Webflow SEO: Is Webflow Good For SEO (+ Best Practices)

Webflow sites are generally fast and pass core web vitals, which is great for SEO. But there are some things you need to master (e.g., on-page SEO) to gain overall SEO success, no matter how extensive Webflow's SEO capabilities are.

And here is an overview of how our Webflow website stacks in terms of site health (i.e., level of user-friendliness) which results in better SEO results.

This surely gives you a short (positive) answer to the question—“Is Webflow good for SEO?”—but it also raises other questions we’ll address in the following sections.

In this post, you’ll learn how to craft an effective Webflow SEO strategy to run and maintain a high-quality website and reach that #1 spot on Google.

Highlights

• With fast Webflow speed, visitors are less inclined to exit a site after viewing a web page.
• Basic on-page SEO features include image alt tags, meta tags and descriptions.
• Webflow enables precise control over technical SEO with its streamlined code and it allows users to make direct edits to HTML and CSS.
• Webflow SEO limits include the maximum static pages per plan, limited third-party SEO plugin support, and restricted server control.

What is Webflow SEO?

Webflow SEO is exactly how it sounds - it refers to all SEO functionalities within this “no-code” or “low-code” development platform (what web developers prefer to call it).

It’s the process that involves implementing different SEO techniques, such as adding, creating or optimizing website's loading speed, descriptive URLs, schema markup, meta tags, backlinks, etc.

Now, let’s see why Webflow is important for businesses before we provide you with a detailed SEO checklist for each of the aforementioned SEO factors.

Why Webflow SEO is Important for Businesses?

Webflow SEO is vital for businesses because it increases website visibility (i.e., business authority) making it easier for customers to discover Webflow sites and the associated products or services.

It includes various SEO strategies that boost organic performance and contribute to a technical SEO health score.

SEO Checklists for Using Webflow

There are three main types of SEO and for each, we provided an extensive guide to help you improve your rankings.

Let’s dive in.

6-Step Plan to Implement Your On-Page Webflow SEO Strategy

SEO-optimized content, HTML elements, meta tags, URL optimization, image optimization and internal links are essential factors to consider when improving your on-page SEO strategy.

Let’s start.

1. SEO Content: Create or Edit Content that is Relevant to Users’ Needs

According to the recent new SemRush study, content relevancy (i.e., content that meets readers' needs) and quality (i.e., people-first content that provides helpful information) are the strongest factors in terms of higher rankings.

If you fail to provide your audience with originality and substantial value, you're more likely to lose the opportunity to establish a well-trusted and widely-recognized authority in your niche.

Some facets of content strategy involve:

• Focusing on search intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional) during both the research and writing phase

For example, if you search for “webflow seo”, you want to learn something new about the Webflow platform and whether is it possible to optimize the Webflow website to rank higher. That means that the intent for this specific search is informational.

Therefore, you should focus on creating content that will provide useful information on whether Webflow offers a certain amount of SEO functionality or not. It would also be useful to provide a Webflow SEO checklist and its limitations and even explain what sets this website builder apart from its competitors.

Basically, you want to write an SEO guide for Webflow.

There are also some content elements you should focus on. In other words, you must ensure that all formatting elements (e.g., tables, images, lists etc.) are used properly to improve UX and search rankings.

As Search Engine Journal reports, a scannable article is a readable article, and a readable article is one that’s more likely to perform well in the search engines.

This demonstrates how to approach Webflow blogging. But no matter if you're building a site from scratch or reevaluating existing content, you must demonstrate that you have first-hand experience with the topic (products or services) you are providing.

And create useful content for your readers (users).

So, anytime you’re crafting content, think about search intent.

2. HTML Elements: Create or Edit Heading and Subheading Tags

HTML elements (i.e., headings and subheadings) are important for higher rankings.

An HTML element contains a start tag, some content, and an end tag. W3Schools

Webflow enables content writers and editors to create, add, or edit header tags without requiring any coding skills. Simply drag and drop a heading asset directly onto your web page and choose the heading type (H2s always fall under H1; H3s fall under H2s, etc.).

Adding the heading system hierarchy is one thing, but optimizing it is another.

The once-famous SEO practice of including exact matches in the title or meta description for higher keyword rankings is now overlooked.

But the practice of including similar keywords (i.e., those that are similar to the main keyword) in the header tags still plays a crucial role. In a way that it sounds natural, of course.

