How can PWA help your shop rank better?

Google’s algorithm is constantly being improved. Its task is to select search results in such a way that they constitute an ideal response to queries entered into the search engine by users. However, not without significance is the galloping, constantly evolving technology. Currently, these queries mostly come from mobile devices. And it is these devices that currently impose the standards that apply on the web.

Algorithm has been updated for some time now to make it mobile-friendly, and much attention is paid to the speed of loading data, e.g. on smartphones. Technology, which is increasingly used and allows the construction of websites adapted to the latest solutions is PWA, or Progressive Web Apps. Although PWA has been around for a few years, its potential has been noticed relatively recently. It is thanks to this technology that web browsing is faster, more intuitive and more comfortable. It is not without reason that the owners of online stores look more and more favorably towards PWA. As it turns out, the implementation of PWA in the area of e-commerce improves the position of the store in the so-called SERPs, i.e. Google search engine results. Let’s see what exactly a PWA is, how it differs from mobile applications and how it translates into better financial results.

What is a PWA?

Progressive Web Apps in a nutshell is a technology allowing to create websites resembling Windows applications. This way of website creation makes them look great on smartphones, and its functionality and appearance is similar to applications built for Android. A big advantage of PWA is that it allows you to send push notifications and allows you to use the site without a network connection, as well as adding a shortcut on the desktop of your smartphone.

What features of the PWA are worth noting in particular:

• security – PWA uses HTTPS,
• operation without network connection,
• responsiveness,
• access to many device functions,
• progressiveness – the websites work regardless of the browser the user is using.

What are the benefits of implementing a PWA?

Some of the most significant benefits that an online store can count on are those related to the use of the potential that lies in push notifications, barcodes or QR codes. Geolocation is also quite important. It is also worth noting that the user is not required to perform any additional actions such as installing or updating the application. PWA is not downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. The online store, which uses the capabilities of PWA, saves its content in the device memory. The advantage of PWA is that the store using this technology performs all its functions in any system and on all devices.

What about SEO – what does that look like in the context of a PWA?

SEO optimization of online stores that use PWA technology is basically no different from the standard ones. Positioning activities, aimed at introducing key phrases to the top 10 search results for a given online store, should be conducted in a long-term and well-thought-out manner. They should also include the same elements that are used in traditional website positioning, such as key phrase analysis, acquiring valuable links and content creation. However, you should keep in mind that PWA sites are qualified by Googlebot’s as sites that are based on JavaScript. What does it mean? Nothing other than the fact that this technology to a large extent imposes the obligation to take appropriate actions, that you should take into account Google’s guidelines developed for JavaScript pages. These will include things like avoiding “#” in URLs (pages with the hashtag are rarely indexed by Google), making sure there are no blocked resources in the robots.txt file, or verifying in Google Search Control how the Googlebot ‘sees’ the website, etc.

It would seem like a lot of work that won’t necessarily yield the results you want. However, the game is worth the effort. For a long time, Google has been rewarding websites that use technologies facilitating content familiarization via mobile devices. What is more, the presentation of content in the context of a PWA is much more efficient and faster, and this directly translates into achieving better results in SEO campaigns. And the mentioned good performance can translate into a higher conversion rate.

To sum up, Progressive Web Apps is a relatively new technology that skillfully and extremely effectively reconciles the advantages of classic websites and online stores with applications. By increasing the comfort of using a website on mobile devices, PWA also allows for better results of SEO campaigns. In the context of online stores, PWA can play an important role, building a competitive advantage. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the specific elements of the construction of such a store and its operation in terms of optimization.