How to Do SEO on a Single-Page Website? 9 Steps

What are Single Page Websites?

Single page websites are, as their name indicates, websites that have only one HTML page. In practice, this means that the entire content, i.e. the presence of a product or service, contact information, or the “About us” section, is placed on that one page. These types of websites typically have a long-scrolling layout. One page websites are mostly focused on a simple message, minimalist content, and the use of creative concepts.

Pros and Cons of One Page Websites

Can a one-page website be a good solution for you? As it turns out, yes! This choice really has many advantages, and which ones exactly?

The main pros of one-page are:

• easy and convenient scrolling – linear user experience,
• attractive layout (mostly!),
• possibility of quick presentation of the offer: service or main product,
• suitability for both desktops and mobile devices,
• high user engagement and conversion rates,
• The possibility of effective use of call-to-action (CTA).

All of the pros I listed above are really great and can contribute to a huge success, however, you should keep in mind that single page websites also have many pitfalls that need special attention. These are, above all:

• • risk of slow website loading,
  • difficulties in the arrangement of all important information (no scalability),
  • problematic analysis of web traffic,
  • challenging indexing,
  • limited content marketing strategies.

One-Page Website SEO. 9 Steps

As I mentioned before, one-page websites require the implementation of slightly different SEO strategies than regular website SEO. And here are the things you need to take special care of:

1. Improve Website Speed

This is an element that you should definitely think about when optimizing any type of website, however, in the case of a single page website, the fast loading time is especially critical. Why is that? On this one page, you probably have many different sections and design elements, which can considerably affect their loading time. Remember that this aspect has an impact on user experience and is one of the Google ranking factors. So if your single-page website is too heavy, you should optimize it as soon as possible.

If you want to discover more on how to make website speed faster, don’t hesitate to check out my blog post about it!

2. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly

If you want to have your one-page website, you need to remember that it must be responsive, i.e. it should automatically adjust to the size of the screen and work properly on different types of devices: desktops, mobiles, and tablets. I have noticed, based also on the experience of working with our clients, that one-page websites are quite often chosen as a solution to promote mobile applications where there is only one main page with external links to App Store or Google Play. In this case, mobile-friendliness can’t be neglected!

Mobile traffic is growing in power, and it is estimated that this trend will continue. I recommend you to check my mobile SEO guide, from which you will learn how to optimize your single-page website for mobile devices.

3. Conduct Throughout Keyword Research

Right from the stage of keyword research for one-page websites SEO is becoming much more challenging than with regular site SEO… And here’s why! When it comes to the one-page website, you have limited space, so you need to conduct keyword research really thoughtfully. You should choose only the very best keywords that have the greatest potential to generate web traffic and increase visibility in the search results – unfortunately, you won’t be able to put all the keywords you want on one page.

Useful tips for keyword research of one-page websites:

• select keywords with high search volume,
• don’t select too many keywords for a single page – Google may consider this as manipulation and penalize it,
• do keyword mapping.

4. Divide Your Content into Separate Sections

Even though your website has only one page, there is nothing to stop you from creating an appropriate website structure that will present your content in a more clear and well-organized form.

Your website surely already has a certain structure – you probably have a menu first, then the content for your main product or service, and at the very end your contact details. So if you want to indicate to Google and users the organization of your content, it’s best to do it with DIVs and anchor links.

So how it should be done? First of all, you should identify which sections you want to separate on your site and name each of them properly. It is best to use a keyword that describes the section well. Then give each of these sections (DIV) an ID (with a keyword, of course). It should look like this:

Then you can add the link:

Once you click on the link, you will be automatically redirected to another section of your one-page website. As you can see here, the URL, to which the hashtag is added before the ID of a given section, also changes.

5. Add Multiple H1 Headings

Yes, I know, you were always told that each page should have only one H1 heading, never more. With one-page websites, the situation is slightly different. Here I recommend you add one H1 heading to each section… Why? Because multiple H1 headings clearly indicate that the content on your page is divided into separate sections. Thanks to this solution the division of your website is more legible for both users and Google crawlers.

6. Optimize Your Title Tag and Meta Description

Title Tag

As you probably already know, the title tag has a huge impact on SEO – you should optimize it so that it contains the most important keywords with the greatest potential. Make good use of the potential that the title tag gives, especially if you only have one page.

Remember that a well-optimized title tag for a single page website should:

• contain 60-70 characters with spaces,
• includes the name of your brand,
• be optimized using the most important keywords, preferably with a high search volume (remember that all words used in the title tag should also appear in the content).

Meta Description

Meta description, as well as the title tag, also appears in the search results, making it one of the first factors deciding whether a user will choose your website.

The perfect meta description for a single page website should contain:

• about 150-160 characters,
• keywords (although in meta description they are less important for SEO than in title tag),
• a catchy call-to-action to increase CTR.

7. Create Top-Notch Content

Content is king, so you have to take good care of it, which in the case of a one-page website is even more important as you have limited space for your content. Note that with a regular website you could also create separate pages or a blog and post-state-of-art content there, unfortunately, you don’t have such an option here.

What rules you must follow when creating content for a one-page website?

• keep it fresh and always up-to-date – make regular changes in the content,
• adjust content to your sections,
• be concise and straight to the point – place all the most important information,
• make it legible and visually appealing – remember about proper text formatting.

8. Don’t Neglect Off-Site SEO

Link building is an effective SEO strategy for all sites, but its importance is even stronger for sites with little content, exactly like single page websites. You have really limited opportunities when it comes to on-site optimization, so if you really want to rank high in the search results, link building may be a hit. There are many ways to get great valuable links, I recommend you in particular social media profiles, bookmarking sites, sponsored articles, or industry-related forums. A good way to gain links is also to start cooperation with other companies, so you can gain brand mentions and recommendations.

9. Analyze Traffic

If you have a large website with hundreds of pages, then even if one page is not performing and loses traffic, you can still gain traffic from others. This is not a lost cause then! In the case of a one-page website you can’t make up for losses so easily, so you have to constantly monitor if the traffic doesn’t drop. You have a really small website, so take advantage of all the possibilities that Google Analytics and Google Search Console give you.

Conclusions

One page website is very limited for SEO: you can’t use too many keywords, you only have one canonical link and one page that you wish to rank high in the search results. And yes, I admit that SEO for single-page websites is much more challenging, however… it is not impossible! You must keep in mind that SEO strategies that have made a great job of regular websites may be worth nothing here.

Are you looking for a reliable SEO agency that will help you increase the visibility of your one-page website in the search results and eventually also boost web traffic? Contact us – with our professional and transparent SEO activities your website will gain a huge success in Google.