Here is an example of some of the related keywords for the seed keyword - “webflow seo”. And SemRush provided 122 keywords related to our main keyword. It's just a fact pointing out why we included only a small part of the whole list.

In conclusion, this provides insight into search intent, meaning that you can better craft content and improve heading structure.

That’s how we included “webflow vs wordpress” in the heading below (plus it commands a pretty good search volume compared to others).

3. Meta Tags: Create or Edit Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Meta tags refer to title tags and meta descriptions and should directly impact the number of click-through rates. This implies that users are more inclined to click on a link after reading the content.

Clearly defined meta titles and tags will help Google determine whether your page is relevant enough to show up in the top 10 search results.

And adding SEO titles and meta descriptions through dynamic SEO settings in Webflow is easy. For example, the search results preview builds itself simultaneously as you are typing the text in the title tag field.

In terms of meta descriptions, you can combine fields and apply custom text, such as “created on”, “updated on” and so on.

Typically, we leave only the meta description field, which will automatically pull textual content from CMS.

However, we've included the "Meta Description" and "Published On" fields in this example to demonstrate this Webflow’s functionality. As a result, this allows you to preview how everything appears in the Search Results.

Semrush recommends to keep meta descriptions under 105 characters and title tag under 60 characters.

Overall, meta tags are easy to add to Webflow and should be descriptive, catchy, and relevant to users' needs.

4. URL Optimization: Create or Edit URL Slug

Webflow allows you to create custom URLs to help you increase your chances of appearing on the first page of search results.

We found that higher-ranking pages tend to include relevant terms in the URL more frequently than lower-ranking pages. SemRush

Using Webflow, you can generate well-optimized slugs, but you can also do it manually. Whatever the case might be, make sure to check it before it goes live. In simple terms, check if your URL is clear and relevant to the meaning of your page.

5. Image SEO: Create or Edit Alt Image Tags

Images are more likely to appear at the top of the SERP if they are well-optimized.

Usually, this depends on alt tags (i.e., alt text) that need to be descriptive enough. And it also depends on building responsive images that affect page loading speed.

Here is an example of the search results for “greek gods”.

So, how do you optimize an image in Webflow?

There are two key points:

1. To start, images uploaded through the asset panel in Webflow can be efficiently compressed within the platform itself.
2. For images integrated into the Webflow CMS, it's recommended to optimize them using TinyPNG to ensure optimal performance and loading speeds.

Here's a brief overview of images optimized using TinyPNG:

A screenshot showcasing WebP image variant and JPEG original image optimized using TinyPNG.

So, WebP image variant loads 95% faster than the JPEG original image.

Now, here are the best practices for optimizing images in Webflow:

1. First step: Click on the 'Assets Panel'

1. Second step: Click on 'Expand Assets Panel' and 'Select All' (Note: You will not be able to select SVG format.)

1. Third step: Simply click on 'Compress' and you're done

The Webflow team developed in-house tools to generate responsive image variants automatically. These variants are created upon uploading compatible images, ensuring visitors never experience delays.

We've automated the time-consuming process of generating image variants, measuring sizes, and writing code so you can focus on design. The Webflow team

Now, let’s see how to write helpful alt text.

In the Assets panel, you can find the image that needs alt text.

Next, type your clear description (under 125 characters) into the blank field.

If the image is a complex chart, diagram, or illustration, make sure the image supports your content and helps to reinforce your message in an easy-to-read manner.

6. Internal links: Create or Edit Internal Links

Internal links direct to various pages within a website. They are extremely important for SEO, and Google loves them. An example of a great strategy that is beneficial for search engine discovery of various blog pages is keyword clustering.

Imagine you want to learn something about internal linking.

Logically, you'll search for "internal linking" or "internal linking best practices". And Google will display similar search results, such as "internal linking tool ", "internal linking and external linking" or "types of internal links".

This gives you a better idea of how to structure your blog posts and connect them through linking. So, you can craft a best-off page focused on link-building tools or provide comparative overviews of internal and external linking and so on.

Then, you can interlink one blog with another.

Here is how.

1. Blog: The Best Link Building Tools: Enhance Your Page Rankings

1. Blog: Internal and External Links: A Comprehensive Analysis

You can generate keyword clusters by using the SemRush Keyword Manager tool. And here's a quick tip for those with a substantial number of blog posts who still need to delve into keyword clustering.

Type site:[site.com] "[the main keyword]" into Google. The next step is to link them.

Here is an example that showcases the Zapier site.

