SEO
How to Create an SEO-Friendly Website: The Complete Checklist
An SEO-friendly (i.e., search engine-friendly) website is one that is technically sound, delightful to use, and search-focused. Here’s a Venn diagram explaining this: An SEO-friendly website is the intersection of these three sets:
If you want to design an SEO-friendly website or make sure that yours is like that, follow the checklist below.
SEO-friendly website checklist
Your website’s design and performance can impact your search rankings or even prevent your site from ranking. Use our checklist to make sure your website is both Google’s and the user’s friend.
Make your website technically sound
First, you need to help search engines find, crawl, and index important content on your website.
Points from this section of the checklist will typically need to be set up once and revisited only when you need to introduce changes (e.g., updating your sitemap).
1. Plan website structure (for new sites)
Planning your website structure can be a complex process, especially if you plan on having something more than a portfolio on your website.
However, from the SEO perspective, these are the things that really matter:
- Depth of the site structure – Try not to have important pages too far away from the homepage (keeping at two or three clicks away is best and nothing further than six clicks). This is something big websites should especially watch out for, as overly nested pages can get crawled less often.
- Keyword optimization for top-level pages – Category pages can also rank on search engines. You can increase the chances of that if you optimize your top-level pages for keywords with search demand.
- Internal links – Among other things, internal links are a ranking factor and can send a signal to search engines to crawl certain pages more often. Since links in site navigation count as internal links, your important pages can get an additional SEO boost just because they are properly placed in the structure and linked in the site navigation.
Tip: use colors to differentiate navigation elements (here in white) from pages (blue).
Recommended reading: Website Structure: How to Build Your SEO Foundation
2. Set up Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is one of the three free tools that you can’t do SEO confidently without. It’s a free tool made for tracking your site’s organic search performance on Google’s search engine (92.07% market share worldwide).
Setting up GSC is essential for creating an SEO-friendly website because it allows you to:
- Find website errors.
- Find opportunities for UX improvements (e.g., page speed).
- Submit sitemaps (one of the next steps in our checklist).
On top of that, GSC will also let you see the keywords you rank for (up to 1,000 in the tool itself) and check ranking positions.
You can get GSC here.
Recommended reading: How to Use Google Search Console to Improve SEO (Beginner’s Guide)
3. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools
Microsoft’s Bing Webmaster Tools is an equivalent of GSC that you should use to get data from Bing’s search engine (the second-biggest search engine).
You can get Bing Webmaster Tools here.
4. Set up Ahrefs Webmaster Tools
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) is our free tool that helps to improve a website’s SEO performance and get more organic search traffic.
Another way to think about it is that the tool takes off where GSC leaves you:
- It automatically monitors your website for 100+ SEO issues—and emails you the report if you wish.
- It shows all known backlinks with useful SEO metrics.
- It shows all known keywords with useful SEO metrics.
Get it for free here: Webmaster tools – Audit & Improve Your Website.
Recommended viewing: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) – Our Free SEO Tool
5. Create and submit a sitemap
A sitemap is a file stored on your server that tells search engines where to find important content on your website. Moreover, it can also provide information about that content, such as the video running time or publication date of an article. All this data helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently.
Most CMSs can create sitemaps for you. This is an excerpt of a sitemap created by the YoastSEO plugin.
Generally speaking, search engines (at least Google) are designed to work without the need for sitemaps—internal links and backlinks are all they need. However, if your website is really big (over 500 pages), has isolated pages, or has few or no backlinks, you should create a sitemap and submit it.
Recommended reading: How to Create an XML Sitemap (And Submit It to Google)
6. Create a robots.txt file
Plainly speaking, a robots.txt file is a text file that tells search engines where they can and can’t go on your site.
It’s in search engines’ “nature” to crawl pretty much everything they stumble across. On the one hand, that’s a good thing because you want people to find stuff that you publish. But there are some situations where you won’t want that to happen. For example, the cart page or pages generated through faceted navigation.
So basically, you will need to create a robots.txt file only when you want to keep some parts of your website inaccessible to search engines.
But you may also want to check if there’s an existing robots file (created automatically by your CMS or by your website developer) to make sure that important pages are crawlable. Just go to yourdomain.com/robots.txt and see if there’s anything there.
