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Working as a technical SEO can be exhausting.
You know what changes you need, but the development team is swamped and you can’t fit in.
After you’ve given them your recommendations, you believe it won’t be long before they’re put into action. It will only take a few hours to complete the task. And you sit back and watch as technical SEO changes lose priority.
The company is dealing with other pressing issues, and you watch as your task falls further down the to-do list.
We need a way to implement the changes without requiring development input.
This is the issue that Edge SEO is attempting to address.
Allowing the SEO to make changes to the live site immediately.
We’ll look at what Edge SEO is and how you can use it on your website.
What Exactly Is Edge SEO?
Edge SEO does not only solve the problem of task prioritization. It can also be useful when making changes to a legacy technology stack.
The pace of change within a legacy tech stack can be extremely slow. Already, the development team is struggling to make changes without causing the site to crash. How will they find time to improve their SEO?
Wouldn’t you like to deploy a fix as soon as you discover a problem with a website?
Dan Taylor coined the term “edge SEO” to describe how an SEO can use serverless technology to change a live website.
The changes take place on a layer that sits in front of the website rather than itself. Typically, this occurs in Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
Traditionally, CDNs have been used to cache files close to the end-user. They have begun to evolve in recent years.
They not only cache content, but they also now allow you to run code within the CDN.
This is known as Edge Computing.
This code can then manipulate the web server’s request/response.
There are a few CDNs that provide this service:
- Cloudflare Workers
- AWS Cloudfront lambda @edge
- Fastly Edge compute
They all serve the same purpose.
You can intercept a request and alter it in some way.
However, the languages supported by each system differ. Fastly uses WebAssembly, whereas Cloudflare and AWS support Javascript.
Because these CDNs send files worldwide, the code you write is also distributed. This means it is very fast and helps to improve website performance.
Let’s look at some of the changes you can make with this technology.
What Can Edge SEO Do for You?
We can manipulate the web server’s HTML response because the code is on Edge.
This means we can modify the HTML response in real-time.
Any changes to the page we make are then sent back to the user who requested them.
The user sees the same site as before, but with improvements.
At this point, the possibilities are nearly limitless.
Here is a list of some possible modifications:
- 301 and 302 redirects
- HREFLang tags or HTTP header responses
- Compress / re-size images
- Minify CSS or Javascript
- Adding Schema or Structured Data
- Modify the robots.txt
- Modify the sitemap
- Change any HTTP header response (Cache)
- Pre-render a SPA
- Inject any content into the page
- Change meta tags (title, description)
- Perform Multivariate, A/B tests
- Site security (CSP, HSTS, X-XSS, X-Frame-Options)
As you can see, there is a lot of power in this.
When you have a lot of power, you also have a lot of responsibility.
SEO Advantage And Website Performance
When using Edge SEO, it is critical to measure the effects of your changes to the site.
Any changes can cause the page’s performance to suffer.
Keep this in mind as you make changes. Use tools like Google Lighthouse to measure before and after.
Use any CDN caching available services.
For example, save the resized image to the cache if you resize an image. This will make future requests to that image faster.
Edge SEO CMS
Sloth is a code generator and manager for Edge SEO. It has a web interface that makes making and installing changes easier.
This tool can currently perform the following tasks:
- 301 and 302 redirects
- Hreflang into the HTML head
- AB testing
- Modifying/overriding your robots.txt file
- Security headers
The beauty of tools like this is that you don’t need any coding knowledge to use them. Thanks to the user interface, you can manage the changes with a few clicks.
Spark, which also works with Cloudflare Workers, is a similar tool to consider.
Collaboration With Development Teams
With this solution, there is one word of caution. Because of changes on the Edge, the development team may see unexpected results. Changes on the outskirts can be perplexing if not managed properly.
As a result, any changes should be added to the developer’s backlog.
As a result, the rule can be removed from the Edge once they have finished the work.
This is not a method of avoiding the development process.
It enables immediate changes to the site to be made and then permanently added to the site later.
Otherwise, the Edge’s changes could become complicated and out of control.
It is always preferable to collaborate on the final implementation.
Cost Efficiency of Edge SEO Implementation
In the realm of digital optimization, Edge SEO emerges as a cost-effective solution, mitigating the need for extensive development resources. By leveraging serverless technology, Edge SEO facilitates immediate changes to a website’s live environment without the requirement for significant development input or time-consuming coding processes.
Therefore, such efficiency translates into cost savings for businesses, as they can swiftly implement SEO enhancements without incurring additional expenses associated with traditional development cycles.
Moreover, Edge SEO offers scalability, allowing businesses to adapt and evolve their SEO strategies seamlessly as their needs grow. With its ability to make real-time adjustments to website content and architecture, Edge SEO ensures that businesses can efficiently address evolving SEO challenges without the overhead of extensive development overheads.
Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of Edge SEO extends beyond immediate savings to long-term benefits. By streamlining the implementation of SEO enhancements and optimizations, businesses can achieve sustainable growth in organic traffic and search engine visibility, resulting in enhanced return on investment (ROI) over time.
