Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that is widely trusted and used by many online merchants. It provides businesses with the ability to create and manage online stores with ease, with a wide range of features delivered by multiple third-party extensions to cater to different business needs. However, there are two primary ways to build an online store on Magento: the traditional website approach and the Progressive Web App (PWA) approach. In this article, we’ll explore the differences between Magento PWA vs Magento website SEO, and how each can affect your search engine rankings. With this comprehensive comparison, online business owners can equip themselves with the knowledge of which development method will have more effective search engine optimization.
Table of Contents
Magento PWA vs Magento Website: Technical SEO Comparison
When it comes to technical SEO, both Magento PWA and Magento Website have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a closer look at each aspect:
Speed and Performance
In terms of speed and performance, Magento PWA is known for being significantly faster than a traditional Magento website. This is due to the use of a modern front-end technology stack that allows for faster loading times and a smoother user experience. On the other hand, a traditional Magento website can suffer from slower load times due to the need for server-side rendering. This can result in a less-than-optimal user experience, especially for users with slower internet connections or less powerful devices.
- Caching: Magento PWA uses a combination of service workers and local storage to cache data, which can significantly improve performance. Magento Website also supports caching, but it may require additional configuration.
- Server-Side Rendering: Magento PWA uses server-side rendering to generate the initial HTML for the app shell, which can significantly improve performance. Magento Website does not support server-side rendering by default, but it can be added with additional configuration.
- JavaScript Optimization: Magento PWA uses modern web technologies like React and GraphQL, which are designed for performance and efficiency. Magento Website uses traditional web technologies like jQuery and Knockout, which may not be as efficient.
That being said, it’s important to note that both Magento PWA and Magento website SEO can benefit from various performance optimization techniques. These can include implementing a content delivery network (CDN), optimizing images and videos, and minimizing the number of HTTP requests.
Ultimately, when it comes to speed and performance, Magento PWA has the advantage over a traditional Magento website. However, with proper optimization techniques, both options can provide a fast and boosted performance that leverages your Magento site search engine ranking.
Mobile-friendliness and Responsiveness
When it comes to mobile-friendliness, Magento PWA clearly outshines a traditional Magento website. This is because Magento PWA is designed with mobile devices in mind, and its user interface is optimized for smaller screens and touch-based interactions. This results in a more seamless user experience on mobile devices.
One of the main advantages of Magento PWA is that it provides an app-like experience to users. Magento PWA leverages the features of PWAs to provide an app-like experience to users. It can be installed on a user’s device, providing quick and easy access to the website without the need for a browser. This also means that users can access the website even when they’re offline, giving them uninterrupted access to the site’s content.
Furthermore, Magento PWA provides a highly responsive user interface that responds quickly to user interactions. This gives users a more fluid and responsive experience. This can lead to higher engagement and lower bounce rates on mobile devices, which are both positive signals for SEO.
On the other hand, a Magento website’s mobile-friendliness and responsiveness depend on the theme, extensions used on the website, or the designers’ and Magento developers’ level of skill. While Magento provides responsive themes out of the box, some third-party themes may not be optimized for mobile use, resulting in a less-than-optimal mobile experience.
In such cases, website owners need to ensure that their website is optimized for mobile devices by hiring professional experienced Magento developers and designers. Any issues with mobile-friendliness or responsiveness can negatively impact the website’s SEO performance, as well as the user experience for mobile users.
Magento PWA vs Magento Website: Onpage SEO Comparison
Metadata
In the traditional website approach, the metadata is generated by default based on the CMS settings or custom settings for each page, you can modify and configure them manually. However, the process can be quite manual and time-consuming, especially when the website has many pages. In Magento Website, the metadata fields are available for each product, category, and CMS page, allowing the site administrator to fill in the title, description, and keywords fields.
Magento PWA provides a more automated approach to metadata generation. The metadata information is pulled from the backend and dynamically generated based on the content displayed on the page. This approach eliminates the need for manual configuration of metadata for each page, and it ensures that the metadata is always up-to-date and relevant to the content.
Another advantage of Magento PWA is the ability to leverage metadata for app-like experiences. Since PWA works as a hybrid between a website and a mobile app, it can use metadata to customize the app-like experience. For example, the metadata can be used to specify the app icon, the splash screen, and the theme color, making the PWA feel like a native app.
Ultimately, both Magento PWA and Magento Website can benefit from proper metadata implementation. The metadata information helps search engines understand the content of the page and display relevant information in the search results. However, Magento PWA has an advantage over Magento Website in terms of automatic metadata generation and the ability to customize the app-like experience using metadata.
Internal & External Linking
In traditional Magento websites, internal linking is typically done through the use of menus, breadcrumbs, and contextual links within the content. It’s important to ensure that all pages on the website are linked to each other in a logical manner to create a good internal linking structure. This can help search engines understand the hierarchy and organization of the website’s content.
