Jamstack SEO Guide [First Half]

2 years ago, we set some goals and published this guide.

 

First of all, I wanted to rank high with the keyword "Jamstack SEO" (last year, we consistently ranked 1st and 2nd, so the keyword was successful). By the way, in the example at the end of the article, we explain the method. As for the SEO guide, it was a complete failure as expected. The reason will become clear if you read the entire guide.

 

Next, Jamstackers wanted to shed light on the often overlooked importance of SEO and understand the best practices that can be utilized for themselves and their clients. With over a thousand downloads of the article's PDF, this can also be considered a success.

 

2 years is a very long time, and a lot has changed in the world of SEO and Jamstack. In other words, by May 2021, there will be even more changes (which will be explained later). So, now is the perfect time to rewrite and update this guide, so that everyone can act in a timely manner.

 

Let's get started right away.

 

The first paragraph contains the main keyword within the first 100 words. Additionally, when viewing the page source code, it can be seen that the TITLE should be between 55-70 characters or 570 pixels (including spaces), and the meta DESCRIPTION should be between 120-160 characters, with a strong and descriptive CTA.

Just doing the above hint ↑ and this entire post does not necessarily mean that you are compatible with current SEO.

 

Still important, but SEO has evolved from simple keyword placement and optimization of TITLE and META description tags. There are at least hundreds (if not more) ranking factors that Google uses to rank pages. However, the exact importance and value of these factors in the ranking algorithm is not fully understood.

 

Not only that.

 

Intense competition, user experience, frequent algorithm updates, and a large number of new features in search results (only 2.4% of all Google search results do not include at least one SERP feature) have made SEO more complex than ever before. It goes without saying that there are high expectations from users.

 

Nowadays, in order to properly do SEO, you must think beyond just tags such as target keywords and titles. You also need to consider branding, audience behavior, search intent, user experience, backlinks, analytics, and competition. And starting from May 2021, page experience based on Core Web Vitals will also be required.

 

It is no longer enough to handle it only once.

 

And, traffic acquisition through SEO has also changed. For example, let's take a look at keywords with featured snippets. According to Ahrefs research data, featured snippets are displayed in 12.29% of search queries.

 

With such search queries, even if you rank first in organic search, the traffic and click-through rate will be lower compared to the same location query from a few years ago. Even if you acquire a featured snippet, it does not guarantee proper traffic.

 

Despite a decrease in website traffic from Google, it remains the number one source of traffic for most websites. This means that for developers and marketing consultants, delving deeper into SEO may become even more important than ever before.

 

In addition, having a Jamstack website can be incredibly helpful, even if it may seem unbelievable.

1. What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

The H2 tag is a tag for subtitles with slightly different keywords (often seen in articles) because there is a possibility that the big G will pick it up and display it in the "People Also Ask" box.

According to the Web Almanac, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing technical configuration, content relevance, and link popularity of a website to make information more easily accessible and increase relevance to meet user search needs.

 

Simply put, the purpose of SEO is to rank content high on search engines with targeted keywords and attract potential customers' attention. In fact, it accounts for 67.6% of clicks from search engine result pages, so we are aiming to place our content in the top 5 positions on the first page.

 

Google Search has a market share of 91.86% and is undoubtedly the leader in the global search engine market. Most articles introduce tips/tricks/tactics to improve rankings on Google, and this article is no exception.

As mentioned earlier, current SEO goes beyond page optimization and can be divided into two parts: technical SEO and content SEO.

 

Let's dive into best practices and see where it fits in Jamstack.

 

1-1 Technical SEO

 

Please check the source code. The HTML code for the image above will be displayed as follows.

 

    
      <img
         src="technical-seo.png"
         alt="Technical SEO is what helps your content play a central role in SEO."
       />
    
  

 

Keywords in image names and alt tags. The purpose here is to provide useful and informative content by considering the context of the keywords used and the content of the page/section. This will also ensure that your images appear in Google's image search for targeted keywords.

Technical SEO, which is a big theme in itself, is intended to play a central role. It focuses on improving the visibility of websites and providing a better web experience for users and search engines.

 

Basically, in technical SEO, we work on web performance, index creation, and crawlability.

 

1-2 Web Performance

The H3 for this subtitle, as well as Google and other search engines, use H tags to understand the structure of the text on the page. Since this topic is part of a larger topic, a separate H tag was needed to explain it to the crawler.

According to Wikipedia, web performance refers to the speed at which a web page is downloaded and displayed in a user's web browser.

 

Performance is a crucial aspect that web developers and SEO specialists work together on. Since 2016, when mobile internet usage surpassed desktop usage worldwide, speed has become an increasingly important ranking factor. Nowadays, having a fast-loading website is essential to improve the user's search experience. And because Google values user behavior highly, they have found a way to measure both UX and performance. This is known as Page Experience Signals and Core Web Vitals.

