PWA SEO

What is a PWA?

In the simplest terms, a PWA is a mobile-friendly website that acts as an app but doesn’t need to be downloaded to use. Users have the option to save a PWA to their phone and launch it like an app, but that’s completely optional.

There are a host of benefits that PWAs bring while overcoming the disadvantages of creating and maintaining a mobile website and a mobile app at the same time.

 

Four Key Technologies of a PWA

This is all made possible by the use of four technologies that are necessary for a PWA to function:

• Web App Manifest File (which provides access to the home screen).
• Service Worker (for offline support)
• Transport Layer Security (TLS) (provides data protection and data integrity)
• Application shell architecture (enables fast load times)

 

A Progressive Web App offers a variety of benefits:

Faster website speed

This is undoubtedly the most exciting feature of PWAs. Businesses can use a PWA to target users who have a slow data connection or are even offline by using mobile development best practices like caching content in advance, compression, and more.

 

Better engagement

Google provides the basic requirements that a website must meet to qualify as a Progressive Web App. A smooth user experience with easy navigation, timely push notifications, cross-browser compatibility, and responsive pages for all devices are some key requirements that also lead to higher engagement.

Now that the app is on mobile, the chances of interaction and engagement become exponentially higher, as Forbes magazine learned when it launched its own PWA. Users were notified via push notifications when new content was available. With lightning-fast page load times, quick transitions, and lightweight page design, Forbes’ PWA managed to accomplish the following:

• Increase scroll depth by 3x
• Improve sessions per user by 43percent
• A 6x increase in readers completing articles
• A doubling of the engagement rate, meaning a 100% increase in engagement

In the case of a publishing site like Forbes, high engagement means high conversions, all thanks to the new PWA.

 

It’s all about the URLs

Progressive web apps take SEO best practices into account in every way. From clear and concise meta descriptions to better indexing and analysis of website data by search bots, a search-optimized website is more likely to make the PWA cut than others.

PWAs don’t require different “mobile.site.com” type URLs to provide a good experience on mobile devices. They are automatically configured to provide a consistent experience no matter what device.

Another bonus is that PWAs are necessarily HTTPS-enabled. Not only does this improve your site’s ranking in organic search results, but it also reassures users about the security of your site, resulting in lower bounce rates, higher click-through rates, and likely higher conversion rates.

Each page has its own unique URL, so even deeply embedded pages can be easily crawled and found by search engines. Unique URLs for each page also make sharing pages on social media and other websites much easier, not to mention more transparent tracking.

With pre-caching by Service Worker, all URLs on PWAs will load even if the device is offline. This benefits user who are using older devices or poor network connections.

 

Conclusion

Progressive Web Applications are great for SEO because they are designed to deliver the best web experiences. PWAs help you build lasting relationships with customers. That’s a great reward, but you’ll also experience a universal boost, like organic search, because your site puts user experience first. Follow Vrinda’s best practices for the web and you’ll reap the benefits of great organic search traffic.