Why Single Page Websites are Bad for SEO

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Single page websites are easy to create and fully responsive, providing a good mobile experience for a specific audience. The concern is that simplifying things to one page can ultimately hurt SEO. Unfortunately, this is true. Single page websites tend to have a negative impact on SEO because they don’t contain much content and there aren’t many opportunities for keyword optimization.

Below we share the reasons why single page websites are not beneficial for SEO purposes. Do keep in mind that there are benefits to single page sites, so it’s possible that you can still do well with one. To discuss the best format for your website, contact Magna Technology today.

Keyword limitations

Search engine optimization relies on keywords. Most web pages can only be optimized for a single phrase, which is fine if you have a lot of pages. These pages will then increase your chances for showing up in the search results. So, if you have a lot of competition and rely on SEO for organic traffic, a single page website will have too many limitations.

Lack of content

Because a single page site has all of its content on one page, the information is limited. Most pages have various sections like About Us, Products and Contact. Visitors can scroll to the sections they need, but if they want more information about a product or service, there probably won’t be much room for added content.

On the other hand, multi-page website offers plenty of room for content, allowing visitors to jump from page to page to find the information they need. Additionally, these pages have their own metadata, giving you lots of title tags and descriptions to capture your audience’s attention and boost SEO.

Increased loading times

It’s possible for a single page site to require longer load times than multi-page sites. If you want to pack in as much information as possible, you might find yourself adding unnecessary videos, images and parallax effects. All of these elements are heavy and require extra time to load. Multi-page sites have information spread across many pages, speeding up page load times.

Fewer links

Google favors websites with good internal and external links. Multi-page sites have lots of pages and content, so it’s easy to add links that provide plenty of value for visitors. However, because single page websites have less content and only one page, there are far less opportunities for links. If you do add an internal link, visitors only have the ability to move to another section on the same page. And, if you add an external link, it sends people away from your website.

Summary

There are benefits to single page websites, but you do have to account for the SEO problems. The better option is a multi-page site that is clean, uncluttered, responsive and mobile friendly. To discuss your options for an affordable, SEO-friendly website, contact Magna Technology.