Additionally, you may want to see the Coverage report in GSC to check for any unwanted robot rules that may block certain pages.
Recommended reading: Robots.txt and SEO: Everything You Need to Know
7. Make sure your website is indexable
Indexability refers to a search engine’s ability to analyze and store a webpage in its database.
Despite a page being accessible to search engine web crawlers, that page can still not show up on the SERPs. This happens in the following situations:
- “Noindex” value in the robots meta tag in robots.txt file
- “Noindex” or “none” value in x-robots-tag in HTTP response header
Make sure that a page doesn’t have those tags if you want it to rank. You can check that in the Coverage report inside GSC or the Indexability report in Ahrefs’ Site Audit (part of AWT).
Keep in mind, though, that those tags are still useful. For example, you may want to noindex certain pages like thank-you pages or internal search results.
8. Make sure your website is accessible at only one domain
In other words, you need to choose the canonical domain name. This will make your site appear consistent to users and web crawlers and prevent issues like diluted link equity (this can happen when some websites link to the HTTP version and others link to the HTTPS version).
With AWT installed, go to the Site Audit tool and open the Page explorer report. Inside the report, insert these four versions of your domain using the “Advanced” filter:
- http://yourdomain.com
- http://www.yourdomain.com
- https://yourdomain.com
- https://www.yourdomain.com
Like this:
What you want to see is a) your desired URL to report a “200” (preferably the HTTPS version) and b) others reporting a “301” redirect to that “200” page. If that’s not the case, you will need to apply redirects to non-canonical domain names.
Recommended reading: 301 Redirects for SEO: Everything You Need to Know
Make your website delightful to use
How users perceive your website is not something that Google ignores completely.
Points from this section of the checklist will typically need to be set up once.
1. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
Google is using mobile-first indexing. This means that it indexes and ranks content based on mobile versions of webpages. Consequently, having a website optimized for mobile devices is “strongly recommended,” as Google puts it in its documentation.
You can check if your website is mobile-friendly in the eyes of Google using its test tool or use the Mobile Usability report in GSC.
2. Make sure your site loads fast
Loading speed is a ranking factor and the fundament of Core Web Vitals, which are performance metrics used for measuring user experience.
Rest assured—Google still promotes the most relevant content in its database. But when everything else is similar or equal, Google may rank the faster page higher.
You can monitor your website for speed issues with Ahrefs’ Site Audit. For this, use the Performance report.
Recommended reading: How to Improve Page Speed From Start to Finish (Advanced Guide)
3. Make sure you’re using HTTPS
Just as Google wants to provide useful pages, it wants to provide secure pages too. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, i.e., the secure version of HTTP.
Users can tell right away if your website is using HTTPS or not.
This step is quite straightforward. You just need to get an SSL certificate and add it to your site (the easiest way is to get one from your hosting provider). You can even get one for free here (yes, Google recognizes it too).
Recommended reading: What Is HTTPS? Everything You Need to Know
4. Avoid intrusive interstitials
The last on the list of page experience signals. To Google, a page without intrusive pop-up windows is a usable site—and it’s hard to disagree with that.
There are some exceptions to this rule, though. Google “accepts”:
- Messages displayed out of legal obligation (e.g., cookies consent).
- Login dialogs for pages without public access (e.g., content behind paywall).
- Banners that use a reasonable amount of screen space.
Recommended reading: Interstitials and Dialogs | Google Search Central | Documentation
Make your website search-focused
Craft your content with searchers and linkers in mind.
Points from this section of the checklist should be set up for each new content that you want to rank.
1. Choose the right keyword
If you want to get traffic from search engines, you need to create content about something people search for. And the best way to do this is to optimize your content for a good keyword.
Here’s what makes a good keyword for SEO:
- Search traffic potential – Generally speaking, the more often people look for something online, the more traffic those keywords can generate. But this isn’t a rule, and it may vary from keyword to keyword. It’s best to check the traffic potential for your keywords as well.
- Search intent – People use search engines to either learn something, buy something, or find a specific site—this is their search intent. When choosing a keyword, you need to make sure your content matches what people want to see in the search results.
- Business potential – A keyword may bring you traffic. But will it also bring you new business? Prioritize topics highly relevant to what you offer so that you can naturally feature your products or services.
