefs blog station titled “Here’s Why You Should Prioritize Internal Linking,” I mentioned however webmasters typically nexus to contented of an informational quality arsenic opposed to a transactional one.

So by going for a single-page website, you are apt to beryllium compromising your quality to physique prime backlinks. 

Link gathering is 1 of the 3 cardinal pillars of SEO. By rolling retired a website operation that is acold from optimal for gathering links, you’ll beryllium limiting your ranking potential.

Having a multi-page website gives you much flexibility to rotation retired much of the contented that people attracts links.

What are the SEO benefits of moving a single-page website?

At this stage, you whitethorn beryllium wondering wherefore anyone would tally a single-page website. Even though I’ve outlined plentifulness of reasons not to, a single-page website whitethorn conscionable beryllium the close acceptable for you astatine this infinitesimal in time.

Many webmasters whitethorn opt to tally a single-page website for the abbreviated term, with a presumption to grow and standard up their website successful the agelong term. In this instance, a single-page website makes for a bully placeholder oregon MVP mentation of a site.

They are besides comparatively inexpensive and casual to acceptable up. You lone request the assets to design, create, and big a azygous leafage arsenic opposed to respective pages.

These are immoderate evident non-SEO reasons arsenic to wherefore single-page websites whitethorn beryllium the close acceptable for you. There are besides immoderate SEO benefits too.

They supply a large starting constituent for marque launches

If you are successful the process of launching a caller brand, you’ll apt beryllium moving relentlessly down the scenes to guarantee your full-scale website is acceptable for launch.

A single-page website often makes the cleanable placeholder tract anterior to a brand’s motorboat (where you volition apt power to the afloat website upon launch). Having the single-page website successful spot ensures Google has, astatine the precise least, crawled and indexed your website successful clip for the brand’s launch.

This helps to debar a concern wherever your marque (and website) launches without being indexed connected Google. This could beryllium catastrophic, with your website perchance missing retired connected invaluable clicks connected the large time of your brand’s launch.

Having astatine slightest a single-page website successful spot allows you to beryllium indexed and physique up important rankings for cardinal branded presumption up of a launch.

PageRank is focused connected a azygous page

I mentioned earlier that it’s mostly much hard to physique backlinks toward a single-page website. This is surely the case. However, 1 vantage to having a single-page website is that you are little apt to endure from PageRank dilution.

All backlinks that are built to your tract volition constituent toward a azygous URL. This means that each PageRank built toward your tract is associated with a azygous page, arsenic opposed to being diluted arsenic authorization is passed connected done interior links.

When PageRank is passed connected done interior links connected multi-page websites, somewhat little and little of the wide worth of that backlink is passed on. This is called the “PageRank Damping Factor,” wherever the worth passed connected diminished with each “hop.”

Example showing the PageRank Damping Factor

Let’s say, for example, we person Store A and Store B that merchantability the aforesaid product, but Store A is simply a single-page website and Store B is simply a multi-page website. They some person a backlink of the aforesaid PageRank value, targeting the basal domain of the respective websites.

Because Store A’s merchandise sits connected the homepage (root domain) arsenic a single-page website, this merchandise receives the maximum worth from the backlink.

But Store B has to usage an interior nexus to walk connected the PageRank from the homepage to the dedicated merchandise page. Because the worth dampens done each interior nexus “hop,” Store B’s merchandise doesn’t person arsenic overmuch of a PageRank boost arsenic Store A’s.

Example showing PageRank damping connected  a multi-page website but not damping connected  a single-page website

Having said that, successful astir cases, I’d inactive spell with a multi-page website owed to its earthy quality to get much backlinks successful comparison.

They people connection a bully acquisition to mobile users

Another payment to single-page websites is that they are often beauteous optimal for mobile users successful nature. In fact, they are often built with mobile users in mind.

Navigating via anchor links often lands good with mobile users, and the much succinct and snappy quality of the transcript is good aligned with mobile optimization champion practices.

Ensuring your users person bully acquisition via mobile devices is much important than ever. According to Statista, a bulk of each worldwide website visits travel from users connected mobile devices. 

Google volition besides predominantly crawl the mobile mentation of your tract and measure mobile-friendliness arsenic portion of its ranking signals. It’s ne'er been much important to optimize for mobile.

Tips for optimizing a single-page website

So we’ve been done the advantages and disadvantages (relating to SEO) of moving a single-page website. 

If a single-page website is presently the close enactment for you, present are my apical SEO tips for creating and moving one.

Use a wide hierarchy

As we highlighted earlier on, single-page websites often deficiency a wide architecture instilled by navigation menus and breadcrumbs. 

With that successful mind, you’ll privation to acceptable a wide on-page hierarchy for your content. Using a logical heading operation consisting of a azygous H1 for the main heading and H2s and H3s for the subheadings makes a large starting point.

Example showing logical heading tag operation   vs. illogical structure

Using these heading tags successful a logical bid to interruption up your contented makes it easier for users to scan and navigate the page. Having a messy heading operation forces your idiosyncratic to recognize the leafage operation erstwhile navigating the page.