You can implement effective internal linking strategies on a traditional Magento website by carefully planning your site structure and making use of tools like sitemaps and internal linking plugins.
In Magento PWAs, internal linking is typically handled through the use of a navigation bar and other UI elements that allow users to navigate between different pages and sections of the app. This creates a seamless and app-like experience for users, which can improve engagement and retention.
With external linking, both Magento PWA and Magento Website offer similar opportunities for optimizing your site’s search engine rankings. In both cases, it is important to build high-quality links from authoritative websites in your industry. However, external linking in Magento PWAs can be more challenging, as these apps are designed to function as standalone entities rather than as part of a larger website. It’s still possible to include external links in the app’s content, such as through blog posts or product descriptions.
Image Optimization
Magento PWA comes with several built-in features that help optimize images for better performance. For example, PWA Studio uses the latest web technologies to provide faster and more efficient image loading. Additionally, it allows you to lazy load images, which means that images will only be loaded when needed. This can significantly reduce the load time of your pages, which is essential for providing a better user experience.
Moreover, PWA Studio provides automatic image resizing and compression, which allows images to be served in the appropriate size and quality, depending on the device being used to access the website. This means that the website will be optimized for different devices, ensuring that the images are always of the right size and quality.
On the other hand, Magento Website provides basic image optimization features, such as the ability to add alt tags, titles, and descriptions to images. However, it lacks advanced image optimization features such as lazy loading, automatic resizing, and compression. This means that the website may load slower and perform worse in terms of user experience and SEO. If you want to enhance your website with advanced image optimization features, you need to integrate other Magento third-party extensions or hire a team of skilled developers.
Schema Markup and Rich Snippets
Magento PWA and Magento website both offer options for implementing schema markup and rich snippets.
With Magento PWA, the use of schema markup is more streamlined and integrated. This is because PWAs are designed with a focus on providing app-like experiences, and therefore make use of structured data to provide a more seamless experience. The use of schema markup can help Google better understand the content on your website and display rich snippets in search results, such as product prices, ratings, and availability.
On the other hand, traditional Magento website SEO also allows for the implementation of schema markup and rich snippets. However, it can require additional effort and technical knowledge to implement them effectively. Without proper implementation, schema markup can lead to errors that negatively impact your website’s SEO.
User Engagement and Bounce Rate
Both of these developing approaches have their own unique features that can impact user engagement and bounce rate.
One feature that is particularly beneficial for user engagement on Magento PWA is the ability to send push notifications. With push notifications, users can receive updates and promotions even when they are not actively browsing the website. This can lead to higher engagement rates and ultimately, more conversions.
In addition, Magento PWA’s offline functionality allows users to continue browsing the website even without an internet connection. This is particularly useful for users who have poor internet connectivity or are traveling in areas with limited access to the internet. Not only that, via an app-like experience provided, Magento PWA can help keep visitors on the website longer and increase the likelihood of conversion.
On the other hand, traditional Magento websites do not have the ability to send push notifications or offer offline functionality. However, there are still ways to improve user engagement and reduce the bounce rate. For example, using high-quality images and videos on the website can capture users’ attention and encourage them to stay longer on the website.
It is also important to ensure that the website is easy to navigate and provides a seamless user experience. By making it easy for users to find what they are looking for, they are more likely to stay on the website and engage with its content.
Magento PWA vs Magento Website: Offpage SEO Comparison
Backlink
Both Magento PWA and Magento Website can benefit from backlinking, but there are some differences between the two in terms of their approach to building backlinks.
For traditional Magento websites, building backlinks can involve a variety of tactics such as backlink exchange, guest blogging, influencer outreach, broken link building, and creating shareable content. These tactics involve reaching out to other websites and convincing them to link back to your website.
In the case of Magento PWA, the process of building backlinks is similar to traditional Magento websites. However, there may be some advantages to using Magento PWA, as it can offer a better user experience for visitors and potentially increase the likelihood of them linking back to your website.
Additionally, since Magento PWA is still a relatively new technology, there may be opportunities to take advantage of its novelty and gain backlinks from websites looking to feature innovative technologies on their platforms.
Local SEO and Citation Building
For Magento websites, local SEO can be achieved by creating location-specific landing pages, optimizing Google My Business listings, and building local citations. This can be done by listing the business on local directories and review sites, ensuring that the business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms.
On the other hand, with Magento PWA, local SEO can be enhanced by implementing Progressive Web App features such as push notifications, offline mode, and location-based services. This allows users to receive notifications and updates even when they are not actively browsing the website. The offline mode also ensures that users can access the website even when they are not connected to the internet, which can be a useful feature for local businesses that want to attract foot traffic to their physical stores.