- Not too difficult to rank – The quickest way to estimate this is to use a metric like our Keyword Difficulty (KD). But you may also need to take other factors into consideration (see recommended reading below).
What is a tea pet? It’s one of 1,500+ keywords that are not competitive and have considerable search volumes related to tea. Something I’d definitely want to cover on my blog about tea (may even include an affiliate link there—get it?).
2. Make your content interesting and useful
Google admits that the single strongest ranking factor is the content itself. Namely, the content’s usefulness and its ability to capture readers’ interest. In Google’s own words:
So here are some tips that can help you make your content interesting and useful. Ensure it is:
- Easy to read.
- Clearly organized.
- Fresh.
- Unique.
- Aligned with E-A-T guidelines.
- Focused on providing essential information to solve a searcher’s problem (this brings us back to the search intent).
All of the above refers to designing content for searchers. But there are also “linkers,” i.e., people who will not only read your content but also include a link to it on their websites.
Why design for linkers? Because links from external websites (backlinks) are one of the most important ranking factors for Google. More backlinks from unique domains = higher rankings = more traffic. Generally speaking.
You can increase your chances of earning or building links if you make your content link-worthy. That means including something so valuable and interesting that bloggers and journalists will want to link to it (aka link bait).
If you wanted to link to a good resource on, say, long-tail keywords, it’d definitely be something that includes a graphic explaining what they are, right?
You can also create content just for the linkers. It’s OK if it has minimal search volume, as long as it’s attractive to your target audience.
Very low traffic. But it’s all right—this is link bait content.
3. Optimize title and description tags
There are two reasons why you need to optimize title tags: They are a ranking factor (a small one), and people see them on the SERPs. So you should:
- Make the title eye-catching and accurate.
- Insert the target keyword in your title. It works. Keyword stuffing doesn’t.
- Fit them within 60 characters.
Points #1, #2, and #3 checked.
There is one reason why you need to optimize description tags: People see them on the SERPs. Here are some good practices for enticing searchers to click. You should:
- Make your description compelling. Reassure readers that this is the content they’ve been after all along.
- Ensure the description is not longer than 920 px (try SERPSim).
- Keep the description relevant to the title of the page (and vice versa).
- Use a unique description for every page.
Points #2, #3, and #4 checked. Point #1? Hmmm.
4. Add schema markup
Schema markup is a code that helps search engines to understand your content and better represent it in the search results.
For example, to display an image next to your Fender Stratocaster review, you’ll need to deploy a code like this:
"image": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "yourimage.url",
"height": "689",
"width": "1225”
}
Stands out on the SERPS quite nicely, right? Those star ratings and thumbnails are served to the searcher via a few tags in the schema markup.
There are different types of schema for different occasions: reviews, FAQs, person, place, organization, and many more. All of them will help Google show rich results on the SERPs (like the ones in the picture above) for your pages and potentially bring you more clicks. Here’s the full schema documentation.
You can create and test your schema markup with tools like schema.dev.
Recommended reading: What Is Schema Markup? How to Use It for SEO
5. Use short and descriptive URLs
An SEO-friendly URL is basically a user-friendly URL. So when optimizing your URLs, you should do it with the user in mind. That’s how you’ll make two friends with one gift.
Here’s an example:
https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-friendly-website
This URL uses HTTPS, doesn’t have an overly nested structure, and indicates clearly what the page is about. So when users see this URL on the SERPs, they will know the page is actually about something they’re looking for. And when they click on it, the URL will indicate where in the site structure they are.
Recommended reading: How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs (Step-by-Step)
6. Link to relevant resources
You most probably won’t jump in rankings just by adding outbound links to your content (they are probably not a ranking factor). But you may still want to add outbound links to cite your sources and link to helpful materials on the topic.
According to this video from Google:
Linking to other websites is a great way to provide value to your users. Oftentimes, links help users to find out more, to check out your sources and to better understand how your content is relevant to the questions that they have.
So including relevant outbound links is a best practice when creating good content. But on top of that, citing your sources will help you to align your content with E-A-T search quality guidelines, which are especially important for Your Money or Your Life topics (health, finance, safety, etc.).
Recommended reading: What Is EAT? Why It’s Important for SEO
7. Optimize images
In short, optimizing images for SEO means you need to do three things:
- Compress images – You can use a plugin like ShortPixel or a bulk image optimizer like Kraken.