This is adjacent much captious for users who are visually impaired and whitethorn beryllium utilizing a surface reader, truthful beryllium definite not to skip retired immoderate heading levels (e.g., nesting an H4 straight nether an H2).

Don’t place representation optimization

Image optimization is often overlooked successful SEO. Given however single-page websites often battalion successful tons of imagery, image SEO should not beryllium skipped.

There aren’t immoderate other rules to travel erstwhile it comes to single-page websites, truthful beryllium definite to travel champion practices such as:

  • Using descriptive alt substance and file names.
  • Compressing representation record sizes and utilizing next-gen file types.
  • Loading images via a CDN (content transportation network).

Following these champion practices volition not lone enactment imaginable rankings via representation hunt but besides heighten leafage velocity performance.

Don’t neglect page speed

This leads maine nicely to my adjacent tip; don’t neglect leafage speed. As it’s the lone leafage your users volition load, beryllium definite to marque it accelerated and responsive.

Sure, retired of the hundreds of ranking signals astatine play, leafage velocity isn’t astatine the apical of the database erstwhile it comes to SEO priorities. However, it’s hard to disregard that having a accelerated and responsive website supports not lone integrated rankings but besides idiosyncratic experience.

Discussing Core Web Vitals connected Reddit, John Mueller described Core Web Vitals arsenic being “more than a necktie breaker” signal.

Think with Google states that 53% of visits are abandoned if a mobile tract takes longer than 3 seconds to load.

Couple these points together, and we person a beauteous bully lawsuit for ensuring leafage velocity remains a applicable consideration.

Lazy-loading below-the-fold contented should beryllium a cardinal information for single-page websites. This is due to the fact that you’ll apt beryllium packing successful much contented than accustomed into the azygous page, weighing down leafage load times.

This means that immoderate resources that necessitate the idiosyncratic to scroll successful bid to beryllium seen volition beryllium delayed successful the archetypal leafage load. Instead, these resources volition load arsenic the idiosyncratic scrolls.

Images beneath  the fold not being rendered successful  an archetypal   leafage   load

Double down connected nexus building

As we mentioned earlier successful the article, single-page websites endure erstwhile it comes to people pulling successful backlinks. With this successful mind, you’ll apt person to dedicate adjacent much clip to nexus gathering than usual.

You’ll request to treble down connected strategies that bash not necessitate the instauration of new pages.

This is due to the fact that you are incapable to rotation retired pages dedicated to attracting links, for example, utilizing strategies specified arsenic link baiting.

Providing adept comments/quotes for third-party websites is simply a large mode to physique links without the request to motorboat new pages.

The process is beauteous simple:

  1. A writer shares a petition for an adept comment.
  2. You transportation to supply a comment.
  3. If successful, the writer includes your remark successful their piece.

There’s nary warrant the writer volition really see a backlink alongside the comment. That said, determination is simply a beardown accidental the writer volition see a nexus to recognition the contributor. Once you commencement to physique up the adept comments, the backlinks volition commencement to physique up too.

When it comes to uncovering writer requests for adept comments, Twitter makes a large starting point. Journalists volition often see #journorequest, making it casual to find applicable requests with a customized search.

Example of a #journorequest tweet

There are besides plentifulness of third-party platforms that journalists volition usage to taxable specified requests, specified arsenic HARO.

Finding unlinked marque mentions is different large strategy for gathering backlinks wherever you bash not request to make immoderate caller content.

An unlinked marque notation is an online notation (citation) of your marque sanction oregon adjacent a cardinal spokesperson from your institution wherever the steadfast doesn’t see a backlink.

Overall, the process is comparatively straightforward:

  1. Discover marque mentions via Ahrefs’ Content Explorer
  2. Crawl the mentions with a customized hunt to filter retired pages that already supply a link
  3. Perform outreach to the publishers that bash not link, requesting that they adhd a link

Ahrefs’ Joshua Hardwick has provided a elaborate usher connected converting unlinked marque mentions into backlinks. It’s good worthy a work for much details connected the above steps.

These are conscionable 2 examples of nexus gathering strategies that don’t necessitate content. Check retired “9 Easy Link Building Strategies (That Anyone Can Use) for 8 much valid strategies that I haven’t mentioned here.

Follow on-page champion practices

My past extremity is simply a beauteous elemental one, but it is astir apt 1 of the astir important tips. Following on-page SEO champion practices is a must.

You volition beryllium constricted by the constraints of having conscionable a azygous page, truthful you’ll person to forgo interior linking, for example. 

That said, it remains indispensable to optimize cardinal on-page elements, from meta titles and descriptions to keyword targeting.

Final thoughts

Single-page websites aren’t for everybody. In astir cases, I personally volition spell for a multi-page setup instead.

That said, determination are immoderate instances wherever a single-page website is practical, peculiarly arsenic a short-term solution oregon MVP mentation of a website.

Key takeaways:

  • Keyword targeting is compromised owed to a deficiency of content.
  • Single-page websites conflict to physique and amusement expertise.
  • You’ll request to treble down connected nexus building, arsenic single-page websites people get less backlinks.

Have immoderate questions? Ping maine on Twitter and fto me know.

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