Citation building is also important for both platforms. With Magento websites, building local citations involves creating business listings on local directories and review sites, while ensuring that the NAP information is consistent. With Magento PWA, businesses can utilize features like Google Maps integration to provide users with information about their location and contact details. This can be helpful for users who want to visit the business in person or make a phone call for inquiries.
Social Media Integration
Both Magento PWA and Magento website offer various social media integration options, including social media sharing buttons, social media login options, and the ability to display social media feeds on your site.
With Magento PWA, social media integration is seamless, as PWAs are designed to be easily shareable and accessible on any device. PWAs can also be easily shared on social media platforms, increasing the potential for backlinks and engagement.
With a traditional Magento website, social media integration may require some additional effort, such as installing extensions or manually adding social media buttons to your site. However, once integrated, social media can still play an important role in driving traffic and engagement.
Magento PWA vs Magento Website: Content Marketing Comparison
Content Creation and Optimization
Content creation and optimization are essential for both Magento PWA and Magento website SEO. High-quality and relevant content can improve the search engine ranking of both platforms, attract more traffic, and engage users.
For Magento PWA, content creation and optimization are essential because PWAs rely heavily on content to provide users with a seamless and app-like experience. Content must be optimized for mobile devices, fast-loading, and engaging to keep users on the PWA. Since PWAs can be accessed offline, it’s also essential to ensure that the content is available even when there is no internet connection.
For traditional Magento websites, content creation and optimization are still important, but the approach may be slightly different. Magento websites usually have more pages and a more extensive content library than PWAs, which means that it’s crucial to have a well-structured and organized website that makes it easy for users to navigate and find the content they need. Additionally, optimizing the website’s content for search engines, including keywords, meta descriptions, and internal linking, can improve its search engine ranking and visibility.
Content Distribution and Promotion
Content from both Magento PWA vs Magento website can be shared and promoted through social media, email newsletters, and other digital marketing channels. However, Magento PWA may have an advantage in this area because of its app-like experience. Since PWA can be installed on a user’s mobile device, it provides an opportunity for push notifications, which can be used to promote new content or special offers.
Additionally, PWA’s offline capabilities can also be leveraged for content promotion. Users can download content when they are online, and access it even when they are offline, which can improve the overall reach and engagement of the content.
Additionally, Magento PWA and Magento Website allow for easy integration with popular content management systems like WordPress, allowing for seamless content distribution across multiple channels.
User-generated Content and Reviews
User-generated content and reviews are an essential part of any eCommerce website’s content marketing strategy, whether it’s a traditional Magento website or a Magento PWA. User-generated content includes any type of content that is created by users, such as product reviews, ratings, comments, and social media posts.
User-generated content can be beneficial for SEO as it provides unique and fresh content for search engines to crawl and index, and it also helps to build credibility and trust with potential customers. Magento PWA can be particularly advantageous for user-generated content as it provides a seamless app-like experience for customers to leave reviews and interact with the website.
Both traditional Magento websites and Magento PWAs can benefit from implementing user-generated content and reviews into their content marketing strategy. It’s essential to encourage customers to leave reviews and ratings, respond to comments, and engage with social media posts. This can be achieved through various methods such as email follow-ups, incentivizing customers to leave reviews, and showcasing user-generated content on product pages and social media platforms.
Magento PWA vs Magento Website SEO: What Should You Pick for Your Business
Encountering choosing between Magento PWA vs Magento website SEO, it’s so hard to make an informed decision. With our comprehensive comparison, you can evaluate and select the most suitable one for your business depending on your specific needs, priorities, and budgets.
If you value speed, performance, and mobile-friendliness, Magento PWA may be the better choice for you. It offers an app-like experience, faster page load times, and improved overall performance, which can lead to better user engagement and potentially higher conversion rates.
However, if you prioritize more traditional SEO tactics such as metadata, internal and external linking, and schema markup, a traditional Magento website may be the better option. Additionally, if you have already invested heavily in a Magento website and have a large amount of content and data, it may not be practical or cost-effective to switch to a PWA.
It’s important to consider factors such as your target audience, industry, competition, and location when making this decision. If your audience primarily uses mobile devices at the limited Internet access location and you want to provide a fast and app-like experience, Magento PWA may be the better choice. However, if you’re in a highly competitive industry with many established websites, traditional Magento website SEO tactics may be necessary to help you stand out in search results.
In Conclusion,
With SEO, both Magento PWA and Magento website have their own strengths and weaknesses. The decision to choose between Magento PWA and Magento website depends on your specific business needs, priorities, budgets, and even your target audience, location, industry, and your competitors. In any case, investing in a strong SEO strategy for your Magento website or PWA is essential for driving organic traffic, achieving higher rankings in search engine results pages, and increasing your conversion rate.
I hope that this complete comparison is helpful to you in considering your Magento development approach. At Magenest, we provide a full-stack Magento development service that supports your business in every aspect of developing an online presence. Don’t hesitate to contact our specialists to receive advanced consultancy and suggestions.
