Introduction
In 2024, the importance of staying up to date with latest SEO tactics is more crucial than ever, underlining the need for a dynamic and well-oiled SEO strategy to propel your Webflow site at the forefront of the digital scene.
As with all website builders, it is important to understand the SEO features built into the platform and to know how to maximize the visibility of your website. With Webflow, developing a relevant SEO strategy to outperform your competitors and maximize your online presence is not just a dream; it's a very tangible reality.
Launching a website is only the first step. Learn how to use SEO on your Webflow site in order to start generating traffic and earning revenue for your business, by exploiting Webflow's integrated SEO tools that are your best allies in making your site a true force of nature on the web.
You used Webflow to design a beautiful website and you are wondering what to do next. Natural referencing or SEO is a marketing channel that should not be overlooked. In 2024, the seamless integration of Webflow with an array of digital marketing tools means that your site is not only beautiful, but also perfectly equipped to climb the Google ladder.
Natural referencing or SEO is a marketing channel that should not be overlooked. Search engine optimization is the process of improving the appearance and positioning of a website in organic search results. In other words, search engine optimization is what allows you to rank in the top results on Google thanks to the keywords that your audience is already looking for.
To be ranked on The first page of Google with your target keywords, you need to provide valuable content and a great user experience to Google users. There are a lot of “ranking factors” and the more you optimize your Webflow site for SEO, the more your ranking will improve.
The advantage with SEO is that once your site is ranked, little maintenance is required. There is no advertising spend or big marketing needs, it's essentially free traffic. However, SEO is a competitive activity and you may need to hire an SEO expert to get started.
What is Webflow?
Webflow is a modern platform “No-code” website design that allows users to create, launch, and monetize a website from scratch. In 2024, Webflow is revolutionizing website creation by combining the simplicity of traditional site builders with the power of an advanced CMS and the flexibility of manual coding, all accessible without requiring a line of code.
Think of it as a mix of builders of standard websites suchlike Wix, combined to the advanced functionalities of CMS of WordPress and the possibility of coding the elements of the website yourself.
It is this flexibility that has made Webflow a very popular choice among businesses. With Webflow, creating responsive websites that adapt perfectly to all screens and devices becomes child's play.
Is Webflow good for SEO?
Webflow has a lot of functions integrated SEO tools that you can use to optimize your website. Its ability to generate clean and neat code is like offering a gourmet meal to search engines: they love it.
Webflow certainly provides you with everything you need to reach a ranking on page 1 and, with a solid SEO strategy, there's no reason why organic traffic shouldn't generate maximum revenue for your Webflow site..
SEO is a great marketing channel to be preferred for your new Webflow site. By implementing best practices and creating optimized content, you can drive organic traffic to your site and be less dependent on other channels such as paid referencing (via Google Ads in particular) that can weigh on your advertising spend.
Just like WordPress has its own characteristics and disadvantages in terms of referencing, Webflow also has them. So in this detailed guide, we're going to see, how you can improve the SEO of your Webflow site!
How to create a Webflow site with optimized natural referencing? (SEO)
Before we get into the details of Webflow, we need to cover the basics of SEO. To get the most out of your website, you need to configure some default SEO settings.
Make sure your website is indexable
It is possible to hide your website from search engine robots so that it is not referenced and therefore invisible in the search results. This option is often used to disguise websites that are still in “work in progress”.
To ensure that your website is accessible to search engines, you need to check if indexing is enabled.
To do this, go to: Webflow dashboard > All projects. Select your current Webflow project and get access to: Settings > SEO > Indexing.
As long as the “Disable Webflow Indexing” button is disabled, your website will be accessible and set up correctly.
Install an SSL certificate for your domain
Google strives to show only safe websites in its results that will ensure the best experience for their users. An SSL certificate is a security measure that allows you to provide a much more secure user experience.
You may have noticed that some websites use an http://protocol in their web address. Sites with a valid SSL certificate use the https://protocol which looks like this https://www.ouiflow.io
The additional “s” means that you are connected to a website via a secure and encrypted connection that makes it much harder for third parties to access your data.
SSL certificates are a confirmed ranking measure in search engines. It is logical that Google prefers sites that use safer technology and therefore gives them priority in the search results of its users.