Now that you know the basics of internal links, be confident that adding them is straightforward in the Webflow editor.

Choose the text you wish to convert into a link element, and you will immediately get the option to choose between external and internal link type.

So, we've chosen an internal external link; here you can see what it looks like.

The next step is to choose whether you want it to open in a new tab or not. And you can also choose the “rel=text” attribute. There are different tags, such as rel="sponsored", rel="ugc".

Remember that Googlebot does not follow links with the “rel=nofollow” attribute.

For internal links, on the other hand, a dropdown window offers options to select the desired web pages (you want to link to).

You also have the option to manage links directly from the Webflow Editor.

A 3-Step Plan to Implement Your Off-Page Webflow SEO Strategy

Off-page SEO strategy involves working on factors outside of your website, including backlinks, social media engagement, and customer reviews.

Let’s see how.

1. Backlinks

A consistent link-building strategy is crucial, but auditing your backlink health is equally important.

Here’s the way to handle both:

• Investigate the quality of your existing backlinks: Check for the authority score and create a plan to eliminate suspicious links that could negatively affect your rankings. You must connect your Google Search Console with SemRush (if you have it) and find highly toxic links with low authority scores in the Backlink Audit Tool.

• The next step is to move those links to the list and reach out to the site owners through email, asking them to remove the link manually. If they fail to move the list, there is an option to take advantage of the Disavow list and move all the sites you don’t want to link to your Webflow site.
• Improve the anchor texts by choosing the right keywords: The clickable text in a hyperlink must provide clear, descriptive and concise content about the content users will encounter upon clicking on a link.
• You must avoid generic text, such as "explore here," "follow this link," "read more," etc. The most descriptive way to explain the linked page is to use keywords that sound natural.
• Implement a comprehensive link-building outreach strategy: To establish genuine relationships with your customers, you must search for and reach out to authoritative websites within your niche.

This process is challenging but can directly affect your referring domains, which is essential for SEO Webflow score.

Adaptify SEO, for example, is a popular analytics application that helps you automatically build backlinks and high-ranking content and provides a personalized outreach strategy.

2. Social Media

Social media marketing is one of the most powerful components of digital marketing that helps you generate leads through social media platforms relevant to your business.

But how do you connect your social media platform to Webflow?

The steps for integrating social media icons using the left toolbar will be followed by dragging them into your design.

1. From your left toolbar click the “add button” and find the platform you want to add.

1. Drag it and drop it into your design and connect your social media platform’s URL, customize the layout and size, and specify the platform’s button locale.

3. Customer Reviews

Since authority is key in higher rankings, it is vital to create content that  attracts links and mentions, as well as to encourage customers to leave reviews on high-authority sites.

Platforms like TrustPilot and Clutch offer the best visibility for design agency reviews.

A 4-Step Plan to Implement Your Technical Webflow SEO Strategy

It’s time to discover why Webflow excels in technical SEO.

Here, you’ll learn how to create a website with a seamless mobile experience, how to optimize your hreflang tags for best performance, how to make it easier for Google’s web crawler to find your web pages, and why page speed is important.

1. Mobile Friendliness

With mobile-first indexing, Google prioritizes mobile-optimized websites in Webflow. This means that the websites must fit into smaller screens.

To optimize your Webflow website for mobile responsiveness, you can take advantage of its built-in responsive grid system, specific breakpoints and image optimization features.

Here is how Webflow’s grid system works.

This grid system example is optimized for desktop viewing. It features one row and five columns, offering high levels of customization. This gives you more control over your design (e.g., both vertical and horizontal aspects of your layout)

The following grid system example is tailored for tablet viewing, with two rows and six columns. The first and second items occupy three columns each, while the remaining three spans two columns.

In our final example, optimized for mobile viewing, the grid system consists of a single column. And rows are automatically generated by Webflow.

Finally, here is an example of mobile web design:

2. Hreflags and Canonical Tags

Hreflang (HTML attribute) specifies the language and geographic targeting of a webpage, allowing search engines, like Google, to identify pages intended for different languages and geo-locations.

It is used when a website has multiple versions of the same page in various languages. The practice of creating hreflags in Webflow ensures search engines index pages easily and help relevant international websites grow at scale.

In order to optimize your hreflang tags for best performance, each page needs to be linked to one another with alternate tags.

Here are the results when hreflang tags work properly:

Here is an example of the hreflags tag for the France location.

