WIX SEO FAQ

Asking this question is like asking a contractor "How long does it take to build a house?" The answer, of course, is "it depends." A home builder will want to know what kind of house you want, how big you want it to be, and your budget before they can give a real estimate. SEO is the same way. To answer the "How fast will I rank?" question, here are some questions to answer first: How competitive are the keywords you want to rank for? How well established is your site? Are you starting from nothing? How big is your SEO budget? How good is your content? But if you really just want a ballpark guess, then we'd say most SEO clients who are starting from close to nothing (e.g. a small existing site without good optimization) should expect it to take at least 6 months before they see significant results. We usually see the biggest improvements around 8-12 months. We know that's probably longer than you want to wait, but Google works by its own secret schedule, and while we can encourage it to index your site faster and give it the optimized content it likes to see, we cannot force it to speed up. Some faster SEO changes are possible though. For example, you can quickly show up in local searches and Google Maps with a Google My Business profile. You can also get to "Rank 0" if you know how to give Google the right data for its "rich snippets." In our SEO programs, we tend to start with "long-tail" keywords, which are less competitive and more specific, since they tend to bring higher quality traffic and more qualified leads. We will also be working on "short-tail" keywords that are more competitive, but since rankings for those are slower to change, we like to show early success with long-tail keywords and build up from there.

The meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief summary of a web page. Search engines such as Google often display the meta description—typically up to 160 characters long—in search results where they can highly influence user click-through rates. These short paragraphs are a webmaster's opportunity to "advertise" content to searchers, and searchers' chance to decide whether the content is relevant and contains the information they're seeking from their search query. A page's meta description should intelligently employ the keywords that page is targeting, but also create a compelling description that a searcher will want to click. It should be directly relevant to the page it describes, and unique from the descriptions for other pages. Meta descriptions can impact a page's CTR (click-through-rate) on Google which can positively impact a page's ability to rank. For that reason, among others, it's important to be sure you use meta descriptions.

In order to add meta descriptions to your Wix pages: Log in to your Editor Click on the 'Menu' buton on the left side of the Editor Select the page you would like to add a meta description to (hint - you should have one for each of your pages) and click on the three dots towards the right. Click on the "SEO (Google)" tab. Enter your meta description in the description box. Don't forget to create meta titles for your pages, too! Generally speaking, the best format for meta titles is: Main Keyword for the Selected Page | Business Location | Business Name

Meta Keywords are a meta tag with a list of keywords, placed on each page of your website defining the keywords that are important for that particular page. This meta tag was used to help rank pages appropriately but they became so flooded with keyword stuffing that Google has since completely stopped looking at them. Keyword stuffing is a type of Black Hat SEO practice in which website owners would type dozens or even hundreds of ‘keywords’ so that they could target a wider range of traffic and ‘pirate’ traffic from more popular pages. This became a problem as many times the keywords weren’t even relevant to the page at hand, and visitors would come to the page to find that it wasn’t at all what they were looking for. To eliminate this inaccuracy and frustration stemming from meta keyword tag stuffing, Google completely devalued them and created different algorithyms to determine the best way to rank pages. So where does Google look for keywords? Meta Titles, Headings, and in your pages’ written content.

In short - YES! Why? Google’s website rankings tend to favor those with nformative content that is regularly kept up to date. Adding a new blog entry daily, weekly or monthly will let your audience and the search engine know that your website is current and can be seen as an authority of knowledge in your industry! Blogs are also a great place to work in niche keywords that don’t seem to fit in anywhere on the main pages of your site, but can be of great value in order to connect a specific target audience to your business.

