1

I have a webpage that has its index.php page that looks like like Google's home page. I mean it only has a search input box and a logo on it. It is not a Google like search engine but it is a search engine for my database that users can search for something included in my site. I want to keep it like that and I believe it looks simple and good but I'm having difficulty with SEO.

As it has a lack of content, I'm having difficulty with matching meta description and page title to the contents which would increase my ranking. I don't want to use hidden elements to spam inside <h1>'s and words which are going to lead me to be blacklisted on Search Engines.

Is there any advice that would be helpful for me?

Improve this question
9
  • Is it obvious what the purpose of your "search engine" is to the casual visitor? Is there enough information on the page to explain its purpose?
    – MrWhite
    Mar 19, 2018 at 12:31
  • 1
    @MrWhite Actually my website is online javascript editor and with search engine you search for written js codes.
    – Güney Saramalı
    Mar 19, 2018 at 12:48
  • So, are you saying you don't have any additional content on the page? You literally just have the search box and a logo, as you mentioned?
    – MrWhite
    Mar 19, 2018 at 13:11
  • 1
    The title is not a meta element. It doesn't use the <meta> tag and it is not invisible to users. It is used by the browser in tabs and in the window title. You should call it the "page title" rather than a "meta title". I've edited your question to make that correction.
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Mar 19, 2018 at 13:44
  • 2
    @closetnoc "can't" is pretty strongly worded. Google ranks #1 if you search for "Google". It you just want to rank for your brand it should be do-able. Ranking for other things is harder. Even Google doesn't rank #1 for "search engine" on Google.
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Mar 19, 2018 at 15:54

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

If you enjoy the simplicity of your web page, but want your website to be more SEO-friendly, you could make a div that contains your current content that is width:100%; height:100% of the user's viewport.

Then you can add an arrow or link towards the bottom of the page that a user can click if he/she wants to learn more. This link could dynamically scroll down to additional content.

Here's an example: https://blackrockdigital.github.io/startbootstrap-creative/

This way, user's can decide if they want to see more on an individual basis, and search engines will pick up more content.

Improve this answer
2
1

It's not easy to rank a page on Google if that page only has a search bar. Google likes to rank content. And doing anything to try and game Googlebot into thinking that you have more content than you already do is risky as Googlebot has algorithms in place to detect this behavior.

If you'd like to have a better chance at ranking this page, you could add more content below the fold, so that when users enter the page they just see the search bar but if they scroll down they see more content. Google will rank sites higher based on what's above the fold, but the added content below it will give you a boost as well. Perhaps you could try to add daily news thumbnails and titles.

If you're worried about page load speed due to the added content, you could load the content through ajax so that the search bar will load at the same speed as before.

Improve this answer
2
  • You mean to run ajax if the page is scrolled? Will it be triggered by search engine bots?
    – Güney Saramalı
    Mar 19, 2018 at 19:40
  • You can use onload with ajax so that the content loads after the window loads. Googlebot can crawl onload ajax content
    – Michael d
    Mar 19, 2018 at 19:45

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.