Source: Zhihu Column
Following the release of the mini program page search guidance, WeChat has issued a new mini program SEO search optimisation guide, introducing new search standards for mini programs. The official standards follow.
1. Pages a mini program jumps to (URLs) must be directly openable: in-page jump URLs are a major source by which our crawler discovers pages, and the result pages search recalls must open directly, without depending on context state. In particular, it is recommended that all parameters a page needs be contained in the URL.
2. Prefer the navigator component for page jumps. Mini programs offer two routing ways: the navigator component, and routing APIs including navigateTo, redirectTo, switchTab, navigateBack and reLaunch. Use the navigator component; if you must use APIs, shield the time locks or variable locks set against clicks when the crawler visits.
3. Clear, concise page parameters: a well-structured, concise querystring with meaningful parameters helps crawling and later analysis greatly, while passing JSON data as parameters is a poor implementation.
4. Ask users for authorisation, login or phone binding only when necessary: for example, reading an article can be anonymous while commenting requires a name.
5. WeChat mini programs index nothing inside web-view. WeChat says it cannot do this for now, and may not manage it in the short or long term; therefore nothing in web-view is indexed.
6. Use sitemap configuration to guide the crawler, and block paths with no search value. See the official sitemap documentation at developers.weixin.qq.com.
7. Set a clear page title and thumbnail. Title and thumbnail matter greatly for WeChat’s understanding of the page and for raising exposure and conversion. Set them through wx.setNavigationBarTitle or custom sharing content via onShareAppMessage, and complete the poster and poster-for-crawler properties for video and audio components.
8. Use the page path push capability: it greatly enriches what WeChat can index, raising the mini program’s content exposure opportunities.
Besides, unlike Baidu’s keyword-ranking mechanism for mini programs, WeChat’s ranking mechanism weighs more complex factors: keywords are only one point. Even with many keywords configured in the backend, fuzzy search may not find you, and exact search does not guarantee first place either. Friend relationships, usage records and page push counts are all important reference factors, so keyword layout matters comparatively less in WeChat mini program SEO; webmasters and developers can bear this in mind when optimising.
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