A lot has changed with Wix over the years, and many of these changes are related to how you can better optimize your website for search engines.
The first 2 major benefits of Wix are the Wix SEO Wiz and that Wix integrates with Google Search & Analytics.
For those who are new to SEO (or just aren't tech savvy), this is great news because if you pay attention to these two built-in features, you can start off with a solid SEO foundation, AND submit your site to Google instantly.
Wix SEO Wiz (free and guides you through how to optimize your website for search engines without needing to know how to code).
Google Search Console & Analytics
Your sitemap will automatically be submitted to Google when you connect your Wix account to Google (the final step of the Wix SEO Wiz).
12 Wix SEO Tips
We'll first start by saying that with so many sites online today, there is no guarantee that your site will rank first on Google.
There are a TON of factors that come into play, and if you have a lot of competition, you're not only going to need to be realistic with your goals, but you'll also need to get creative.
The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do to increase your chances of ranking well, so let's jump in!
1. Choose the Right Domain
The domain and URLs for your website matter (you want a domain that is relevant to your business, is easy to remember, AND you want to make sure your links do not include special characters, page ids & that they aren't undescriptive and/or complex)
We want readable, descriptive & simple. Also, hyphens - are recommended by Google over underscores _
2. Take the Time to Create Titles, Heading Tags & Descriptions for Every Page
These should tell bots and a user what the page is about while including keywords and phrases without overdoing it
We sometimes see Wix site owners use a paragraph tag when it should instead be a heading tag, OR their header tags are used out of sequential order (h1 followed by h4, for example)
Don't worry, there's a simple fix to reorder header tags, so they're sequential without impacting your design in your Wix Dashboard.
From the editor, click edit text, SEO & Accessibility and then choose the header tag from the dropdown (see screenshot below)
3. Define & Use Longtail keywords
Descriptive keywords or keyphrases that get a smaller number of searches per month, but will be easier to rank for (this is especially important for highly competitive industries).
4. Make Sure Content is Relevant
The content you include on your website should be helpful and relevant to what a visitor would be looking for. (Try to answer these 5 questions on your homepage: what you do, who it's for, why they need it, why trust you, and what to do next).
5. Optimize for mobile
Wix makes this easy with the desktop and mobile editor views, so take the time to make sure your site looks good on both.
6. Focus on Local SEO
Even if you don't have a set location, start with where you're based, so you can focus on keyphrases based on your location (don't forget to do off-site SEO through free directories, review sites, and comments).
7. Add Alt Text to Images
This helps tell bots what an image is (be descriptive and incorporate your keywords when it makes sense).
Wix offers an Accessibility Wizard where you can scan your website and fix any accessibility errors that come up. One of these errors, is often including alt text for your images. To access this, from your site's editor, go to Settings > Accessibility Wizard and then click scan site.
If the image is there for decoration (for example a banner background, or design element), you can click the checkbox in Wix that states, "This image is decorative, it doesn't need a description," so you don't need to include an alt tag. Your logo does need alt text.
8. Add a Blog & Create Posts
Blogs are a great way to write more content for search engines to index and your target audience to find (also a great way to showcase your personality & educate).
9. Add Internal Links
This makes your website easy to navigate and can help to reduce the bounce rate, as you're giving a visitor the opportunity to explore more of your website
10. Add "nofollow" Tags to External Links
Adding a nofollow attribute to external links (links that go to another website) is considered good practice.
11. Utilize Google Search Console to monitor:
the keywords being used to find your site
any errors or warnings that Google has detected
how many times a visitor clicks a link from your site
see how visitors are interacting with your content
12. Improve Your Page Speed
This is a measurement of how quickly your site fully loads after a visitor has requested access (Wix does a lot automatically to help you, but to further improve your site speed, read this).
Progress > Perfection
SEO is something that many gatekeep. They make it sound scary; something that only a professional with years of experience should touch.
We don't feel that way. It is our belief that doing something is better than doing nothing, (or wanting something to be so perfect that you end up paralyzed with inaction). The best thing you can do as the owner of your business is learn.
Learn about every aspect in running your business. Take the time to understand your data, how SEO works, and what kind of marketing strategy you need for your business.
This way, you are prepared, and if you choose to delegate work in the future, you have a better understanding of what's involved!
