How to turn your one-page website from a bane to a blessing: SEO fixes for single page sites

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Single page websites have been around for a couple of years now. The opinions about them are quite equivocal. Some people simply love having everything they need on one page, while others find it too tedious to browse them on their mobile devices. In case you have not yet experienced one, you can think of it as an entire website on just the homepage. The developer and designer will work together to divide your homepage into several sections that can accommodate all the aspects of a complete website.

SEO for one-page websites can be tricky. Keyword optimisation is always more hassle than you ever bargained for. However, several SEO hacks can help you optimise your single-page site for 2018. Yes, one-page SEO is tough. So, you need to pay close attention to the technical aspects of all the website elements while you set things up.

Start by optimising each section

This section is largely going to be about content and keyword strategies for your site. Before you start writing your content, you need to engage in thorough keyword mapping. Always remember, you have just one page to talk to your visitors and your potential customers. Now, create <div> or <section> for every keyword you pick. Assign a distinctive ID to them. Choose relevant slugs for each section and modify the internal link for each of them. Now we come to the bigger problem – WordPress likes it when the users assign H1 tags to the title of their post. Since a single page website has multiple content sections with multiple titles, you are going to use multiple H1 tags. This automatically translates to several H1 tags per page, but that is the challenge you have to deal with when working with a one-page wonder.

Using Google Analytics wisely

Irrespective what other experts tend to believe, it is possible to use Google analytics to track the internal links on a webpage. It is not impossible, but it is fairly difficult even for the regular Analytics user. As per the reports from Google, it is always better to rely on a canonical URL than use multiple URLs that lead to the same destination. This is one of the leading reasons your AdelaideSEO team always advise against single page websites, but, hey, since you are already using one we might as well try and make the best of it. You can track your virtual pageviews by updating your tracker. WordPress has some plug-ins that can help you monitor your website stats irrespective of your layout.

Work on acquiring more high authority links

Links are one of the top 3 determinants of ranking for Google. Single page websites have a distinct advantage in the foray of link building. Any link you manage to acquire for your WordPress site is always going to point to the main URL. This will define a 1:1 ratio for each link to the page. Root for section-specific backlinks and outbound links.

Internal linking is a moot point for all single page sites. However, if your website is incredibly long, you can add a sidebar or a collection of headers with live links to the sections for easier navigation. This way your visitors (especially mobile users) do not have to scroll through endlessly to find what they are looking for. Even the most popularWordPresssites can kill or die for 100% links to a page. The one-page websites give you exactly that opportunity.

Pay attention to mobile users

There is no point going for a single page site and not optimising it for mobile users.Just supplying genuine and fresh content is not enough for your site. You need to gift wrap is impressively for your target users to take notice. Single pages convert a lot easier on mobile devices. Thankfully, one-pageWordPress websites are faster than traditional websites as well. Therefore, you will have to worry only the tiniest bit about page speed. Older one-page sites have reported terrible UX and higher bounce rates since they tried to load all the data, images and add-ons at one go. You can save your visitors the trouble and rely on something like Lazy Load to keep your site swift and smooth.

One-page websites have been a bane for SEO for a long time. In 2018, that does not have to be the reality. You can optimise your one-page WordPress website with the help of a flurry of new plug-ins that can work on UX, keyword strategies, traffic analysis and link monitoring. Define your target group with the help of social listening, email and newsletter subscriptions, forum discussions and product reviews. Once you know who is buying your products or reading your website content, optimising the site for these users becomes a lot easier.