Scalability of Edge SEO Solutions
Seamless Implementation across Websites
Edge SEO provides scalability by enabling swift implementation of changes across websites, irrespective of their size or complexity. This scalability stems from the architecture of Edge SEO, which allows modifications to be made at the edge of the network, close to the end users.
Thus, this proximity ensures that changes propagate rapidly throughout the website, minimizing latency and ensuring consistent user experiences across all pages.
Efficient Adaptation to Evolving Needs
One key advantage of Edge SEO’s scalability is its ability to adapt to the evolving needs of businesses. Whether a website experiences sudden spikes in traffic or undergoes significant structural changes, Edge SEO can efficiently accommodate these variations without disrupting functionality or performance. This adaptability is particularly valuable for businesses operating in dynamic industries where agility and responsiveness are paramount.
Flexibility Across Diverse Platforms
Another aspect of Edge SEO’s scalability lies in its flexibility across diverse platforms and technologies. Whether a website is built on a traditional content management system (CMS) or utilizes a modern headless architecture, Edge SEO can seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructures, ensuring compatibility and interoperability.
This versatility enables businesses to leverage Edge SEO solutions regardless of their current technological stack, future-proofing their SEO strategies for long-term success.
Get An Enhanced User Experience
Faster Page Load Times
Edge SEO contributes to enhanced user experiences by ensuring faster page load times, reducing bounce rates, and improving overall engagement. By leveraging serverless technology, Edge SEO enables content delivery optimizations at the edge of the network. Thus, it effectively minimizes latency and delivering web pages to users more quickly.
Smoother Navigation
With Edge SEO, websites can offer smoother navigation experiences, allowing users to access content seamlessly across various devices and platforms. By optimizing content delivery and minimizing server-side processing, Edge SEO ensures that users can navigate through websites effortlessly, enhancing satisfaction and reducing frustration.
Optimized Content Delivery
Edge SEO optimizes content delivery by caching frequently accessed assets and serving them from edge servers located closer to end users. This approach reduces latency and bandwidth usage, resulting in smoother and more responsive content delivery experiences. Additionally, Edge SEO enables dynamic content optimizations based on user location, device type, and other contextual factors, further enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of content delivery.
Improved Website Performance
Overall, Edge SEO contributes to improved website performance by optimizing various aspects of the user experience, including page load times, navigation, and content delivery. By prioritizing user-centric optimizations at the edge of the network, Edge SEO ensures that websites deliver exceptional experiences to users, fostering engagement, and loyalty, and ultimately driving business success.
Expanding Global Reach with Edge SEO
Enhanced Accessibility Across Borders
Edge SEO enhances global reach by leveraging Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to distribute optimized content worldwide. This distributed architecture reduces latency and ensures consistent accessibility for users across different geographical locations.
Efficient Content Delivery
Through CDNs, Edge SEO optimizes content delivery by caching files closer to end-users, resulting in faster loading times and improved user experiences. This efficient content delivery mechanism enables businesses to reach audiences in remote regions with minimal latency, expanding their global footprint effectively.
Localized Content Distribution
Edge SEO facilitates localized content distribution by dynamically serving region-specific content based on user locations. This localization strategy ensures that users receive relevant and culturally tailored content, enhancing engagement and driving conversions in diverse markets.
Seamless Performance on a Global Scale
By leveraging CDNs for content distribution, Edge SEO ensures seamless performance on a global scale, regardless of fluctuating network conditions or geographical distances. This reliability and consistency in performance contribute to improved user satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately boosting website visibility and search engine rankings across international markets.
In summary, Edge SEO enables businesses to expand their global reach and accessibility by optimizing content delivery through CDNs.
This approach ensures efficient distribution of localized content, seamless performance across diverse geographical regions, and enhanced user experiences, driving growth and success in international markets.
Gaining Competitive Edge with Edge SEO
- Outpacing Competitors: Edge SEO provides a competitive advantage by staying ahead in SEO best practices, website performance, and user experience. Businesses utilizing Edge SEO can outpace competitors in search rankings and user engagement.
- Innovative SEO Strategies: Edge SEO enables businesses to implement innovative SEO strategies quickly, adapting to algorithm changes and industry trends. This agility allows businesses to maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
- Enhanced User Experience: By optimizing website performance and content delivery, Edge SEO enhances user experience, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates compared to competitors.
Start optimizing your website for success today! Contact us for expert guidance.
Final Thoughts
Edge SEO Development teams can be a bottleneck.
Changes in the development pipeline are difficult to implement due to competing business priorities.
One solution to making changes as an SEO is to use the new serverless edge computing.
Edge SEO enables you to make changes to the site in real time.
Don’t forget to update the underlying codebase as well.
Collaborate with the development team to ensure that best practices are learned. Why not give it a shot? Cloudflare has a free tier to test it out for yourself.
