Are you looking to improve your Wix website’s visibility in search results? Technical SEO is the key!
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll explain the importance of technical SEO and how to optimize your website’s technical aspects.
After following these best practices, you’ll be able to optimize your Wix website for better search engine performance and improve your user experience. Let’s unlock the full potential of your online presence through technical SEO mastery.
What Is Technical SEO for Wix Websites?
Technical SEO for Wix websites involves optimizing the backend and structural aspects of your site to improve its visibility and ranking in search engines.
This includes ensuring fast load times, mobile-friendliness, secure connections (HTTPS), clean URLs, and proper use of meta tags and headers.
It also involves creating a logical site structure, submitting a sitemap to search engines, and using schema markup for better indexing.
By focusing on these technical elements, your Wix site can achieve better search engine performance and attract more organic traffic.
Why Is Technical SEO Important for Wix Websites?
Technical SEO is crucial for Wix websites because it enhances search engine visibility and user experience. Without proper technical SEO, search engines may struggle to index and rank your site, leading to lower traffic.
For instance, websites optimized for speed and mobile friendliness are more likely to rank higher; Google reports that a one-second delay in page load can reduce conversions by 7%.
Moreover, a secure site (HTTPS) builds trust with users and search engines. Implementing technical SEO ensures your Wix site is accessible, fast, and well-structured, leading to better rankings and increased organic traffic.
How to Optimize Your Wix Website for Crawling and Indexing
Now you know what technical SEO is and why it’s important for your Wix website, let’s look at how to optimize your site. In this section, we’ll explain 12 technical SEO best practices to boost your Wix website’s performance in search results. By following these tips, you’ll make your site more visible, improve user experience, and attract more organic traffic. Let’s get started!
1. Create an SEO-Friendly Site Architecture:
Creating an SEO-friendly site architecture is the foundation of good technical SEO for your Wix website. An organized and logical structure not only helps search engines understand and index your site better but also enhances the user experience.
Start by designing a clear hierarchy with your main pages at the top, followed by categories, subcategories, and individual pages. Use intuitive, descriptive names for your URLs, keeping them clean and concise. This makes it easier for both users and search engines to navigate your site.
Ensure that every important page is accessible within a few clicks from the homepage. This reduces the crawl depth, helping search engines discover and index your content more efficiently. Internal linking is crucial here – link related content together to help establish a strong contextual relationship between pages.
2. Submit Your Sitemap to Google:
A sitemap is essentially a roadmap for your website that tells search engines about its structure and content.
To submit your sitemap, first generate it in your Wix dashboard. Wix automatically creates a sitemap for you, which you can find at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml.
Once you have your sitemap URL, log into Google Search Console and add your website property if you haven’t already. Navigate to the “Sitemaps” section, enter the URL of your sitemap, and submit it.
3. Understand Indexing and Implement Canonical Tags:
If you have similar pages on your website, use tags to show Google which one is the most important. Canonical tags help prevent duplicate content issues, which can confuse search engines.
A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a page is the “master” copy that should be indexed. This is especially useful when you have similar content across different URLs or when your content is accessible through multiple paths.
In Wix, go to the page you want to specify as canonical, click on the SEO (Google) tab in the page settings, and enter the canonical URL in the designated field. Ensure that the URL you enter is the preferred version you want search engines to index.
4. Don’t Forget to Use HTTPS:
HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It’s a secure version of the protocol used to communicate between web browsers and websites.
Google considers HTTPS as a ranking signal, meaning secure websites are more likely to rank higher in search results. Additionally, browsers like Chrome alert users when they visit a non-secure site, which can deter potential visitors.
To enable HTTPS on your Wix site, follow these steps:
- Go to your Wix dashboard.
- Navigate to the “Settings” section.
- Select “SSL Certificate” and toggle the SSL option to “On.”
Wix will then automatically issue and install an SSL certificate for your site, switching it to HTTPS.
5. Address Duplicate Content Issues:
Duplicate content is like having the same essay appear twice in a book. It can confuse search engines, causing them to struggle to determine which version of a page to index and rank.
Identify and fix duplicate content on your Wix website to avoid ranking issues and wasted crawl budget. Tools like Google Search Console, Copyscape, or Screaming Frog can help you find duplicate pages. Once identified, take steps to consolidate and clarify these duplicates.
One effective method is to use canonical tags, which we discussed earlier. Canonical tags tell search engines which version of a page they should index. A canonical tag directs search engines to consider the main version.
Another strategy is to set up 301 redirects from duplicate pages to the main page. This not only consolidates your content but also passes on any SEO value from the duplicate pages to the preferred version.
I hope this helps.
6. Choose a Preferred Version of Your Website:
Your website can typically be accessed in multiple ways, such as with or without “www” (e.g., www.example.com and example.com). Search engines view these versions as separate sites. This is called the “Preferred Version”.
It can affect SEO by dividing link value and confusing search engines with which version to rank higher.
So, To avoid this, you need to set a preferred (canonical) version of your website. This is often referred to as the “primary domain.” Wix makes it easy to set your primary domain:
- Go to your Wix dashboard.
- Navigate to “Settings” and then “Domain.”
- Under “Primary Domain,” select your preferred version (e.g., with or without “www”).