- Use descriptive image file names – Yes, Google can (and probably will) read the names of your image files to understand what they’re about.
- Use descriptive alt texts – Alt texts serve a couple of purposes. Yet they are often overlooked. Not only do they help visually impaired users, but they also can help Google understand the context of your page and help you rank on Google Images.
Alt text for this nice photo should be something like “a laptop on a table next to coffee.” “A coffee pot and a mug admiring a Surface laptop while no one’s looking” is my next guess.
8. Add internal links
Last but not least, don’t forget about internal links, i.e., links from another page on the same website.
Make no mistake—internal links are a ranking factor. They are really important. Google uses internal links to:
- Discover new pages – Internal links provide a crawl path to target pages.
- Pass link equity between your pages – Internal linking can boost other pages on your website.
- Understand what a page is about – Understanding the content of your pages helps Google rank them. The anchor text of the internal link matters too.
So make sure to interlink relevant content on your website and keep in mind that you can use links to boost other pages (aka the Middleman Method).
The more content you have, the harder it is to keep up with internal linking. This is where AWT can do the heavy lifting for you. You can use the automatically generated report or use the “Advanced” filter to see link opportunities to a specific page.
Final thoughts
All in all, this is quite a lot of work. And unfortunately, there’s no way around it. But you can make your job easier if you’ve got the right tools.
First of all, you may want to take a closer look at the “SEO-friendliness” of the CMS that your website is built with.
Some CMSs will try to simplify things as much as possible, which can result in less room for customization. Others will require more attention from you but give you more possibilities in return. These three articles should help you make a more informed choice:
Secondly, as mentioned in our checklist, make sure to set up SEO audit tools for automatic SEO health monitoring (among others). As you add more content to your site, you may run into SEO issues like broken links, broken images, or canonicalization issues. An audit tool will catch them for you.
One last piece of advice: If you have a JavaScript-heavy website, make sure to check out some additional steps covered in this guide.
Got questions? Ping me on Twitter.
SEO
The 9 Best Landing Page Builders For 2024
Generating leads is crucial to boosting your sales – but if your landing pages aren’t effective, you’re going to struggle to turn visitors into customers.
Landing pages play a key role in elevating the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and differentiating, refining, and enhancing the user experience.
In this article, we’ll explore how to choose the right landing page builder for your business before highlighting the nine top landing page builders and what makes them stand out.
Let’s get into it.
Choosing The Right Landing Page Builder For Your Business
With so many options to choose from, how can you decide which landing page builder is right for you?
Here are a few things to consider when making your decision.
- Marketing objectives: Start by deciding what you want to achieve with your landing pages. Are you looking to collect email subscribers, drive sales, generate leads, or promote an event? Each platform caters to different use cases, so leading with your goals can help you refine your search.
- Ease of use: Different builders have different learning curves. If you’re a novice, you should probably opt for a tool that caters to beginners. If you have more technical experience, like coding knowledge, you might want to look to more advanced builders to get the most power.
- Integration needs: Do you want your landing pages to integrate with other software or tools you’re already using?
- Mobile optimization: It’s essential that your landing pages cater to mobile users, so make sure your builder considers that with features like responsive design.
- Budget constraints: Unfortunately, budget matters. Landing page builders come with various price tags depending on their capabilities and features. Make sure you’re working within the boundaries of what you can afford.
While this is, by no means, an exhaustive list of considerations, it’s a starting point to help you choose a landing page builder that makes sense for your business needs.
Now, let’s look at nine of the best landing page builders to choose from.
1. Carrd
- Best for: Simple projects, personal use, and small budgets.
Looking for a great landing page builder that won’t break the bank? Look no further than Carrd.
Carrd is a streamlined landing page builder that focuses on creating single-page websites quickly and easily. It’s designed for simplicity, making it ideal for anyone who wants to quickly create a webpage without needing to build a multi-page site.
Think portfolios, personal profiles, project presentations, and small business showcases.
Carrd’s user-friendly interface and selection of themes allow users to create sleek pages in the blink of an eye without even needing an account – you can just visit the website, pick a theme, and get started. However, you will need to sign up to save or publish your site.
