When we think of SEO, the first thing that comes to mind is content.
From keyword matches to backlinks to delivering valuable information that resonates with consumers, content is the driving force behind SEO.
But it isn’t the only force.
Website design plays a huge role in the success of our SEO strategies.
Today’s consumers want a superior user experience, and since that’s what consumers want, that’s also what search engines want.
When you deliver a great customer experience, you not only gain a following – you earn higher SERPs, and a key to delivering that positive experience is website design.
From appearance to functionality, it’s helpful to follow SEO tips for website design that can impact your search engine rankings.
What is SEO Website Design?
SEO website design is a strategy for developing a website to ensure it appeals to search engines and consumers alike.
Search engines crawl each page to scan its content in order to rank a website. They determine whether the information is helpful (up to date with functioning links) and then index those pages in their database.
When they collect all of this information, they can deliver the most valuable websites to their users based on their search terms.
The more a website is designed for SEO, the more likely it is to rank higher in the search results.
This is critical to business success since there are currently more than 1.8 billion websites in the world vying for audience attention.
75% of searchers won’t scroll past the first page of Google results.
Use SEO considerations when building a website to set yourself apart from the competition, drive traffic to your site, and generate revenue.
5 SEO Tips for Website Design
There are numerous SEO-friendly website design guidelines to help deliver a positive user experience and earn high search rankings.
Whether you’re building a website from scratch or simply need to keep yours updated, ensure your website is designed for optimal results by following these five SEO tips for web developers.
1. Make it Easy to Navigate
When you walk into a department store and scan the room, you want to see signs directing your way and a clear sightline so you can identify where things are in the store.
The same goes for your website.
When people land on your home page, they want to be able to find the information they’re looking for quickly and easily.
A well-organized website has clear directions, whether it’s tabs across the top of the page or links down the side that tell visitors where to go.
Information should never be more than a few clicks away. Otherwise, visitors will become frustrated and leave before they get anywhere near your CTA.
Make sure there are clear ways for your audience to contact you with questions.
Chat features and phone numbers with extensions help people feel they can reach you easily if needed.
Navigate through your website as if you were a customer, see what kind of experience you’re delivering, and look for areas to improve for streamlined, easy website navigation.
2. Less is More
Aesthetically speaking, a website should reflect the image of your brand.
Clean lines and text surrounded by white space leave visitors feeling at ease. Avoid clutter, and keep information to a minimum. Too much visual stimulation can be overwhelming and may actually deter people from continuing through the customer journey.
Important features like call-to-action buttons can get lost in a sea of graphics and text.
Design with simplicity in mind. Your website should be a welcoming place that provides useful information in a way that’s easy to digest.
A minimalistic approach can help achieve this goal.
3. Minimize Load Times
We live in a society where people want instant results.
When someone opens a web page, they don’t want to wait for it to load.
In fact, if a page takes longer than two seconds to come up, 47% of users will bail.
Avoid this by compressing or embedding large images or videos to keep them from bogging download times.
Reduce the number of HTTP requests your site has to make by combining or minifying the files on your page.
Be sure to use a web hosting service that can handle your needs. If it’s moving too slow, you may need to consider using a dedicated server.
Whatever precautions you need to take are well worth it since load times are important to keep your audience engaged in your site.
4. Take an Omnichannel Approach
Today, nearly 50% of online purchases are made from a mobile device.
Today’s consumers can shop from anywhere while on the go, thanks to tablets, smartphones, and laptops.
To reach that audience, you need to design your website for omnichannel purposes.
A visitor should be able to access your site from their phone or their tablet and have the same experience as if they were using their desktop computer.
Make sure text and images are formatted and scalable for multiple platforms and screen sizes.
If important information is cut off from view or your copy has unnatural breaks due to formatting issues, users won’t trust your site and will leave you for a competitor.
Designing for mobile isn’t hard, but it does take careful planning.
Don’t overlook this audience as you map out your website design.
5. Optimize Meta Information
There are three major opportunities for keyword optimization in web design:
- Meta tags: Excerpts of text that tell search engines what the content is about. These should include your focus keyword and key phrases.
- Meta title: Search engines use this to display a page in their results listings. It should use your focus keyword and consist of 50-60 characters.
- Meta description: A Brief summary that appears in search engine results. This should be long enough to entice people to read your content, but not so long it’s truncated by Google. Aim for 50-160 characters.
Knowing how and where to incorporate keywords in these three ways helps search engines accurately assess your web pages.
"The bottom line is that SEO is all about making people happy!"
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I understand the importance of designing websites with SEO in mind.
Let me help you create a website that will not only help people find your business online but encourage them to convert to customers.
Contact me today to discuss your SEO web design strategy.
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