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Single Page Websites: Are they bad for SEO?

Single page or one-page websites are websites that consist of just one HTML page and all the different sections of the site.  

Single page website looks gorgeous and fancy owing to the sleek design, animation in graphics, parallax effect & transitions. Being cost-effective, easy to design, and develop; made them popular a trend with a lot of businesses looking for a new website.

But does a Single page website impact your SEO? 

SEO for Single Page Websites


Here are a few reasons that highlight how a single page website structure impacts SEO performance.

1.     Limited Space for Content:

One of the biggest drawbacks of having a single page website is that it has limited space for content. While multi-page websites have the luxury of devoting a separate page for each piece of content, a single-page website doesn’t.

It is a known fact that content and SEO go hand-in-hand. The website’s content determines which keywords the pages on your website will rank for. With limited content, the search engine optimization (SEO)for the website definitely takes a back seat. 

2.     Fewer Keywords & Meta Data

Due to a lack of depth in the content, a single page website can target only a limited keyword for optimization. 

Additionally, a single page website allows you to have there is only one set of Meta title and description.Meta Information describe your page content to search engines and hence plays a key role in Search Engine Ranking Position (SERP).

With multiple page websites, you can have different pages that will rank for different keywords and search terms

3.     Longer Load Time

Since all the content and resources are located on a single page, the website can become heavy and will take a longer time to load than a multi-page website. Slow page speed not only leads to a bad user experience, but also pages with a longer load time tend to have higher bounce rates and lower average time on page. 

Google has indicated page speed is one of the signals used by its algorithm to rank pages. You can evaluate your website’s page speed too with Google’s PageSpeed Insights.

4. Lack of Links

Search engines favor sites with more links, both internal & external. Since it’s a single page website, there is zero opportunity to create internal links and due to lack of depth in content it becomes difficult to have external links.

5. Limited Analytics Data:

Single page websites are difficult to analyze using analytics tools. Since the navigations take you to a different part of the same page and URL, these tools cannot give you detailed insight on the user behaviour on the website.

Although this doesn’t directly affect the SEO performance, but it limits the understanding details like the performance of the content, bounce rate, exit parameters etc. Without proper analytics & user behaviour data it is becomes difficult to work on the website traffic strategy which also affects the SEO performance.

So why does one choose a Single Page website?

Apart from being aesthetically appealing, Single Page websites are useful & serve well for a lot of brands & businesses. Based on your business goals, the purpose of website, industry vertical & target audience you can decide the right website development approach for your brand.

In summary, it is very difficult to rank on the top with single page sites compared to multi-page websites. But, a good SEO Agency will find ways to enhance the SEO of a single page website too. 

Do you currently have a single or multi-page site for your company? Do let us know in the comments below.

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