Webflow provides built-in SSL certificates for websites. If your website doesn't show https, multiple SSL certificates may be in conflict.
Setting up Google Search Console for Webflow
Google Search Console allows you to monitor the performance of your website in searches and to understand how Google treats your site.
You can look at the “cover” of your website. There you'll see all the pages on your website that Google knows about, as well as the pages that have problems. such as 404 errors or pages that are considered duplicates.
You can also use the performance indicator to look at clicks, impressions, and Click-through rates of your pages and The ranking of keywords. This data can be very useful to help you prepare your SEO strategy and find the most relevant keywords or topics to target.
Set up your website within Search Console as a domain property. You will then need to select one of the verification methods to prove that you areThe owner of the website. Webflow offers a simple solution to check your site.
In Search Console, select the option of checking “HTML tag”. You can then copy and paste your unique verification code directly in Webflow by accessing Project > Settings > SEO > Google Site Verification. Nothing could be simpler.
Submit a sitemap in Search Console
Once Search Console is up and running, the next step will be submitting a sitemap. It's essentially abouta map of your website whom details the URL of each indexable page. A sitemap is submitted as an XML file that Google can handle easily.
A sitemap file should only include living and indexable URLs (by avoiding pages that are 404 errors or redirects). This is a list of pages that you want to see indexed and offered in search engines.
The majority of website builders do it and so does Webflow. He automatically creates a map of your website. Make sure this is set up by going to Project > Settings > SEO > Sitemap and selecting “yes.”
In general, The sitemaps use the same URL structure. You can find yours by going to mysite.com/sitemap.xml.
Once you've found your sitemap, go back to Search Console and offered the latter to Google here: Sitemap > Add a new sitemap. You will then only have to paste the URL of your Sitemap.
Setting up Google Analytics for Webflow
Google Analytics is The reference analysis tool that allows you to analyze all the input and output data of your website. Very comprehensive, it will tell you everything you need to know to optimize your SEO.
Google Analytics is completely free and Webflow has an integrated verification tool to make your life easier.
First, go to Google Analytics and create an account using the same email address you used for Search Console. Once the account is created, you will receive a unique tracking code that you can find in Administration > Property > Data Flow > Metric ID.
This code can easily be added to your Webflow site by going to the Webflow dashboard > select the project > Integrations > Google Analytics. Enter your unique tracking code and Google will start tracking visits to your site.
Google Analytics is not able to show historical data. The data will start to appear as soon as the code is entered. To make sure your tracking code is working, you can review the report “Real time” within Analytics and try to visit a website to be sure that everything is set up correctly.
Be careful though, This method is only possible for Google Universal Analytics. CourantDuring 2023, the migration should be done to GA4.if you are already using GA4, vYou can set up your Google Analytics view via Google Tag Manager. For this configuration, you can follow This Webflow tutorial.
Set up technical referencing on your Webflow site
Technical SEO plays a crucial role in improving the exploration and indexing of your site by search engines. Here are some key things to optimize for Webflow sites:
Building an optimized site structure
The structure of the site is how the various pages and categories on your website are organized. A clearly defined site structure will allow Google to understand, explore, and classify your site more easily.
By optimizing the structure of your site, you will greatly simplify navigation for visitors, which will improve their experience and therefore, natural referencing.
You need to start building your site with an optimized structure from the moment it was created, because the more well-established your site is, the more difficult and risky it will be to change its structure.
Ideally, you don't want to have to change the URL paths When your site matters thousands of monthly visitors, in fact the slightest mistake could cost you a lot of traffic and therefore money.
To build a structure optimized from scratch, start by categorizing your pages. The main pages of your site, such as the home page, the page “About us” And the page “Contact”, will have priority and will be on the first level.
You can then do the mapping of secondary structures of your website. For example, you may have your main services page at the heart of your site, with your individual services located below the main services page.
The structure of the URL for that may look like this:
- your-site.fr/services
- your-site.fr/services/service-a
- your-site.fr/services/service-two
It's up to you to design the structure, but remember to categorize everything logically and make sure your most important pages aren't too far from the home page. Your site navigation should also reflect this structure.
Perform a keyword search
Keyword research is an extremely important part of SEO and should be conducted while you are designing the structure of your site. The keywords Are words or phrases that people use when they Search for results on Google.