 

1-3 Page Experience

Page experience refers to a set of signals that measure how users feel about interactions with a web page, beyond its content. According to Google, the following signals are essential for providing a good page experience:

 

 

Mobile-Friendly: Adopting a responsive design that adjusts to the screen is not a flashy option for a website. It is necessary from both the user and search engine perspectives. Please use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test or check for any issues in Enhancements > Mobile Usability in Google Search Console.

 

With Google introducing the mobile-first index to all websites starting from March 2021, it has become necessary to ensure that our company's website not only displays perfectly on multiple screens, but also has a mobile version that is easily accessible and can be crawled and indexed by Googlebot.

 

Safe Browsing: It is extremely important to be able to browse websites safely. In that sense, please scan all website files, find and remove malicious software, and regularly update all parts of the website.

 

For WordPress users, it is important that WP core, plugins, and themes are regularly updated to address any known potential server security issues as quickly as possible.

 

To check for any safe browsing issues, it is best to check in the "Security Issues" section of Google Search Console.

 

Now, having a website created with Jamstack means that the services are clearly separated. The front-end and back-end are decoupled, and server-side processing relies on APIs. This greatly reduces the risk of malicious attacks.

HTTPS: We prioritize user privacy and security, and it helps prevent communication between websites and user browsers from being tampered with. HTTPS has been a ranking signal since 2014. However, by giving it a new role as part of the page experience, we are emphasizing its importance even more.

 

There are two things to consider here. Is your website served over HTTPS? And is your website correctly redirected to HTTPS? First, if you haven't already, enable HTTPS on your server as soon as possible. Use tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Screaming Frog SEO Spider to check if the redirect from HTTP to HTTPS is properly implemented.

 

Intrusive Interstitial: No one likes pop-ups, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use them. It's about using them responsibly. This means ensuring that pop-ups or interstitials (used for things like age verification, cookie usage, GDPR compliance, etc.) do not completely block website content (especially on mobile screens), cause layout issues, or display annoying behavior for each page or user action.

 

1－4 Core Web Vitals

The purpose/idea of Core Web Vitals is to provide sound and measurable metrics for Real User Experience/Metrics (RUM). It serves as a starting point for improving website performance and UX.

 

CWV is defined by three elements: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of pages, and is measured by three metrics: LCP, FID, and CLS.

 

 

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) is a tool that measures loading speed, or the time it takes for the largest average element to be displayed on the screen. In many cases, this is the hero image or video, or the main text block of the page.

 

FID (First Input Delay) measures the responsiveness of a page. In other words, it measures the time it takes for an element to respond when a visitor tries to interact with it (think clicking on a link or filling out a form).

 

CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) measures the stability of page layout during loading. Have you ever noticed that when you enter a page, the text that was previously in the center suddenly shifts down? The CLS score measures the impact of these shifts on the viewport.

 

Improving CWV can vary depending on the stack, such as whether the website is built with WordPress, Shopify, or a custom web development solution. However, there are several helpful articles that provide details on what can be done to improve CWV and offer general tips to consider.

 

We will not go into detail here. However, at BACKLINKO, one of our clients, we have revamped our code to improve our CWB score, so please take a look. Learning from others' examples is always one of the best ways to learn.

2. What is the impact of page experience signals on search results?

Google has already stated that these UX ranking signals will not become stronger than content-related signals, but it is not clear what weighting will be given. I think we will find out soon.

 

However, what is being said is that in order to benefit from the related ranking signals, it is necessary to meet the minimum threshold values for all Core Web Vitals. This includes improving the website as perceived by users, which can affect bounce rate, page dwell time, and session count.

 

In addition, changes made to CWV will take at least 28 days to be fully reflected in Google's data. In other words, now is the time to take action.

 

In other words, improving Core Web Vitals may have a positive impact on search engine rankings and definitely have a positive impact on user experience.

 

And today, user experience (UX) is everything. Page experience updates give voice to UX in search algorithms. Just this fact alone makes it beneficial to spend time improving Core Web Vitals.

3. What about performance, Core Web Vitals, and Jamstack?

One of the greatest strengths of Jamstack websites compared to others is the improvement in performance. You may not know this, but with Jamstack, HTML files are pre-generated and served through a CDN instead of being rendered on the server. This results in shorter DOM ready and full page load times.

 

Let's take a look at the actual statistics of Core Web Vitals for the top 5 Jamstack static site generators.

 

 

In our case studies, we introduce improvements made for our clients using Jamstack. If you have a project that is suitable for Jamstack or are considering migrating your website to a more performant stack, please feel free to consult with us.