SEO for Single Page Applications (SPAs): Best Practices for Better Rankings

Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix—what do these apps have in common? Yes, they are social media apps, but there is something more. Ever wonder how these web apps allow you to scroll endlessly and continuously see new content? That’s where a single-page application comes in. 

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It is a highly interactive form of webpage that adapts to user inputs and offers a seamless user experience. Even though it has its perks, single page application and SEO don’t sit well together. Despite that, these dynamic platforms have to be discoverable by search engines. The process to implement that can be challenging compared to the traditional crawling mechanisms of search engines.

Let’s learn about single page application SEO, coupled with discovering its complexity and understanding the right set of SEO strategies that can be implemented on it. 

How challenging is SEO for single page applications?

One of the main highlights of single-page websites is that they are highly interactive. However, the key factor where SPAs shine is that they don’t stick to the traditional way of loading entire new pages; rather, the page is dynamically rewritten with new content from the web server upon user request. This creates an illusion of an endless webpage. 

What’s more, only the requested part of the page gets refreshed while the other parts stay the same. If that is so, then how is SEO in single page application challenging? Among the main causes of that is JavaScript. In the early days, static HTML webpages were crawled and indexed by the majority of search engine crawlers. Once JavaScript gained popularity, search engines like Google began adding features to interpret JavaScript pages. However, the content is indexed in the second pass following the first crawl. 

Because SEO single-page applications are JavaScript websites that dynamically retrieve content, this is accurate. Prior to execution, the client must retrieve the data from the server. If not, the crawler can’t index them as it sees a blank page on the first pass. The following section lists some additional SEO problems that single-page applications can cause.

Single page application seo issues

Even though JavaScript is a problem for SPAs, they aren’t the only ones; there are more. Let’s explore some of the other issues that arise between single-page applications and SEO.

Crawling issues

As explained in the previous section, crawling is an issue with dynamic websites and web applications such as single-page applications. If you thought that search engines rank entire websites, they don’t. Instead, they rank the individual pages. The keywords are placed strategically in the pages to get the desired ranking for the page. SPAs, however, are a single website that contains all of the pages. It becomes more difficult to rank for various keywords as a result.

Slow Page Load Times

Another issue with SEO single-page application have a complicated URL structure that makes it harder to implement a proper SEO strategy. Unlike static websites, which have individual page URLs, single-page applications have only one URL and leverage JavaScript to update content dynamically. Crawling, indexing, and ultimately SEO problems result from this.

Tips to implement SEO for single page applications

Understanding the issues is half the battle won. The next half is mastering the tips to properly implement SEO for (SPA) single page applications. We have listed some of them below, which you can consider for your web application.

Switch to Server-side rendering

The method by which the server renders webpages in response to a client request is known as server-side rendering. This method’s primary benefit is its ability to efficiently crawl and index webpages. When the page is generated at the server in the initial request, the crawlers view the fully rendered page and can index it without waiting for JavaScript execution. 

Read to learn more about server-side rendering and client-side rendering.

Establish a clear hierarchy

JavaScript and dynamic routing are primarily used by single-page apps to display content. Therefore, they don’t have a clear architecture. Search engines become confused by this, making it more difficult to comprehend the structure of the website. It is, therefore, important to implement an on-page hierarchy for your web content. This should include an H1 for the main heading, followed by H2s & H3s for subheadings.

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As shown in the image above, implementing proper heading tags makes navigation easier for users and allows search engines to scan the page. Thus, this tactic is useful for improving single page application SEO.

Improve meta titles & descriptions

If you are facing problems with SEO in single page application, it can be resolved by optimising the titles and meta descriptions of the webpages. SPAs load content dynamically rather than reloading the entire webpage. It is therefore crucial that each view in the single-page application must have a unique title and description. This helps search engines understand the context of each page and improves click-through rates by providing clear, compelling summaries in search results.

Enable feature detection

Improved SEO for (SPA) single page applications can be achieved through feature detection. Being highly recommended by Google, this technique involves the concept of progressive enhancement by ensuring core content accessibility for search engine crawlers and users with varying browser capabilities.

This means that creating a website where search engines and users always receive a core, readable HTML version of the page first. Then, using JavaScript, the application checks the user’s browser capabilities and progressively enhances the experience with dynamic features and interactivity only if the browser supports them.

Utilise lazy loading

Lazy loading resources below the fold is one of the best ways of enhancing SEO single page application as it loads content, such as images or other elements, only when the user scrolls down. This results in improved page loading speed for SPAs where it is possible to pack in a large amount of content at once.

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The SPA Evolution: What’s next?

Single-page applications have transformed the web development sector to unprecedented heights. The early days of static page reloads are now being switched to smooth web app experiences. SPAs aren’t showing any signs of slowing down, and their future looks promising. There are options such as low code and no code app development platforms, which can speed up the SPA development process by building pre-built components through minimal or no hand-coding.

For example, if you are an entrepreneur, it is possible to create ecommerce app without coding through this approach. As the web sector evolves, this raises several questions about future trends. One of them, for instance is, will PWA replace native apps in the long run? That’s a valid question considering the fact that most progressive web apps share many characteristics with SPAs, such as offering a rich, app-like experience within the browser. Even native apps have their unique set of advantages. Therefore, rather than a replacement, both concepts would evolve into a more nuanced coexistence.

Winding Up

Despite the perks offered, there are issues when it comes to single page application SEO. Understanding the unique challenges posed by their dynamic, JavaScript-driven nature is essential, as it helps SEO professionals implement the right strategies described in this article. If done correctly, it does improve the situation by achieving strong search engine visibility. 

Navigating the complexities of SPAs requires professional technical expertise, which is something that GTECH Information Technology consistently delivers. We provide specialized web development services and SEO strategies that ensure your dynamic website offers exceptional user experiences and achieves higher rankings. If you want to build a customised SPA or optimise an existing one, we’ll help you get started.