What could be the reason for poor SEO performance on our Webflow website despite having a fast, responsive, and optimized site?
TL;DR
- Ensure proper keyword targeting, unique content, optimized meta tags, and structured headings.
- Check indexing settings, fix crawl issues, submit your sitemap, build backlinks, and optimize URLs and CMS structure.
A fast, responsive, and optimized Webflow site may still suffer from poor SEO performance due to overlooked technical, content, or strategic SEO issues. Here are key areas to investigate:
1. Missing or Poor Keyword Targeting
- Check if pages target the right keywords and if those keywords match user intent.
- Avoid generic terms—use specific, long-tail keywords based on actual search behavior.
- Use tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to see which queries you're showing up for.
2. Thin or Duplicate Content
- Webflow sites sometimes rely on visual design over textual content, which hurts keyword relevance.
- Ensure each page has unique, high-quality content with relevant headers (H1, H2).
- Use canonical tags properly if you’ve reused sections across multiple pages.
3. Poor On-Page SEO Practices
- Ensure each page has a clear title tag, meta description, and properly structured headings (H1-H6).
- Use alt text for all images and provide descriptive filenames.
- Internal linking should be strategic and aid crawlability.
4. Improper Indexing or Robots.txt Settings
- Go to Webflow Site Settings → SEO tab and check if “Disable Webflow subdomain indexing” or any other parameter is blocking indexing.
- Use the Google Search Console “URL Inspection” tool to ensure important pages aren’t being blocked or noindexed.
5. Lack of Backlinks
- SEO isn't just on-site—external backlinks from relevant or authoritative sources help search rankings.
- A well-built site with little off-site authority won’t rank well.
6. Poor CMS Structure or URL Optimization
- Webflow CMS-driven sites can create redundant collections or poorly optimized URL slugs.
- Check for URL parameters, weird CMS paths, or overly deep URLs (e.g.,
/cms/category/blog/post-name).
7. Missing Sitemap or Incomplete Submissions
- Ensure your site has an autogenerated sitemap (
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and submit it to Google Search Console. - Make sure there are no errors in the Coverage section.
8. Slow Crawl Rate or Low Crawl Budget Usage
- If your site is new or large, Google may not crawl it often.
- Improve crawlability by using internal linking, submitting updated sitemaps, and fixing crawl errors.
Summary
Even if your Webflow site is fast and responsive, SEO performance can lag due to poor keyword strategy, weak content, indexing issues, or low domain authority. Use tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to systematically audit and correct these areas.