Search engine optimization is a valuable tool for any business looking to get ahead online. It’s easy for companies to focus on content creation and ways to get webpages noticed by Google’s algorithm. The right keywords and backlinks to related content, as well as the right page titles and meta tags, can work wonders and get you onto the front page. There’s also a lot of value in local SEO with location-based keywords and a presence on Google’s tools for local businesses. You just can’t focus on all this and forget about the importance of good web design.
The design of a website plays a big part in SEO and the way Google interacts with content. You could have a well-written blog with keywords and links on your site, but you only find it lacks visibility due to other site issues. Effective SEO in web design revolves around the following four factors. Visitors need to find the website instantly attractive, be able to engage with the page meaningfully, and navigate to the right part of the website. At the same time, the website has to perform well enough to let users do all this.
The Way A Website Looks
The first thing that comes to mind with website design, if you’re not a coder, is aesthetic design. Websites need to look professional enough to draw people in, to begin with. Anything that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1995 isn’t going to inspire confidence in prospective clients. Clear branding is essential, with your company’s logo, any characters associated with the brand, and consistent colour schemes. For example, you expect Tiffany and Co’s website to be elegant with plenty of Tiffany blue – and it is. You can decide if you need to be clean and minimalist or bright and engaging. Either way, it helps to use images to break up text. You can hire photographers for original content, but it’s also easy to find free-to-use photos and illustrations online.
The Way Visitors Engage With A Landing Page
Once visitors decide they’re happy with those first impressions of your website, they need to be able to get the information they need as easily as possible. This means marrying SEO and website design in a way that enhances functionality. Readability cannot be under-emphasized, and it goes past optimization for mobile screens. Font sizes and typography are surprisingly influential. Visitors would rather have something simple than something stylish that’s hard to read. You should also work in relatively short paragraphs with good headers while also making use of bullet points and lists to break things up. Some experts suggest light backgrounds, although the number of people actively using dark mode on their devices may make that redundant.
Engagement also means being able to interact with features that will give them further information and take them where they need to be. This goes beyond the navigation tools, which we’ll look at in a moment. Engaging with visual media can help. Videos on landing pages can be informative and showcase your brand even better. As long as the videos are embedded properly with the right controls, you can’t go too wrong. It’s also a good idea to embed links to social media platforms on the landing page. This provides easy links to additional promotional content and helps build your reputation as a brand. Even if they don’t end up buying something, they may subscribe to a channel or become a follower to get access to future content. At the same time, you should ensure you have enough links to your website pages via your social media posts for direct access.
The Way Visitors Navigate A Website
Navigation is all about how visitors get around a website – ideally with clear directions and pathways. Visitors are trying to get from point A, a search engine results page, to Point B, a way of getting what they came for in as few steps as possible. The best place to start is with menu bars and drop-down menus where everything is obvious. These menus could be categorized by product type, service, or gender. You can also add menu options for company information and reviews and a search bar for specific links to products. It also helps to use links from your landing page content into service page content or the contact page.
The Way The Website Performs
Finally, none of these search engine optimization tools are worth anything if your website performs inadequately. There are harsh expectations about websites that often aren’t realized. We expect them to load without hesitation, with everything in a user-friendly, readable format and no obnoxious pop-ups getting in our way. If a site fails this test in the first few seconds, visitors bounce out.
The best websites use secure hosting with fast responses. Their website managers also take the time to check for working links to all those menus and other pages. No 404 errors! Additionally, you need the ability to convert visitors by giving them ways to interact with the company. Contact forms and messaging systems, including web chat AI, if possible, all suggest professionalism. There are also expectations for working buttons for the right processes, a secure checkout, and a payment method that doesn’t take forever to process.
Work With Professional SEO And Website Design Experts
Don’t worry if you feel this is all beyond the capabilities of your IT team. There is a lot to consider here, with the deep internal taxonomy of the website and the more superficial features to attract visitors. Contact an SEO team with the skills and experience to tune up your website in line with all the factors above. They can audit your site to see what works and what doesn’t before concocting a plan and bringing in everything you need. Once completed, they can run analytics on your site to determine the positive and negative effects and help you build from there. This new partnership could transform your website into something with more visual interest, more visitors sticking around, and more conversions. So, get in touch with them today and get the ball rolling.