It balances simplicity and functionality to help you craft that pages are clean, focused, and responsive across all devices. If you’re just testing the waters or working with slim budgets, this is the right tool for you.
Pros:
- Extremely affordable, with a free tier available.
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
- Responsive design.
- Fast and lightweight, making it ideal for quick and simple sites.
Cons:
- Limited to single-page websites.
- Restrictive layouts/themes, which limit creative freedom.
- Lacks advanced features and integrations found in more comprehensive builders.
Pricing:
- Carrd’s free basic plan allows you to launch three sites with Carrd branding to .carrd.co domains.
- Paid plans range from $9 to $49 per year, and offer additional features like no Carrd branding, custom domains, and Google Analytics support (depending on your membership tier).
2. ConvertKit
Screenshot from ConvertKit.com, April 2024- Best for: Content creators, bloggers, and marketers focused on growing their audience through email.
Billing itself as “the creator marketing platform,” ConvertKit’s landing page builder is targeted at creators, bloggers, and marketers who want to expand their email subscriber base.
If your goal is to create a landing page to help you build an email list, ConvertKit might be the right option for you.
ConvertKit’s landing page builder offers a range of high-quality, customizable templates and integrates with third-party tools to help you get the most out of your site.
It also integrates with the stock photo platform Unsplash to offer access to 100,000+ free images for your landing page.
While ConvertKit’s analytics and customization options might not be as extensive as those of some of its competitors, its ease of use and focused approach make it a standout for email-driven campaigns.
Pros:
- No cost for starting (up to 1,000 subscribers).
- Access to thousands of free images.
- Robust third-party integration capabilities.
Cons:
- Limited template customization and flexibility.
- A/B testing and analytics features are less advanced.
- Priced higher than some basic landing page builders.
Pricing:
- Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers.
- The Creator plan starts at $25/month and includes benefits like automation features and app integrations. Pricing scales are based on subscriber count.
3. Unbounce
Screenshot from Unbounce.com, April 2024Unbounce is a leading landing page builder renowned for its focus on conversion rate optimization (CRO). Its website promises to help you “build high-converting landing pages with ease.”
It offers a suite of advanced tools, such as A/B testing, dynamic text replacement, and the Smart Traffic system, which uses AI to optimize visitor flow to the highest-converting page variant based on user behavior and characteristics.
It also focuses on features that can help you boost your lead gen efforts, such as opt-in email popups and sticky banners.
With 100+ responsive templates, Unbound makes it easy to create landing pages that are both engaging and effective.
Compared to some other options on this list, Unbounce is a particularly robust platform with tons of customization and integrations – and the price point reflects that.
As a premium offering with a steeper learning curve, it might not be the best for beginners – but its AI-powered features and conversion-focused tools make it a formidable tool for achieving your goals.
Pros:
- Advanced A/B testing and AI-driven optimization.
- Large selection of responsive templates.
- Integrated features for enhancing lead capture.
Cons:
- Higher price point than some other builders, which might not work for those with limited budgets.
- Complex setup and steeper learning curve for new users.
- Some customization limitations.
Pricing
- The Build plan starts at $74/month and covers unlimited conversions, one root domain, and up to 20,000 monthly unique visitors.
- Other paid plans range from $112/month up to $649/month.
4. Leadpages
Screenshot from Leadpages.com, April 2024- Best for: Small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to generate sales.
Need a landing page that will help you generate sales? Consider taking a look at Leadpages.
Its strength lies in its user-friendly, drag-and-drop editor and an extensive collection of templates that streamline the page-building process. Plus, according to the Leadpages website, it’s a platform that converts five times better than the industry average.
Leadages offers CRO tools, real-time analytics, and A/B testing capabilities, enabling users to enhance their page performance effectively.
Its various widgets allow you to add videos, images, forms, and even payment integrations directly onto your landing pages, making it a versatile tool for businesses that want to combine content with sales functionality.
On top of all this, Leadpages now includes an AI Engine for creating headlines and images and an AI writing assistant at some membership tiers, which can help you write better content.
Pros:
- Intuitive no-code editor and easy payment integration.
- Comprehensive A/B testing and real-time analytics.
- Extensive template library with over 250 options.
Cons:
- Higher cost compared to some alternatives.
- Limited ecommerce features and potential mobile responsiveness issues.
