There are many different facets to search engine optimization (SEO), but your website is at the center of it all. When you design a new website or think about ways to improve your current site, SEO web design should be on your mind. But what exactly constitutes SEO friendly website design? Google and other search engines have designed their ranking algorithms to favor websites that are user friendly, meaning they are easy to navigate, feature helpful information, and load quickly on any device.
If you want to improve these integral ranking factors so your website performs better in search, Group6 Interactive can help. Our team specializes in custom web design and scalable SEO strategies. Here’s a look at how we’ll help you achieve a web design that ranks higher in search so that you can see more traffic from potential customers.
Make your website easy to navigate.
Users shouldn’t have to dig for specific pages on your website. So, you’ll want to keep your site architecture simple. Pages should be no further than 2-3 clicks away from your homepage. Otherwise, they may not be indexed by search engines—they also aren’t likely to get seen by human visitors on your site, either. Internal linking is also helpful for site navigation. Linking to relevant pages will build link authority throughout your site and help users get where they need to go on your site.
Create descriptive URLs.
Lengthy URLs packed with random letters and numbers not only don’t look great in the browser window, but they also don’t tell users (or search engines) what they can expect to see on a given page. It’s easy to overlook URLs, but short, descriptive URLs can make a big difference in how a page will rank on Google. They’re also easier for users to remember.
Tag your content.
Tagging your content with title tags, header tags, meta-description tags, and alt tags helps search engines parse what’s on the page. Remember, search engines can’t “read” images, so alt tags will help ensure that this content is still being recognized accurately when your site is crawled. Header tags are helpful for organizing each page and providing a quick overview of what users will take away from visiting the page. Another helpful feature of tagging is that it makes your site more accessible for a wider range of users—for example, screen readers will use alt text to provide a verbal description of images for the visually impaired.
Utilize responsive design.
With most web traffic being on mobile devices, you simply cannot ignore the need for responsive web design. Responsive design ensures that your site layout will look great whether it’s being viewed on a tiny smartphone screen or a large computer monitor. Images will display fully, and you won’t see odd cutoffs or paragraph breaks when you browse on different devices.
Diversify your content.
If you visit a website that’s little more than a wall of text, you’re likely to click away. Your potential customers are no different. They want to see dynamic, engaging content, such as videos, graphics, images, and lists. In addition, you must offer unique content on every page—duplicate content is a big red flag for search engines, and your site will be ranked lower in results if you have the same content repeated across multiple pages. One place to look out for this type of mistake is with pages highlighting different locations of your business. It’s not enough to replace the address and city name in a generic content template. Each page must offer unique written content, even if it’s covering the same basic information.
Test your load speed.
Site speed is a critical ranking factor when it comes to SEO. If your site takes a long time to load, users won’t want to stick around. As a result, you may see a higher bounce rate that drives down your search ranking. There is a multitude of factors that can affect your site’s load speed, including the server where your site is hosted.
Capture your brand aesthetic.
While Google certainly won’t take your font and color choices into account when crawling your site, it is still important to incorporate your brand aesthetic into your site design. Visitors should immediately associate your website with your brand, whether they’re on the homepage, blog, or a contact page.
Build a website that works for your business with Group6 Interactive. We can help you build your brand from the ground up or refine your marketing approach to see better results from your existing assets. We’ve worked with businesses of all sizes and utilize proven SEO strategies to boost your revenue. Get in touch with our team today at (802) 342-4656 or fill out our contact form to schedule a strategy call.