Create an engaging, keyword-focused title Take time to think through the title as it is the most important place to put the main keyword your article is about - make sure it is a keyword people are searching frequently! Then, try to break up your blog post with subheaders (also with keywords for the upcoming section of text). Use as much detail as possible without being repetitive You want to utitlize your keywords naturally rather than just stuffing them in wherever you can. Also, be sure to use different variants of each keyword throughout your writing. For example if you are writing an article about how to optimize your Wix website for search engines, mix in keywords such as: Wix SEO, SEO for Wix, search engine optimization on Wix, optimizing your website on Wix, how to perform SEO on Wix, etc. Choose the right keywords It is not easy to pick all the right keywords for blogging! One of our favorite keyword finding tools is Ubersuggest. Check it out: Type in a keyword you think may work and you'll get rounded monthly search result data, how competitive it is, how much CPC is for them, etc. and you can click on Keyword Ideas tab on the left to get some more ideas. Try different variations of your keyword to see which gets better results. For example, 'houses for sale' gets almost TWICE as many hits at 'homes for sale' - whodda thought?? You may be surprised with some of the results. Use this tool to enter full domains and analyze yours or your competitors websites. See what keywords you are already ranking for and what position they are in - any that are landing in that 11-30 position are opportunity keywords to work on. Also take the time to see what keywords your competitors are leveraging so you can find even more opportunities - where are their efforts lacking that you can take advantage of? Blog about these topics! Ensure your blog content is easy to read Think about it - most people that land on a page with huge chunks of text that are not broken up in a logical fashion are NOT going to read it. Your blog needs to be easy to scan and read. Here are a few easy tips for blog read-ability: Use those keyword rich subheaders to break up your content. Create short paragraphs - about 3-5 sentences each. Use bucket brigades (https://ndcfullcircle.com/bucket-brigades/) to keep your user reading. Use internal linking to guide users to other, relevant pages on your site - this will keep them engaged with your site longer! Mix up the content type - Be sure to include at least one photo (and don’t forget your keyword rich alt text!), try to add a numbered or bulleted list and use a supporting infographic or video, if you can! The more variety of the type of content you provide, the better value your blog will give as long as it is informative, relevant and accurate. Finish off your blog post with a Call to Action so your users know where to go next - whether it be to read more, leave a comment, or to contact you!

A call to action (also called CTA for short) is a button, link or section on your webite or other marketing material, that is designed to inspire your reader to take an action. This marketing strategy is used to create a response from your target market in order to capture leads, get your visitors in touch with you or create sales. It may seem uneccesary, bothersome or excessive to create ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Get Your Free Estimate’ links but it is vital to direct your visitors on what action to take to guide them to the next step of your sales funnel. A great way to help encourage users to click is to create a sense of urgency by supplementing your ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Register Here’ button with ‘offer ends soon’ or ‘sign up by _________(<- enter date here) to receive this special offer’. It is important to make it as easy and obvious as possible for your potential customers to become your paying customers.

If you are a brick and mortar business or offer services in a specific area, it is extremely beneficial to set up a Google My Business (also known as GMB) account and add all your business details and some photos! Google uses this as a tool to get to know your business better, rank it properly, and give you more domain authority. Google uses this detailed information about your business to show your website invariety of very important, high visibility places. Some of these places include: Google Maps Google’s “Local 3-Pack” Google Knowledge Graph (this is the box to the right of search engine results that gives details about a relevant business) Here is a great blog that will teach you how to create a Google My Business account, how to use it, and what it has to offer!

FAQ pages are a great way to bring in more traffic to your site! Think about it - how many times have to gone to Google to have a question answered? You are not alone! So, why not answer some of these questions on your site? When constructing your FAQ page, get creative! Instead of answering questions specifically about your business (What are your business hours?, What is your shipping policy?) work on creating questions that are topical to your business. Here are a few examples: For a Dance Studio: Are dance classes good exercise? For a Roofing Business: What are signs that my roof needs to be replaced? For a Business Coach: What should I know before I startup a business? For a Veterinary Hospital: What are the best foods to feed my cat/dog/etc? To get started with questions, think outside your 'expert shoes' - what kind of questions would you ask Google if you had limited knowledge of your business? What are questions that people generally ask you about your occupation or business? Answering these types of questions will pull in a wider audience of traffic and get people reading and learning on your website. This will increase your user time spent on site > decrease your bounce rate > increase your rankings & increase your domain authority!