- Some users report mobile responsiveness issues.
Pricing:
- The standard plan starts at $37/month for one custom domain, unlimited traffic and leads, and 10,000 monthly AI Engine credits.
- More advanced features are available in higher-tier plans, which start at $74/month.
5. Landingi
Screenshot from Landingi.com, April 2024- Best for: Businesses seeking a versatile landing page solution with a wide range of features.
If you’re in the market for versatility, Landingi is worth investigating.
Landingi offers a flexible, comprehensive landing page builder with a robust set of features, including an advanced editor, popups, A/B testing, and a substantial library of 300+ templates.
Its unique Smart Sections feature allows you to reuse and easily update specific page elements across multiple designs, saving time and headaches.
Designed to serve businesses of all sizes, Landingi’s simple, drag-and-drop builder can help you create and optimize various types of landing pages – and if you have any HTML and CSS knowledge, it can be a pretty impressive editor.
Landingi is a particularly strong choice for small businesses looking to target different customer segments with unique landing pages. The integration capabilities with numerous apps, including payment gateways like Stripe, make it a great choice for companies looking to sell products.
While its rich feature set can be overwhelming for newcomers, and creating pages might take a bit longer compared to other platforms, the level of customization and control it offers makes Landingi one of the best landing page builders out there.
Pros:
- Extensive template library with 300+ customizable options.
- Powerful editing capabilities with Smart Sections for efficient design.
- Broad integration with various apps, including payment systems.
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve for beginners.
- Potentially longer time to create landing pages compared to simpler platforms.
Pricing:
- The Lite plan starts at $35/month and gives you 10 digital assets, unlimited conversions, 5,000 visits per month, and one custom domain.
- Landingi also offers Professional and Unlimited tiers with more advanced features and capabilities.
6. Instapage
Screenshot from Instapage.com, April 2024- Best for: Large businesses, marketing teams, or agencies that require collaboration and advanced optimization features.
If you’re seeking a more high-end landing page platform, Instapage might be the one for you. It offers advanced features tailored for professional marketing teams and agencies with a need to create optimized landing pages at scale.
In addition to a drag-and-drop builder and plenty of high-quality templates, Instapage offers a bevy of features, including advanced cloud-based team collaboration tools, heatmaps for user engagement analysis, robust A/B testing capabilities, AI-generated content creation, and more.
One of its standout features is Instablocks, which allows users to create custom page components that can be easily reused across different projects.
Instapage supports advanced marketing goals with features like AdMap to align ads with page content. Plus, its mobile-friendly design ensures a fast, seamless user experience.
While Instapage offers a premium experience with its comprehensive set of tools and features, its higher price point and complex functionalities may be a barrier for smaller businesses or those new to landing page optimization.
Pros:
- Extensive customization with a library of professional templates.
- Instablocks for efficient design and asset reuse.
- Effective team collaboration features.
Cons:
- Premium pricing will be a barrier for many businesses.
- Steep learning curve for utilizing advanced features.
- Limitations in reporting and visitor tracking for lower-tier plans.
Pricing:
- The Build plan starts at $199/month, with a 14-day free trial.
- Customers will need to upgrade to a customized Convert plan to access some of the more complex features, such as AdMap, heatmaps, and more.
7. Wix
Screenshot from Wix.com, April 2024- Best for: Individuals and small businesses seeking creative control without advanced coding.
Now for something much more accessible: Wix is renowned for its user-friendly platform, which is ideal for creating attractive landing pages with minimal effort.
Like other options on this list, Wix offers an accessible drag-and-drop editor and a range of existing templates to help users craft aesthetically pleasing and functional landing pages.
Wix’s platform has a reputation for being particularly beginner-friendly, with a low learning curve and a free plan to help new users get started without any upfront investment.
For those focused on ecommerce, Wix provides specific features to build landing pages that showcase products and promotions, supported by over 50 payment solutions and tools like heatmaps to enhance user engagement and conversion rates.
While it offers a free starter plan, accessing more advanced functionalities and removing Wix ads requires upgrading to a paid subscription.
Wix’s balance of user-friendly design tools, ecommerce support, and cost-effective pricing makes it a favorable option for those new to web design or businesses needing straightforward, visually appealing landing pages.
