PWA and SEO have always been a hot topic on forums for online store owners in recent years.
Does installing PWA pave the way for the first position immediately or are there other things merchants need to do to improve the site performance?
To stay ahead of the competition in the e-commerce industry requires firms to stay on top of Google ranking. However, things are not so easy as it may sound.
This post will provide information about Progressive Web App and how to do SEO for PWA to take full advantage of this technology.
Let’s begin!
How Does PWA Improve SEO Score?
Providing Mobile-friendly storefront
Increasing responsiveness is essential to improve the browsing experience especially on mobile devices.
PWA allows adjustments on layout and content across devices. This creates more flexibility in the user’s experience as they can reach any gadgets near them to surf the site.
Statistics show that mobile users start to account for a larger percentage. Plus, mobile-friendly is the criteria for ranking high Google search results.
Hence, the normal website targeting those who prefer using laptops is becoming inadequate to meet user’s demands.
Increasing engagement and site traffic
The features of PWA Add to home screen and Push notifications are able to generate more interaction from consumers with the website.
Notification ensures more access to websites. If merchants can create engaging and appealing messages, this can even increase the click-through rate and future purchases.
The appearance of the app on the screen also encourages users to visit the store more often.
Another interesting thing about PWA installation is the fast loading speed and its lightweight.
It takes only a few seconds to make it available on the screen.
Progressive Web Application does not use up all the remaining storage space on the device. If the large space consumption becomes the barrier for users to install the app, PWA has definitely solved the problem.
Prolonging session duration and pages views
PWA’s offline mode allows customers to revisit the preloaded pages and maintain on the current page they are reading.
PWA also brings faster loading speed than the original website. It allows viewing more pages within the same amount of time with less waiting.
When customers can discover more about the store, this could generate more desire to make a purchase.
Enhancing site security
Security is the concern of both merchants and customers. Google also includes this characteristic in indexing the website. The website with higher security would easily gain a top place.
PWA uses HTTPS which makes a website less prone to hackers. This can decrease the number of unwanted incidents like stolen information from customers’ accounts,…
Accessing through Google search results
PWA keeps the URL from the original website. This means users can search from Google.
This feature is absent in native apps. Undiscovered by Google could make apps lose a dramatic number of potential customers.
Whenever we want to search for something, Google pops up as the perfect place to find the answer. Thus, a PWA could be found easier than a native app.
Other Tips For PWA And SEO
While PWA and SEO share a positive relationship, merchants still need to take some steps below to gain the best use of this technology.
Improving your URL
A good URL needs to be short. It is best to remove any necessary words like articles, prepositions,… To gain the top position in Google ranking, firms should contain keywords in the URL.
This is the first step to ensure that Google can crawl your PWA so make sure to take this step properly.
Using Google Search Console
This tool lets you look into how Google views your PWA and it also evaluates the traffic and app performance. This tool would allow you to figure out the reasons why your app pages have yet to reach the top. Thus, you could find ways to improve the SEO strategy immediately.
Submitting the sitemap
Remember to submit the sitemap when registering your PWA address in Google Search Console as this allows Google to read the content included on the app.
Testing site’s compatibility across devices
Checking responsiveness in advance is a key step to ensure the best users’ experience.
While PWA guarantees a high level of compatibility across devices, you should still double-check to make adjustments if necessary.
Some popular tools are used including Mobile-Friendly Test Tool, Chrome Developer Tool’s Device Mode, BrowserStack.com,…
Checking the loading speed
Google PageSpeed Insights is a dynamic tool to check the PWA speed in advance and let you know of any errors that cause longer waiting time from users.
Loading time is the first thing that determines whether customers stay on the site or not. Three seconds are the maximum limit for users’ patience.
Wrapping Up
PWA and SEO have confirmed to be a perfect match for the website’s success. PWA can help to get the site on the first page of Google and bring the fresh flow of new customers.
Optimizing SEO score is no easy task and there are a lot of things to do before the site could reach the first page. By taking some small steps like integrating PWA, the distance towards high ranking on Google search results should gradually be minimized.
What is your opinion about Progressive Web App? Are there any other benefits of this technology you have witnessed? Leave a comment below to let us know!