That’s right - it is now possible to rank ABOVE the coveted #1 position in Google by optimizing your site for position zero, also known as featured snippets. Featured snippets are an organic search feature that now take significant search traffic from the search results below them, making it more important than ever to optimize for them. Since Google’s understanding of user intent is becoming increasingly accurate, featured snippets are Google's attempt to answer the query right on the search results page so they don't have to search the actual results. Featured snippets show up above the #1 ranked spot, and typically appear above the fold (the part of the webpage that shows before a user scrolls). Google pulls snippet answers from pages that rank on Page 1 of the results for that query (spots #1 through #10) - but the page that wins the featured snippet isn't necessarily the #1 result. Google picks the excerpt from the page that best answers the query in a simple, concise format . This leaves the door wide open for content that isn't in the #1 spot to appear ABOVE the #1 spot.

404 errors, and your server’s default 404 page, are generally ugly, unbranded and don’t provide any information beyond a generic "error has occurred" message. As such, they can drag down the overall marketing performance of your website. 404 errors can be frustrating for users, so the main purpose of a 404 page is to turn the potential negative user experience of encountering an error into a positive one. The key to this is links. Links on 404 pages are so important because they give users a way out of the error page. Instead of closing the window or navigating away from your site, the user is able to find helpful and potentially relevant resources on another page. Creating a custom 404 page with helpful links will: Reduce bounce rate and keep users on your website Keep people engaged with your site and moving through your sales process Leave them with a good feeling after a positive resolution to their 404 problem Maintain consistent branding across your site How to create a custom 404 page in Wix: Create a new page for your Wix website titled "error404" Ensure the URL extension is /error404 Design your custom 404 page! Include your logo or business name and link(s) to important page(s) on your site, usually including your Home page.

Before your content can rank, it needs links. Google finds your posts and pages best when they’re linked to from somewhere on the web. Internal links also connect your content and give Google an idea of the structure of your website. They can establish a hierarchy on your site, allowing you to give the most important pages and posts more link value than other, less valuable, pages. So using the right internal linking strategy can boost your SEO! It’s crucial for your site’s SEO to evaluate and improve internal linking strategy on a regular basis. By adding the right internal links you make sure Google understands: The relevance of pages The relationship between pages The value of pages

Structured data (or JSON-LD, as it’s also known), is a special type of website metadata that Google uses to display rich snippets at the top of search results. Structured data is on-page markup that enables search engines to better understand the information currently on your business’s web page, and then use this information to improve your business’s search results listing. Structured data is valuable because it gives Google and other search engines data in the format their AI can most easily understand. This dramatically improves your likelihood of being featured in search results since Google has more confidence that what’s listed is accurate and up to date. So, what exactly does structured data look like in search engine listings? You see structured data in action when Google features a company’s logo and social media links, 1-5 review star ratings, or quick access to customer service or online ordering. If you’ve ever asked Google for a recipe or to check a fact, those results are likely taken from structured data, too. Structured data can be used for how-to guides, FAQ’s, recipes, products, events, and more. If your website is not using structured data as a part of your SEO strategy, then your business is missing out on an important opportunity to rank higher in SERP.

In order to add structured data to your Wix website: Log in to your Editor Click on the 'Menu' buton on the left side of the Editor Select the page you would like to add a meta description to (hint - you should have one for each of your pages) and click on the three dots towards the right. Click on the "Advanced SEO" tab. Enter your structured data (JSON-LD) coding

SEO is a continuous process and is always changing and evolving along with search engine algorithms. It is pertinent to stay on top of trends and changes in the industry in order to always be on top. Take the time to read, read, read to learn all about how SEO works! Some of our favorite resources for SEO information are: Neil Patel - Neil Patel Blog Brian Dean - Backlinko Blog Impact BND - Impact Blog Wix SEO Guide - Official SEO Guide from Wix There are also tons or free (and premium) SEO tools out there for you to use. If you haven’t already, I would firstly recommend you set up a Google Analytics and Google Console account in order to track your users, audience, growth, bounce rate, referrals, etc. To connect your Wix website to Google Console: Go to SEO > Get Found on Google > Connect to Google To connect your Wix website to Google Analytics: Create an Analytics account, add your website, place tracking code (UA-#######) into Wix under Advanced Settings > Tracking & Analytics