These days, most people start their search for a new product on the web. Statistics say as many as 81% of shoppers conduct online research before buying, regardless of whether they make their final purchase online or in-store. Strengthening your online presence is the key to success in an era when consumers literally have a world of choice at their fingertips. It’s a given that you need a website that lists your services and contact details, but there’s a lot more than that required to stand out among the competitors. SEO and web design are the factors that determine how high your site ranks on Google, and even if it shows up at all.
SEO (search engine optimisation) is, simply put, the process of improving your website so that it ranks higher in unpaid search results. Search engines use bots to crawl the web and file all the available pages in indexes. Algorithms analyse the pages to determine the order they should be in so that when you type in a query, the most relevant results are displayed first. You can strengthen your SEO by creating high-quality content, adding the right keywords, meta tags and images, and building your social media accounts and backlinks.
Google is the world’s most widely used search engine, processing around 63,000 searches a second. Many marketers consider it the Holy Grail to make it to the first page of Google results. Most professionals offering SEO services will focus on helping you rank on Google.
Web design is about the look and feel of the website and how the user experiences it. This includes the site's functionality and layout, as well as graphic design elements such as images, colours and fonts. The best web design focuses on user experience (UX) and a fast, efficient, easy-to-use site that works on both desktop and mobile.As you can see, a lot goes on behind the scenes to make even the most straightforward-looking websites function to the standard that web users expect. It’s beneficial to hire professionals to help with your web design and SEO services to get the rankings and the revenue you’re working hard for. Yet there are a few simple steps to implement positive changes on your site immediately, and you don’t need a graphic design or marketing degree to get started.
Why is SEO in Web Design Important?
SEO will always be an important feature of web design. No matter how dazzling a site’s graphic design may be, very few people will ever see it if it’s not optimised to show up on search engines. On top of the visual elements of your website, it’s a good idea to pay attention to factors such as keywords, links and quality content from the beginning.If you design the site with SEO in mind, it will rank higher from the start, saving you time and hassle later. Of course, it’s never too late to improve your site's SEO and web design and watch your rankings increase.
How to Optimise for Web Design and SEO
A few steps you can put in place to start ranking higher on search engines include:
1. Code
The building blocks of a webpage; code is important for the success of SEO. The smoother the development, the better the website experience. Code is made up of different elements that all play their part in letting search engines know what your site is about and helping them determine where to rank it. HTML title tags should accurately reflect the contents of your webpage, meta descriptions offer short synopses for the benefit of readers and search engines, and links help the crawlers find and index your page.
2. Mobile-friendliness
Over 50% of all web traffic comes from mobile users. When a user is on a mobile device, websites optimised for mobile will always outrank websites that aren’t. You can make your website more mobile-friendly in many different ways. Use different HTML codes for the mobile version, and ensure this version is designed for touchscreens, with simple navigation and readable fonts.
3. Readability
The days when you could throw some keywords on a page in any order with no context and still have it rank on Google are long gone. These days, clear, well-written and easy-to-understand content will outrank the lean or poorly written kind. Content that’s readable and engaging is more likely to keep readers on the page and entice them to follow through with an action like sharing on social media or clicking through to the sales funnel.
4. File names
Google rankings can even factor in something as simple as what you call the file names on your website. Giving your website files descriptive names makes it easier for the search engines to find and index your pages and provides more accurate results for the human beings using the search engines. You can make it easier for them by using accurate names for image and video files and leaving out the spaces between the words.
5. File size
File size affects page rankings more than many people may think. Websites with larger files tend to load slower, which increases the bounce rate. Websites with a lot of larger images also require more bandwidth. It pays to reduce or eliminate any needless code, compress images or reduce them to a recommended size, and avoid custom fonts when necessary.
6. Alt tags
Also called alt text or alt descriptions, alt tags are the text that appears on a user’s screen if a website image doesn’t load. Not only are they important for visually impaired web users, but they also impact your SEO rankings, turning your images into hyperlinked results that show up in a Google image search. The result is more organic visitors to your site.
7. Navigation
Having an organised, well-structured website makes it easier for web users to find their way around and for search engines to crawl and index your site’s pages. SEO-friendly navigation starts with thinking about the user experience and how each page on your website addresses a specific query. Less is often more, but there’s always room to get creative.
8. URL structure
Much like title tags, Google will use your website’s URLs to indicate what your page is about. Straightforward URLs also reassure users that when they click the link, the page they land on will be relevant to their inquiry. It’s best to standardise URLs (for example, all lower case letters), avoid unnecessary words and use the most accurate keyword for the page in question, even if it’s not necessarily the highest-ranking one.
Drive Traffic to Your Site with Great SEO and Web Design
Anchor Digital focuses on SEO that’s common sense, best practice and always aligned with your business goals. You maintain control of your creative vision while we help steer your ship towards your desired destination while providing advice and reports in plain English.We also help tell your story through the design and development of a website that compliments your brand, casts your net out to a wider audience and exceeds customer expectations. Using tried and tested processes, we have responsive website design down to a science and an art. We don’t do lock-in contracts, preferring to offer value and results that make you want to do business with us again.
Drop us a line for web design, graphic design and SEO services that cast your net further than before and spread your story far and wide.