Pros:
- User-friendly with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
- Free plan available, making it accessible for beginners.
- Ecommerce capabilities with extensive payment integration.
Cons:
- Advanced features and ad-free experience require a paid plan.
- Potential limitations in customization for complex requirements.
- Site speed may decrease with more intricate designs.
Pricing:
- A free plan is available, but it includes Wix branding and lacks more advanced features like payments.
- Paid plans start at $17/month, offering additional features.
8. Elementor
Screenshot from Elementor.com, April 2024- Best for: WordPress users looking for a powerful and intuitive landing page builder.
If you’re a WordPress user, you’ll want to know about Elementor.
It’s a WordPress page builder that has gained popularity for its flexibility, comprehensive customization capabilities, and user-friendly interface.
Elementor allows users to design dynamic and detailed landing pages within WordPress. This feature makes it the perfect choice for WordPress users who want to extend the functionality of their website with sleek landing pages that maintain a consistent look and feel with their existing content.
Its real-time editing features allow for immediate feedback on design changes without any coding.
It also offers dozens of designer-made templates to choose from. You can add custom forms and popups to your landing page, save page components for reuse, and seamlessly integrate with your customer relationship management (CRM) tools to create a powerful customer experience.
While Elementor offers a ton in terms of design flexibility and integration, it’s important to note that it’s exclusively for WordPress users and can be resource-intensive – so it might impact site performance, especially on more complex websites.
Pros:
- Advanced customization and design flexibility.
- Real-time editing and instant feedback.
- Seamless WordPress integration.
Cons:
- Exclusively for WordPress users.
- Potentially impacts site performance due to resource intensity.
Pricing:
- Free version with limited functionality.
- Paid versions start at $59/year, providing advanced features and support.
9. Taplink
Screenshot from Taplink.at, April 2024- Best for: Social media influencers and businesses looking to direct traffic from social platforms to other content or actions.
This one’s a little different than some of the other examples here, but it deserves highlighting.
Taplink is a specialized micro-landing page builder optimized for social media profiles. It’s perfect for businesses and influencers that want to drive traffic from social media to other content or actions. You just use Taplink to create landing pages and share them on your social profiles.
Taplink stands out for its simplicity and mobile optimization, which is crucial when targeting social media audiences.
The focus on quick, effective page creation allows users to engage with their audience without the complexities of traditional website development.
For those aiming to convert social media interest into tangible outcomes – such as lead generation, sales, or content promotion – Taplink is a winner.
While its feature set is more limited than some of the more comprehensive builders featured here, its affordability and user-friendly design make it a great tool for those looking to maximize their social engagement with minimal effort and investment.
Pros:
- Simple and quick setup.
- Mobile-optimized for social media engagement.
- Cost-effective for targeted campaigns.
Cons:
- Designed primarily for micro-landing pages, limiting the scope.
- Fewer features and customization options than extensive landing page builders.
Pricing:
- Taplink offers a free basic plan, with premium features available on paid plans starting from $3/month. The most expensive tier, the Business tier, is $6/month.
There’s A Landing Page Platform To Help You Convert Visitors
Choosing the right landing page builder for your business can significantly impact your marketing success – but the decision will depend on your specific goals and needs.
As we’ve explored, each tool has unique strengths and caters to different aspects of the landing page creation and optimization process.
Whether you’re looking for advanced design capabilities, a user-friendly interface, or specific functionalities like CRO, there’s a platform that can help you not just streamline your landing page design process, but start converting visitors into loyal customers.
More resources:
Featured Image: Griboedov/Shutterstock
SEO
Google’s Search Engine Market Share Drops As Competitors’ Grows
According to data from GS Statcounter, Google’s search engine market share has fallen to 86.99%, the lowest point since the firm began tracking search engine share in 2009.
The drop represents a more than 4% decrease from the previous month, marking the largest single-month decline on record.
U.S. Market Impact
The decline is most significant in Google’s key market, the United States, where its share of searches across all devices fell by nearly 10%, reaching 77.52%.
Screenshot from: https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/, May 2024.Concurrently, competitors Microsoft Bing and Yahoo Search have seen gains. Bing reached a 13% market share in the U.S. and 5.8% globally, its highest since launching in 2009.
Yahoo Search’s worldwide share nearly tripled to 3.06%, a level not seen since July 2015.