By placing yourself on the first page for keywords linked to your services or products, you can attract new customers and, de facto, generate sales directly from research.
Use tools like SEMrush or Ubersuggest to identify relevant terms. Integrate these keywords into your content, titles, and meta descriptions to improve your visibility.
So what would be the best way to find the best keywords? Keywords are often divided into two categories.
1. Informative keywords
It's all the keywords searched by a user to find more information about a particular topic, business, or product. These users are not ready to buy an item, so they are at the top of the sales funnel.
By targeting informative keywords Through articles and guides, you can strengthen your brand's reputation and authority. So when a user is finally ready to buy, It's your brand that he thinks of first.
2. Business keywords
Also known as “purchase intent keywords”, these keywords come from users who are ready to buy a product or service. They often include words like “buy” or “best”, for example “buy sneakers online”.
These keywords should be preferred because they will bring new customers and additional income to you and your business. However, it is Of keywords much more competitive, whose ranking therefore requires more time and investment on your part.
To find out which keywords would be a good target, it is best to use a keyword research tool. These tools will give youAnd keyword suggestions based on your current ranking and will provide you with even the number of monthly searches what each keyword receives so you can decide how much they are worth.
SEMrush is a paid search engine that takes care of a large part of this work. Google's keyword planner or Google Trends are free options that can also provide information about the keywords, but with less data.
Another great keyword research tactic is to analyze competitors' rankings and traffic. A tool such as SEMrush will allow you to enter any website and view all current site rankings and pages with high added value.
This will allow you to see The keywords the most useful for your competitors and will give you a good overview of what topics you could also start targeting.
Optimizing site speed
Site speed is an important ranking factor. Thanks to Core Web Vitals from Google, the focus is even more on user experience metrics. If your site loads quickly while offering quality content, your ranking will be considerably improved as a result.
To review the current speed of your website and any major problems, we advise you to run your site through PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These are free tools for measuring page speed. If you take the time to analyze a handful of important pages on your site, you can find the problems to solve them.
Common site speed improvements:
- Optimize your images. Compress images to optimize their weight and make sure they use the right dimensions to improve the loading time of your page. A heavy image will significantly slow down the loading time of a site. Webflow is now using the API TinyPNG that allows you to resize and compress images when you upload them to your website. You can also convert them directly to WebP format
- Implement “Lazy load on scroll”. When lazy loading is enabled, the browser first loads images and items at the top of the page where the user will be. Then, it goes to the resources located further down the page. This gives the user the impression that the page is fully loaded, which improves retention and above all shows them a quality web page. If you need to change this setting (for example to absolutely display an image as soon as the page loads). You can do this in the settings by selecting your image and choosing “Eager.”
- Optimize CSS. If you know CSS (the code responsible for wrapping pages), you can solve some common inefficiencies. By using inline CSS and combining files, you can drastically reduce the number of requests when loading a page.
Set up an internal link structure
Backlinks are not the only type of relationship that is important for natural referencing. Les internal links are links from one page on your website to another. These links allow links to be distributed fairly throughout your site and to provide Google with information. on the keywords for which certain pages should be classified.
For example, the home page will be the most linked page on your site, which in fact a very powerful resource. You can direct some of this linking authority to other pages on your site by setting up internal links to product or service pages.
Another tactic consists of setting up internal links in your blog posts that link to commercial pages on your site. In this way, you can take advantage of authority and relevance acquired by your articles and direct them to pages that are competing for keywords with greater commercial value. You can place these links at the end of articles with the mention “related articles” for example in order to keep the user on your site and maximize traffic.
Ideally, make sure that each page on your Webflow site receives at least one internal link in order to avoid orphan pages that are difficult to identify and classify by the Google algorithm.
On-page optimization for Webflow sites
Optimization On page consists in optimizing pages for specific keywords In order to improve their visibility and traffic. To do this, we implement changes on the page to improve its ranking.
Optimizing the home page for key pages
Using keyword research which we talked about earlier, now you can start optimizing the pages. Decide which pages you want to rank for which keywords and optimize as a priority pages that target groups of keywords that are of higher value.
To optimize a page, a good starting point is to monitor competitors who are ranking for your target terms. What are the tactics used by competitors? What topics do they cover in their content?
Try to make sure your page has the same topics and uses formats with similar content. Ideally, you want to create a page with an optimal structure to offer the best possible experience to your users.
