For those who are uncertain how these two, SEO and Web Design, function together, let’s first revise what each does separately. SEO or Search Engine Optimization represents a series of activities which help a website be ranked higher on search engines. Google changes the search algorithm often, so an SEO strategy you devise has to regularly updated, the long-tail keywords adapted and your blog refreshed with new posts.
As for Web Design, it is essentially the process of creating a website and it entails many elements, such as content navigation, metadata, graphics design, layout design and responsiveness to different resolutions. It also includes SEO but an SEO strategy can be implemented separately and both of these processes can be performed by you or hired professionals. And now, here are a few segments in which the unity of these two effectively boosts your company’s marketing.
The importance of backlinking
The link which takes the user from another website to your website, that is, a backlink, has a major influence on your website’s ranking position. Your website’s links on another website show to search engines that users see you as a trusted source. Also, it is advisable that, from the design point of view, each web page has a descriptive URL, so that instead of website.com/015987 you have website.com/our-products.
As for the strategy with which to achieve this, building a backlink record is not a quick process, especially since a lot of businesses which value quantity over quality tend to oversaturate web posts quickly with backlinks. Some of the ideas for a small business to build a backlink inventory is to partner up with social media influencers and local business, as well as check out the competitors’ content to have a better understanding of what works for them.
The need for speed
If your website takes too much time to load, the simple truth is that people will give up on you. We are surrounded by so much information at all times, so we mostly feel like we don’t have time to waste it on things that don’t work properly – if your website doesn’t win them over in the short attention span they have set aside for you, they will go somewhere else.
As for the algorithm, search engines have different metrics integrated into it based on which they rank the website and needless to say, if your website is slow, you will not be ranked high. What is responsible for the speed of your website is the website design quality and sharing buttons, JavaScript and plugins which haven’t been optimized can be the reasons behind the slowness. Also, bad hosting can be the cause of this problem, but whatever it might be, it is wise to react quickly. If you are having a problem discovering what needs to be worked on, it’s better to hire an agency to help you pinpoint the problems and resolve them.
The benefits of quality navigation
A website should not be a labyrinth and even though longer sessions mean better search engine ranking, your users will not stay longer if you make them look for ages for something. The key is to devise a simple navigation plan, without an excess of drop-down menus and too many subcategories. You might think in terms of what your target audience likes and prioritize and organize your website following those principles.
When it comes to motivating users to prolong their sessions, besides a page that loads quickly and a website on which you can easily find what you are looking for, the manner in which you present the content is significant. For example, videos have become increasingly appealing to users of all ages so if you have a process that needs to be explained, or another lengthy but important explanation, you might consider presenting it in a video. However, keep in mind that a separate section for videos doesn’t work well for most websites, as people usually wish for concrete information, rather than watch a number of videos.
The necessity for responsive design
Since people have become increasingly attached to their mobile phones, it is quite reasonable to expect them to search for any information while they are on the move – from which restaurant to visit to which pair of shoes to buy. So, optimizing your website so it can be both useable and aesthetically appealing on mobile phones and other smaller devices is not optional anymore, but a must.
Besides a responsive design for your website, another trend has emerged – mobile-first web strategy. Having in mind our usage of mobile phones, the idea of mobile websites having priority over other versions does seem practical. This means that users will have the optimal user experience at any time since they have mobiles next to themselves almost constantly. It remains to be seen whether mobile-first will take presentence over the responsive design.
Conclusion
Based on all examples from above and the fact that Web Design should innately include SEO, it would be best to join these two from the beginning since it can be quite costly to change your website to accommodate SEO practices. In a competitive and dynamic marketing world, one cannot do without the other and changing your approach will almost instantaneously inspire positive results.
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