Screenshot from: https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/, May 2024.Search Quality Concerns
Many industry experts have recently expressed concerns about the declining quality of Google’s search results.
A portion of the SEO community believes that the search giant’s results have worsened following the latest update.
These concerns have begun to extend to average internet users, who are increasingly voicing complaints about the state of their search results.
Alternative Perspectives
Web analytics platform SimilarWeb provided additional context on X (formerly Twitter), stating that its data for the US for March 2024 suggests Google’s decline may not be as severe as initially reported.
From our data (Search Engine website category, US, March 2024) it doesn’t look like we’re there yet: pic.twitter.com/RBUJp4ZLeb
— Similarweb (@Similarweb) May 1, 2024
SimilarWeb also highlighted Yahoo’s strong performance, categorizing it as a News and Media platform rather than a direct competitor to Google in the Search Engine category.
Don’t underestimate Yahoo. They’re doing great. On our platform they’re categorized as News and Media, and hence not a direct competitor to Google in the Search Engine category. But they rank #10 worldwide, #6 in the US, and #1 in their category. Much higher than Bing and OpenAI. pic.twitter.com/O4yJu5QEK6
— Similarweb (@Similarweb) May 2, 2024
At the same time, Google is slightly declining 👀 pic.twitter.com/9i7paeU1QG
— Similarweb (@Similarweb) May 2, 2024
Why It Matters
The shifting search engine market trends can impact businesses, marketers, and regular users.
Google has been on top for a long time, shaping how we find things online and how users behave.
However, as its market share drops and other search engines gain popularity, publishers may need to rethink their online strategies and optimize for multiple search platforms besides Google.
Users are becoming vocal about Google’s declining search quality over time. As people start trying alternate search engines, the various platforms must prioritize keeping users satisfied if they want to maintain or grow their market position.
It will be interesting to see how they respond to this boost in market share.
What It Means for SEO Pros
As Google’s competitors gain ground, SEO strategies may need to adapt by accounting for how each search engine’s algorithms and ranking factors work.
This could involve diversifying SEO efforts across multiple platforms and staying up-to-date on best practices for each one.
The increased focus on high-quality search results emphasizes the need to create valuable, user-focused content that meets the needs of the target audience.
SEO pros must prioritize informative, engaging, trustworthy content that meets search engine algorithms and user expectations.
Remain flexible, adaptable, and proactive to navigate these shifts. Keeping a pulse on industry trends, user behaviors, and competing search engine strategies will be key for successful SEO campaigns.
Featured Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
SEO
How To Drive Pipeline With A Silo-Free Strategy
When it comes to B2B strategy, a holistic approach is the only approach.
Revenue organizations usually operate with siloed teams, and often expect a one-size-fits-all solution (usually buying clicks with paid media).
However, without cohesive brand, infrastructure, and pipeline generation efforts, they’re pretty much doomed to fail.
It’s just like rowing crew, where each member of the team must synchronize their movements to propel the boat forward – successful B2B marketing requires an integrated strategy.
So if you’re ready to ditch your disjointed marketing efforts and try a holistic approach, we’ve got you covered.
Join us on May 15, for an insightful live session with Digital Reach Agency on how to craft a compelling brand and PMF.
We’ll walk through the critical infrastructure you need, and the reliances and dependences of the core digital marketing disciplines.
Key takeaways from this webinar:
- Thinking Beyond Traditional Silos: Learn why traditional marketing silos are no longer viable and how they spell doom for modern revenue organizations.
- How To Identify and Fix Silos: Discover actionable strategies for pinpointing and sealing the gaps in your marketing silos.
- The Power of Integration: Uncover the secrets to successfully integrating brand strategy, digital infrastructure, and pipeline generation efforts.
Ben Childs, President and Founder of Digital Reach Agency, and Jordan Gibson, Head of Growth at Digital Reach Agency, will show you how to seamlessly integrate various elements of your marketing strategy for optimal results.
Don’t make the common mistake of using traditional marketing silos – sign up now and learn what it takes to transform your B2B go-to-market.
You’ll also get the opportunity to ask Ben and Jordan your most pressing questions, following the presentation.
And if you can’t make it to the live event, register anyway and we’ll send you a recording shortly after the webinar.
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