And here is a visual example of what the hreflags look like:

In conclusion, each page should contain an hreflang tag linking to itself, another hreflang tag linking to all alternative language versions of the same page, and a default hreflang tag linking to a page in the default language.

3. Indexability and Crawlability

Crawlability refers to the search engine’s progress in finding and accessing a web page and crawling its content that matches a web search.

Indexability is the following process and it is determined by the analysis and final search engine’s decision—to add the content it crawls—to Google’s index (database).

So, what are the factors that make it easier for Google’s web crawler to find the website's pages?

• SEO-friendly site architecture: A well-structured website follows a clear and organized navigation path for users, where the main page leads to categories, each category contains subcategories, and subcategories further include sub-subcategories.

Here is an example:

• Robots.txt: Web developers craft robots.txt files to control search engine interactions with websites, dictating which pages should or shouldn't be crawled. This helps Googlebot to crawl pages that have value.
• XML sitemaps: XML sitemaps refer to a file that includes all website pages in a hierarchical order to help search engines determine what pages to crawl and index first. Submitting this XML to search engines in Webflow is easy. Check our Webflow review to learn how to create a sitemap in Webflow.

• Structured data markup: In Webflow, structured data markup can be added using custom code or by utilizing built-in features and integrations. By incorporating structured data markup into the Webflow platform, you can provide search engines with valuable information such as business information, product details, article metadata, and improve overall SEO performance.

4. Page Speed

Webflow provides users with lazy load images by default, pre-renders the pages that users are likely to visit, and offers a set of font loading options to load them faster on your pages.

Some elements that usually affect the website’s speed are images, videos, HTML code, CSS and Javascript etc.

To delve deeper into the benefits of Webflow, read our article about pros and cons of Webflow.

How Does Webflow SEO Stand Out in Comparison to WordPress?

In the Webflow SEO vs WordPress debate, one thing is for sure—you're unlikely to be disappointed with whichever builder you choose.

Webflow vs WordPress

Webflow features SEO built-in tools, auto-generated and submitted sitemaps, clean code, responsive web design features, and faster load speeds.

On the other hand, WordPress offers an extensive set of SEO plugins (e.g., Yoast SEO) and robust e-commerce capabilities.

Regardless of the builder you choose, the key factor in achieving overall SEO success remains your commitment to learning SEO. However, both builders can be great for beginners starting their journey in SEO (and searching for tools for SEO optimization).

Webflow SEO limitations

Webflow SEO limitations include the maximum number of static pages allowed per plan, limited support for third-party SEO plugins, and restricted server control.

And if you're wondering, “Does page number affect SEO?” - Yes, it does.

For the Starter plan, the limit is set at 150 static pages per website project. This means that even medium corporate sites would need a more robust plan.

The CMS plan, for example, offers 2000 CMS items and each of them can represent a single page. That being said, Webflow SEO limitations can be seen only in the “Starter” (free) plan and “Basic”.

But there's also a positive aspect.

In terms of SEO plugin support, Webflow offers SEO plugin called Semflow.

This brings us to the next question.

What is Semflow?

Semflow is a pioneering Webflow SEO plugin that provides SEO guidance to help you rank higher on search engines.

You get AI-assisted SEO and a higher chance of eliminating site errors. This SEO plugin helps you with SEO workflow, and it’s really an amazing addition to Webflow that provides fast results.

So—Is Webflow SEO Friendly?

Yes, Webflow is SEO-friendly, especially in terms of technical SEO. It provides clean code—automatically generated as you edit the visual elements using Webflow Designer—that directly affects rankings.

And here is a quick recap of what we discussed.

First things first, technical Webflow SEO can help you maintain a mobile-responsive website, faster loading times, a clear sitemap, and an exceptional user experience (UX).

Secondly, this website builder has an easy-to-use interface that helps you find and optimize page titles, HTML tags, and other on-page factors. One major aspect of on-page SEO you should focus on is creating high-quality content relevant to users' needs.

But there is more.

Some other factors of on-page SEO that can directly affect you are trust and authority, conversion rates, organic traffic, SERP positions, and customer lifetime value.

Furthermore, Webflow is helpful in terms of off-page SEO. And all off-page SEO factors collectively impact users' decisions, bounce rate, the number of qualified leads, as well as click-through rate and retention rate.

I hope you found this guide useful in understanding why SEO is important for Webflow sites and how to implement different types of SEO strategies for higher rankings.

And for top-notch search engine optimization assistance, rely on our Webflow SEO agency.

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