You can then start adding Key words in your content. Make sure that your keywords targets are present in your page and especially at the level of the title, in the titles and in the text. Including variants of keywords, you can optimize your chances of competing for several terms.
Focus on adding keywords, to the important elements of your content and on the use of multiple keyword variations to increase your organic traffic. Write for the algorithm but especially for the user
Just be careful not to over-optimize your keywords. Past SEO techniques manipulated Google rankings by abusing the “hack” and placing in their pages. as many keywords as possible. This is a phenomenon that Google is now well aware of and that it knows how to recognize. He doesn't like it and won't promote a page like this.
Optimize meta titles, meta descriptions, and URLs.
The meta titles, meta descriptions and URLs are the most essential elements of your page from an SEO perspective. You'll see that Google shows each of these items directly in the search results.
URL = The destination URL for a search result, displayed at the top of a list.
Meta title = also known as a title tag, this is a short description of the page that appears in blue text in search results. ****
Meta description = This element is a slightly more detailed description that summarizes a page and appears directly in search results under the title tag.
Luckily, Webflow allows you to easily modify each of these elements for any page you create thanks to an integrated SEO feature.
Page titles are arguably the most important element in optimizing the page. Google uses The title tag to understand what will be the subject of your page and Keyword groups for which it should be classified.
The meta description is not so much a place to add your keywords. Instead, use it as a way to attract the user. Write a catchy description of your page and include your main sales proposals. For example, The meta description of a product page may include information about free shipping or fast delivery times.
To do the best you need to include your keywords priority in the title of the page. Also consider that it is an important element of your ranking in the search results and that a Title tag attractive that catches the eye will push users to your page, will result by a better click rate.
The best URLs are clean, simple, short and include your keyword the most valuable. Don't overthink or abuse keywords in your URL. A URL structure short and simple will have the best chance of getting an optimal ranking.
Establishing an editorial calendar
Developing and maintaining an editorial calendar is extremely important for keep your website up to date and continuously add new keywords informative to your portfolio.
An active blog, supported by keyword research, will allow you to provide your audience with quality content and attract new prospects to your sales funnel. Remember to optimize your page and offer in-depth and detailed content to outperform your competitors.
Develop a content plan that is updated on an ongoing basis to target keywords information related to your products or services. This will allow you to continue to add value to your domain, to create internal links to commercial pages and to increase traffic to your website.
To create your editorial calendar, you can use the tool Notion who will become your best ally. You can discover the benefits of Notion in this article.
Off-site optimization for Webflow sites
Off-page optimization refers to any activity that is carried out outside of your website to improve your search engine rankings. Off-page optimization usually revolves around the creation of links and the development of the authority of your site.
Why creating relationships is important
Link building is about creating “backlinks” To leave from external websites that link to your site. If another website establishes a link with you, it's a backlink.
A link is essentially considered to be a vote of confidence from one site to another. Google uses links as signals to understand the relevance and authority of a website.
If your competitors have a greater number of links or links from higher quality sources, they will have a competitive edge in search rankings.
The number and quality of links to your website are very powerful ranking factors. Not all relationships are equal. Give priority to high-authority links such as .gouv.fr for example.
The authority metric explained
Authority indicators are used to measure the quality and strength of a website's backlink profile. Google's authority measures are integrated into the algorithm and are no longer available to the public.
Instead, SEO algorithms use measures such as Domain Authority (DA) by Moz or Domain Rating (DR) by Ahrefs to examine the authority of a site.
Essentially, the higher your authority measures, the better your rankings will be. To increase your authority, you need to create links from relevant and quality websites. It's a good idea to compare your authority to that of your competitors to see if there is ground to catch up with.
How to create backlinks to your Webflow site?
There are lots of ways to link to your website. In general, you'll want to combine multiple link types to create a diverse and natural link profile.
Guest posting
A common method of creating links is the guest posting. Identify websites, blogs, and magazines in your industry that accept guest authors and offer to contribute content.
A quick search on “guest post + any subject” will reveal some initial opportunities. In your content, you can add a backlink to your website in order to improve your authority. Cover relevant topics and keywords in your guest post to increase relevance.
Building broken relationships
Web pages are permanently deleted or deleted. Any websites that link to these dead pages now have a broken link on their site, which can have a negative impact on the user experience.
