Parallax scrolling websites are all the rage these days. It’s considered by some to be the hottest new technique in web design, but do parallax scrolling and SEO mix?
A Parallax scrolling website makes use of new technologies, such as HTML5 and CSS3. These websites involve the background moving at a slower rate to the foreground, creating a 3D effect s you scroll up and down the page. Check out the Seattle Space Needle website to see how cool a parallax site can be.
We know that SEO should always be a major consideration when designing a new website. It doesn’t matter if you are developing a snazzy parallax scrolling website or a simple Wordpress blog. You want your target audience to find you organically. Unfortunately, while a parallax scrolling website can be very aesthetically pleasing, there is plenty of research out there suggesting that building Parallax scrolling sites is not an SEO-friendly endeavor.
Common Parallax SEO Issues
Just like flash and AJAX in the past, a parallax scrolling website design presents a number of challenges for SEO. This doesn’t mean parallax scrolling and SEO absolutely can’t mix. These challenges include:
Trying to Optimize a Single Page for Multiple Keyword Types/Initiatives
In many parallax scrolling websites, all of the content within the website is housed on a single page. Just like any other single-page website, it’s difficult to optimize that one page for a wide variety of search terms.
All of your keywords, encompassing many different service areas have to be concentrated to one large page in a single-page parallax scrolling website rather than spread across multiple pages ranging in level of importance. Relevancy of keywords for subtopics are diluted when you are working with a one-page website.
Gaining Links to Multiple Pages
The overall credibility of a website is improved when it has external links going to a number of different pages within a website. This is one huge drawback to parallax scrolling and SEO. Many parallax site webmasters can expect to receive external links to just the single page that makes up their website. This is problematic for link building, as it may be difficult to earn a continuous flow of new links over time.
Looking Great On Mobile
For something called parallax, you would think the website would look and work parallel on different devices. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. We all know mobile device usage continues to skyrocket, but parallax sites are not truly responsive. You can create a mobile version of a parallax site, but it won’t be responsive, and will have to be created as a separate property, with its own analytics account, own links and own authority. This is not only a pain from a development standpoint, but two completely separate websites don’t have combined authority, which makes both websites weaker from an SEO perspective.
Engaging Visitors with Site Speed
The goal of a parallax scrolling website is to engage your visitors by telling them a compelling story. That’s great, but keep in mind that Google views site speed as just one metric in its complex algorithm for determining where your site falls in its organic listings. A bulky Parallax code on the back-end of your site can significantly decrease load times, which can compromise your rankings to some degree. Consider that the average shopper will leave 40% of the time if your page doesn’t load in less than two seconds. How long does it take your parallax scrolling website to load?
Ways to Make Parallax Scrolling and SEO Work Together
Just because parallax sites are not ideal for SEO doesn’t mean you can’t make them work for SEO.
One approach is to create a parallax scrolling home page, but accompany it with a variety of subpages in order to optimize unique keywords with relevant topics while maintaining a diverse set of web pages. The Space Needle website does this, along with several other brands like Spotify and Sony.
In fact, Spotify has more than 3,400 pages indexed by Google, compared to many Parallax sites which only have one page indexed by Google. More is better.
- Plan supporting pages in your sitemap around your main parallax page to not only tell the full story of your company, but give you an opportunity to rank for a wide range of keywords, and provide additional pages to be linked to by other websites.
- Develop a plan for mobile. Evaluate your existing mobile traffic. Really get to know your mobile audience and have a plan for these visitors.
A Parallax Scrolling website looks great, while poorly done Parallax scrolling can wipe out many opportunities your site would otherwise have from an SEO perspective. Creating a parallax scrolling website is all about balance. It is a great feature to provide your readers, but it shouldn’t be the entirety of your website.
Is SEO important to your company? Are you feeling the perils of a Parallax site design in your SEO strategy? Make parallax SEO work for you. Contact our development team or online marketing team to start developing a plan for your website today.