How to Combine SEO & Web Design

Web design and SEO should work together. When done correctly, both will provide immense benefits for your company. Here are a few examples demonstrating how to combine SEO with web design, and why it’s important.

Search engine optimization will generate organic traffic. This means you are naturally coming up in search results, without any type of paid advertisement. When potential customers search for a phrase related to your business, you want to be on that first page.

For example, “Digital Marketing in Berks County, PA” is a phrase Amity Digital would want to rank for given our location and industry.

Having a well-designed website portrays that you’re also committed to providing users with a positive experience.

Visitors take notice of high-quality images, cohesive colors, fonts, and layouts. The easier it is for users to use your website, the more likely they are to explore your website.

On the contrary, having a poorly designed website reflects the opposite and will cause users to leave your website quickly, causing a higher bounce rate. Your bounce rate will tell you how quickly users leave your website. A high bounce rate can suggest your website isn’t helpful to users and can hurt your search engine ranking over time.

Using images.

Search engines are now able to better determine what an image represents, but it is not yet perfect. This is why it is important to add alt tag descriptions to your photos.

This also helps with web accessibility, so users with screen readers and other devices can tell what your image is easily. Keep in mind you should not stuff keywords into your alt tag descriptions. Bonus: these photos will complement your content and branding, too!

Performing SEO during website development prevents extra work down the road.

There are many aspects of your website, including written content, where SEO is relevant. This can be image alt tags, HTML tags, meta descriptions, etc.

Keep in mind how a user would navigate your website.

This will help you to create a simple, easy to explore website and menu. When users visit your website, they’re looking for answers that should be easy to find. There is a high likelihood they’re also looking at your competitors, so you’re competing with them for their attention. You want these users to pick you over your competitors.

Like most website elements, there are common mistakes you should avoid. Don’t worry – they’re easily preventable and typically a quick fix.

• As we mentioned earlier, images are very important elements on your website. It is important that your images are sized correctly. If not, your webpage can take too long to load, causing users to leave. There are tools available to shrink images and test the loading speed of your pages!
• Ignoring mobile device users. If your website isn’t optimized correctly, your website will not be mobile friendly. Your website should work on all desktops, mobile devices, and tablets. Mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor, and will hurt your rank if not formatted correctly. Users will definitely abandon your site if it is too difficult to navigate on a specific device.
• Don’t forget your header and title tags. SEO content is ranked in relevance by using H1, H2, and H3 tags. These are extremely important to have on each webpage to highlight your pages’ keywords.
• Creating overly complicated navigation menus and headers. While it may be tempting to want a fun menu bar, it is best to keep these areas simple. The simpler it is for users to navigate, the more likely they are to find helpful information and stay on your website.
• Avoid using pop-ups incorrectly on your website. Search engines will detect this, and it will negatively affect your ranking. It also makes it more difficult for users to navigate your website and can make them frustrated.

There are many tools available to perform keyword research, resize images, and test page speeds!

Several factors will make your website stand out!

• Engaging Visuals
  • You may have videos explaining your products or services, photos, gifs, infographics – these are all beneficial. You can combine several elements when relevant.
  • You want to encourage your website visitors to engage with your website and learn more about what you offer. Keep in mind that too many visuals can also cause frustration for users, so use these elements in moderation!
• Include informative, helpful content on your webpage.
  • Provide the answers your customers are looking for and the solution to the problem they’re having. If you’re selling a product, explain throughout your website how this product will help!
• Hire Amity Digital to build you a new website!

Still not sure how to tackle search engine optimization? Read our previous blog that explains the ins-and-outs of search engine optimization.

We’ve been performing search engine optimization since before Google was around. Yep, you read that correctly, we’ve been doing this a long time.

We want to bring you legitimate results. Search engine optimization is not a quick process; it takes time. Our search engine optimization services include: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, local SEO, technical SEO, and reputation management.

Our process starts with a website audit which leads right to an actionable plan to tackle the changes and improvements we can make to better rank your website. From here, we can discuss your goals and work on a strategy that makes sense for both your business and industry.

Regardless of what stage your website is in, we offer tailored web design services and strategies to support your short-term goals and long-term vision, regardless of your business size. We can help you make a few changes or completely revamp your website. Our professional web design services deliver a final product that is completely customized to your needs.

Contact us today to get your website audit and bring customers to your website!