These broken relationships can be an opportunity. For example, you can contact a site that hosts a broken link and offer them a page from your site as a replacement URL.
By highlighting the broken link and offering a suitable replacement, you can create powerful and relevant links to your site.
Directories, profiles and reviews
These types of links are often referred to as fundamental relationships. Although they are not as powerful as tactics such as publishing articles, they are nevertheless necessary to create a natural backlink profile.
By submitting your website to various professional directories in your region or industry, you can quickly accumulate initial backlinks. You can also look for opportunities to add comments to relevant articles and pages on the web by linking to your site as a resource somewhere in the text.
Unrelated mentions
If you already have some brand recognition, your name may already be mentioned on The web without a link included. You can simply contact the sites that mentioned your brand and ask them for a small amount of credit in the form of a backlink.
Producing quality content
Not all links have to be created manually. By producing valuable content that includes unique formats, data, or graphics, you can get links without any awareness. People will find your content for themselves and want to link to it because of the interest it brings to their audience.
Advanced SEO strategies for Webflow sites
If you have a good knowledge of SEO and want to go further in optimization, here are some tips.
Implement Schema markup
Schema markup is a form of structured data (code) that is placed on a website to help search engines return more qualitative results to users. It structures your metadata and gives Google a clue about the purpose of certain elements on a page.
It's Schema that allows you to incorporate rich snippets into search results, such as ratings, FAQs, blog posts, and more. These items are added to your search list and can be used to increase your click-through rate.
Adding this markup to your site could definitely be a competitive advantage. Here is a good starting point.
Use 301 redirects
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that transfers all link equity (ranking power) to the redirected page. It is used when a page is deleted. By implementing a 301 redirect, you can re-route all traffic from the old URL to a new pagee.
If you are planning to change the structure of an existing Webflow site, you will want to use 301 redirects to match old URLs to your new structure and ensure that no SEO value is lost.
Webflow makes 301 redirects easy to implement. Go to the Webflow dashboard > Project Settings > Hosting > 301 Redirects. There you can see all the 301 redirection rules in force on the site and add new rules if necessary.
Targeting site snippets
The featured snippets appear at the top of the search results for certain keywords. They provide key information to help answer a search query. Only one featured snippet is shown for a keyword.
You can get featured snippets like this for your site. Excerpts can be huge traffic generators and allow you to directly reach the top position in the rankings.
The best way to optimize the use of Featured Snippets is to change the formats of your content. Start by identifying the Featured Snippets that are already showing up for your target keywords.
Some featured snippets can be displayed as bullets, others as tables, and still others as standard text.
If a table appears in the results, you can add a table to your page content that includes similar (or more detailed) information. If your page is already more informative than your top-ranking competitor's and you now have the correct format for the featured snippet, it should only be a matter of time before you reach the top position!
Create a custom 404 page
Webflow makes designing 404 pages very easy. This is useful because it is essential to keep users who view 404 pages on your site.
When a user comes across your 404 page, it didn't have the best user experience. After all, he wanted to either learn or do something on the page that no longer exists.
To avoid landing on a page due to poor handling, it is advisable to create a custom 404 page that includes easy to use and accurate navigation. It's about allowing the user to easily return to your site's content and the sales funnel.
Creating a 404 page in Webflow is easy. Create a page called 404, give it a URL ending in /404, and design it the way you want.
Optimize your robots.txt file
Unlike many competitors, Webflow Gives you direct access to your file robots.txt. You can find it in The SEO tab your site settings.
A robots.txt file allows you to provide instructions to search engine robots and inform them which pages or subfolders they should not access or index. This is handy if you have internal pages or PPC pages that you don't want to appear in search results.
You can find your existing robots file at yourwebsite.com/robots.txt.
Conclusion
All in all, Webflow is the perfect platform to launch your online business and its SEO features surpass those of most competing website creation platforms. By integrating these advanced SEO strategies into the design and development of your Webflow site, you significantly improve its visibility and ranking in search engines.
Webflow offers you comfort integrated SEO options, but also, if you want, the possibility to go further and access elements such as sitemaps or robots.txt for custom optimization.
If you want to launch an SEO strategy but need help getting started, talk to our team of SEO experts on Webflow.