Additionally, you can set up 301 redirects from the non-preferred version to the preferred one. If you need help setting this up, feel free to contact us. Our expert will fix it for you.
7. Improve Page Speed:
Page speed refers to how quickly your website loads. It’s crucial for SEO (search engine optimization) for two reasons:
- Google likes fast websites.
- People hate slow websites.
Faster-loading pages enhance user experience, reduce bounce rates, and can significantly boost your search engine rankings.
To begin, analyze your site’s current speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These tools identify which element is slowing down your site and suggest specific improvements. You can optimize the performance of your Wix website by following the steps provided by tools.
One effective strategy to enhance page speed is to optimize your images. Before uploading them to your Wix site, compress the images to reduce their file size without compromising quality. Additionally, consider enabling browser caching to allow repeat visitors to load your site faster by storing some static files in their browsers.
Another crucial step is to minimize JavaScript and CSS files by minifying them and removing unnecessary characters and spaces. This reduces the overall size of these files, helping your pages load faster.
Ensure you’re using a fast and reliable hosting plan that provides adequate resources to handle your site’s needs efficiently. Wix offers various hosting plans, so choose one that meets your site’s requirements.
Implement lazy loading for images and videos, delaying their loading until they are needed. This can significantly improve initial page load times, especially for pages with numerous multimedia elements.
Lastly, limit the use of heavy animations and videos, as they can slow down your site. Use them sparingly and ensure they are optimized for web use to prevent them from negatively affecting your page speed.
8. Ensure Mobile-Friendliness:
Imagine your website shrunk to fit a phone screen—that’s mobile-friendliness! Mobile-friendliness means your website is easy to use and navigate on smartphones and tablets.
This is important because more people search on mobile, and search engines favour mobile-friendly sites. A bad mobile experience frustrates mobile visitors and hurts your business.
Start by using Wix’s mobile editor to preview and optimize your site for mobile devices. This tool allows you to customize the layout, font sizes, and spacing on smaller screens to ensure readability and usability.
Additionally, prioritize responsive design elements that adapt to various screen sizes and orientations. This ensures your content remains accessible and visually appealing regardless of the device used.
Test your site’s mobile-friendliness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. This will identify any issues that need to be addressed, such as small text size, clickable elements too close together, or viewport configuration problems. Optimize images and multimedia elements for mobile devices to minimize loading times and bandwidth usage.
Monitor and update your site’s mobile friendliness regularly as new devices and screen sizes emerge. Continuously improving this aspect of your site ensures a positive user experience.
9. Implement Breadcrumb Navigation:
Breadcrumbs offer users clear and intuitive navigation paths, allowing them to understand their current location within your site’s hierarchy and easily navigate back to previous pages.
To integrate breadcrumb navigation, start by planning your site hierarchy. Ensure it has well-defined categories, subcategories, and pages. This hierarchy forms the basis for your breadcrumb navigation.
Next, select a breadcrumb style that complements your site’s design and branding. Customize it to be visually appealing and user-friendly.
Then, use Wix’s editor to add breadcrumb strips to your website pages. These strips typically reside in the “Menus & Pages” section. Drag and drop the breadcrumb element onto your page and customize it to reflect your site’s hierarchy accurately.
10. Use Pagination:
Pagination is like splitting a long book into chapters. It divides large amounts of information on a website (like product listings or blog posts) into smaller, easier-to-browse pages. You’ll often see numbered links at the bottom to navigate between them.
While valid, pagination can affect how search engines see your website. Search engines might not prioritize later pages, potentially hiding valuable content.
Divide long lists of content on your Wix website into multiple pages using pagination instead of infinite scrolling. This helps search engines access and index all your content correctly.
11. Review Your Robots.txt File:
Imagine robots.txt as a note left at your door telling delivery people which packages to take and which to leave. In the website world, these “robots” are search engine crawlers, and the “packages” are the different parts of your website.
It’s a simple text file that tells search engines what they can and can’t access on your website. Think of it as instructions for the crawlers on which pages to explore and which to skip.
Check your Wix website’s robots.txt file to ensure you’re not blocking essential pages from being crawled by search engines. Avoid using disallow directives for vital website sections.
Consider implementing these technical SEO best practices to improve your Wix website’s SEO. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free website audit or professional SEO services. Let’s optimize your website for success together!
12. Essential Site Structure and Navigation
Site structure and navigation are two sides of the same coin. They work together to create a user-friendly and search-engine-friendly website.
Site structure refers to how your website’s content is organized. This includes how your pages are categorized, linked to each other, and labelled with URLs. Think of it like the underlying framework of your house.
Navigation is how users find their way around your website. This includes the menus, breadcrumbs, and other elements that help users find the necessary information.
Site Structure and Navigation are important because a well-organized site with straightforward navigation makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages, improving your search ranking.
You should organize your site with a clear hierarchy, use descriptive URLs, create a user-friendly navigation menu, use internal linking strategically, and include breadcrumbs throughout your pages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, by following these technical SEO best practices can improve your Wix website’s search engine visibility. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so monitor your website’s performance and adjust as needed.
If you want us to do all technical SEO fixes for your website, please contact us. For the initial query, you can claim a free website audit.
