Jan 26

Wix SEO in 2024, according to AI

I was just playing around with ChatGPT for the first time to see what it can do – check out what AI had to say about Wix SEO today:

Wix is a popular website builder that allows users to create websites without the need for extensive technical knowledge. In terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Wix has made improvements over the years, but there are some considerations to keep in mind:

Pros of Wix for SEO:

User-Friendly: Wix is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for users without advanced technical skills to create and manage their websites.
Templates: Wix provides a variety of templates, some of which are designed with SEO best practices in mind. Choosing a template that is mobile-friendly and well-structured can positively impact SEO.
App Market: Wix has an App Market that includes SEO-specific apps and tools. These can assist you in optimizing your site for search engines.
Technical SEO Features: Wix has improved its technical SEO features, such as the ability to add alt text to images, customize meta tags, and create redirects.

Cons of Wix for SEO:

URL Structure: Wix may include some elements in URLs that are not optimal for SEO. While improvements have been made, some limitations still exist in terms of complete customization.*
Loading Speed: The loading speed of a website is a critical factor for SEO, and some users have reported concerns about Wix websites being slower compared to sites built on other platforms.**
Limited Customization: While Wix is user-friendly, it may not offer the same level of customization as some other platforms, which could impact your ability to implement certain SEO strategies.***
Code Structure: Some argue that the code structure generated by Wix may not be as clean or SEO-friendly as manually coded websites or websites built on other platforms.

Tips for SEO on Wix:

Choose a SEO-Friendly Template: Select a template that is designed with SEO principles in mind, such as mobile responsiveness and clean structure.
Customize Meta Tags: Utilize Wix's options to customize meta tags for each page, including titles and descriptions.
Optimize Images: Add descriptive alt text to your images to improve accessibility and assist search engines in understanding the content.
Regularly Update Content: Fresh and relevant content is important for SEO. Regularly update your website with new information or blog posts.
Utilize SEO Apps: Explore and use SEO-related apps available in the Wix App Market to enhance your website's SEO capabilities.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of Wix for SEO depends on your specific needs and goals. If SEO is a top priority and you require extensive customization, you might also consider other platforms like WordPress or Squarespace. Regularly staying informed about SEO best practices and updates can also contribute to the success of your website in search engine rankings.

Source: OpenAI's GPT-3.5 model via ChatGPT

My reactions and comments:

I think all of this information is pretty accurate! Here are some of my additional comments on some of ChatGPT's Wix SEO talking points:

1. *URL structure: ChatGPT is not telling the full story here. You can customize Wix page URLs completely for any regular pages on Wix. However, there are some limitations – for example if you are using the Blog or Wix Stores, the structure of the URL will include sub-directory names in the URL that you cannot change. For instance, a product in the Wix store will have a URL such as:

domain.com/product-page/name-of-product

Note: you can customize the URL of the product (name-of-product), but you can't change the "product-page" part of the URL. Not a huge deal, but something to note. Another example is if you're creating a blog post, the URL will always have /post/ in the URL before the custom post URL, such as: domain.com/post/rough-cut-hemlock

You can customize the URL of the post itself, but the /post/ sub-directory is not changeable. Again, not a big deal, but something to keep in mind. Of course, if you want to include a URL in marketing and want it to be shorter and not have the sub-directory that is forced on blog posts or store products, you can also easily create a 301 redirect in Wix so that you can point a shorter URL to the full version if desired.

2. **Loading speed: Yes, a poorly optimized Wix website can sometimes take longer to load that it should, but you can easily avoid that by making sure your Wix webpages are streamlined to reduce loading time. Avoid animated elements, or too many different fonts, or too many elements in general to help speed up the page. Keep it simple if you want it to load quickly! Of course, this is the same across all platforms, the more complicated you make your pages, the more they can take to load. Luckily with Wix you don't need to worry about outdated software or plugins or spammers to weigh your page load time down unlike other open-source programs like Wordpress, which can be extremely slow loading if the software/plugins are out of date or if the code is compromised in anyway. Learn more about how to Speed Up Wix Websites » 3. ***Limited Customization: In regards to SEO, I have not run into any customization limitations on Wix – I'm not sure what SEO customizations would be needed that Wix cannot do. If you know of any, please reach out to me as I want to understand what tools/customizations that are not possible with Wix that I am unaware of.

In conclusion, I feel that Wix SEO in 2024 is as strong as ever – IF you optimize your pages correctly. It's all about providing good content that people are searching for, and optimizing it with good page titles, image alt text, headlines, and having good original copy that provides clear and detailed answers. Try to be more informative on every topic than anyone else, personalize it, add to it over time, be the best resource out there on any topic and you can climb to the top of Google and other search engine results.