August 16, 2024
Discover the capabilities of Wix SEO with a comprehensive case study. Learn how to optimize your Wix site for search engines effectively.
Written by
Joey DiGangi
COO & Co-Founder
The question about Wix sites and SEO is one that we receive a lot. The internet is a mix of supporters and those that suggest Wix is bad for SEO. The short answer: Wix is just as capable as any other CMS at ranking on Google. We’ll go into more detail as to why that is, and review a client experience that saw improvement in their Wix sites’ SEO.
Let’s start with the controversy: why will some people suggest that it’s difficult to rank with a Wix site? We sometimes work with clients whose functional requirements make them well-suited for a Wix-based project, but offer reservations about the platform and its ability to show up in search engine results. They’ll cite any number of reasons, ranging from reputational issues in the broader developer community to specific concerns with limitations created by using a CMS.
Ultimately, our client-facing experience has seen sites built on different platforms–ranging from Wix to WordPress, Webflow, and completely custom builds–rank well. Provided best practices, like ensuring the site is mobile friendly or implementing a meta title and description on each page are in place.
This is backed by Google’s assertion that the website builders used will not alone determine their ability to rank.
Wix has responded to its critics by citing strengths like their “server-side rendering, indexing and crawlability, and performance-first mindset” as reasons why building on Wix is not a disadvantage–and possibly an advantage where search engine optimization is concerned. You can read one of their full articles on the subject here to see the full breakdown.
Other reports, such as the one linked in Search Engine Journal, support the claim that Wix sites’ core vitals–which are important ranking factors–are on par with, or better than, other CMSs. These stats are often cited in Wix marketing materials as well.
We’ve worked with quite a few Wix-based sites as a partner agency and have experienced first hand what works and doesn’t work when increasing SEO for Wix sites. Below, we’ll walk through some of the best practices that we’ve implemented with clients and break down the outcomes for one client in particular.
Before we begin, we need to touch on the Wix SEO wiz or checklist tool. One of the things we love about Wix as a platform is that it’s helpful for businesses at all stages of their digital journey. For users new to the world of SEO, the checklist tool prescribes great steps for getting started, like implementing 301 redirects, adding initial meta tags and alt text, and helping connect to Google Search.
That said, the steps our team and other SEO experts enact may differ from the initial setup guide. That’s because we aim to go further than the prerequisite steps to start an SEO journey. The process described in this article showcases how we execute this larger SEO plan.
The first step of any SEO effort is effective benchmarking. This involves delving into the data provided by tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. By analyzing metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and user behavior, we gain valuable insights into how your site is currently performing in search engine results pages (SERPs).
We then repeat a similar process with your competitors, using SEMRush. Through competitive analysis, we examine factors such as keyword usage, content strategies, and backlink profiles of your competitors. This analysis helps us identify areas where your website can stand out and gain a competitive edge, whether it's by targeting niche keywords or creating content that fills gaps in your industry.
With internal and external data reviewed, we begin our work with on-site content. This involves different steps to make the most out of your current site’s structure.
Effective on-page optimization lays the groundwork for improved search engine visibility. This involves optimizing key elements of your website, such as title tags, meta descriptions, heading tags (H1s), and image alt text. By incorporating relevant keywords into these elements, we help search engines understand the content and context of your pages, increasing the likelihood of ranking for relevant search queries.
Structured data markup, also known as schema markup, provides additional context to search engines about the content of your website. By implementing schema markup code, we enable search engines to display rich snippets in search results, enhancing the visibility and click-through rates of your pages. Additionally, ensuring proper canonical URLs helps prevent duplicate content issues and consolidates the authority of your pages, further improving your site's SEO performance.
We also work to introduce new content to your website. More often than not, this is done through the use of blogs. Blogs are a great tool for adding long-form content to your site because it’s a place where users expect to read more.
Our approach focuses on creating original, high-quality content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. From informative blog posts to engaging multimedia content, we craft compelling assets that attract both users and search engines.
The blogs utilize keywords identified in our research effort.
The other side of the SEO coin is your off-site SEO. This is the next focus of our work.
Consistency and accuracy are crucial when it comes to distributing your business information across the web. Through the use of third-party software and data aggregators, we ensure that your business details, such as name, address, and phone number (NAP), are consistently and accurately represented across various online platforms. This not only improves your visibility in local search results but also enhances your credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of both users and search engines.
Content creation and link building are fundamental components of off-page SEO that can greatly impact your website's authority and relevance.
In addition to content creation, we also prioritize the cultivation of backlinks from reputable websites within your industry. These inbound links serve as votes of confidence in the quality and relevance of your content, signaling to search engines that your website is a valuable resource worth ranking higher in SERPs. Through ethical and strategic link building efforts, we aim to build a strong backlink profile that boosts your website's authority and improves its visibility in search results.
One of the most commonly asked questions we receive is about what’s next after the initial months of SEO work. SEO–like other forms of marketing–is not a once-and-done effort. A sustained effort over the lifetime of the business is considered the best practice.
In the same way that you wouldn’t say you’ve done “enough” sales or advertising, you should never look at your SEO work as “complete.” To that end, we help our clients plan for the long-haul and continually improve organic performance.
Data-driven decision-making is at the core of our SEO strategy. By regularly monitoring and analyzing key performance metrics, we gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of our efforts and identify areas for improvement. Our clients have access to comprehensive analytics dashboards that consolidate data from various sources, including Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These dashboards provide actionable insights and recommendations for optimizing your website's performance and maximizing its impact on your business goals.
SEO is not a one-time project but an ongoing process of refinement and adaptation. As search algorithms evolve and competitors adjust their strategies, it's essential to stay agile and proactive in maintaining and improving your website's SEO performance. Our team of experts stays abreast of industry trends and best practices, continually refining our approach to ensure that your website remains competitive and visible in search results.
In summary, our comprehensive SEO services are designed to help our clients achieve consistent, sustainable growth in search engine visibility. From analyzing and benchmarking performance to fine-tuning on-page optimization, expanding reach through off-page strategies, and continuously optimizing for growth, we provide a holistic approach that delivers tangible results. With our proven playbook and dedicated team of experts, you can trust us to help you navigate the complex world of SEO and drive meaningful impact for your business.
We’ll share examples from our client work with a health-focused company. This lets us look at the impact of consistent SEO efforts where it matters most: the bottom line.
This client started working with us following the completion of a website redesign process. We helped the client improve their conversion funnel and cleaned up the presentation of their service offerings. They already had a moderately successful online presence, but needed to prioritize their conversion rate optimization first.
We then worked with our health spa client for a sustained, 6-month timeframe, during which we worked to optimize her page’s content, wrote blogs, and helped her target the local audience through a concerted off-site effort. The goal was to further expand the number of users coming to the site and capitalize on the improved user experience.
We’ve helped the client grow their organic search pipeline into the most lucrative channel to date. We can cite the following statistics when gauging the cumulative impact of this work:
To this day, we continue to support this client’s ongoing SEO effort and see healthy, sustained performance.
If you’d like to explore working with WD Strategies, use the button below to reach out to our team and schedule a free introductory consultation
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Huntingdon, PA 16652
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