5 Reasons Why Web Design is Important for SEO in 2013
The world of web design is often considered to
be little more than pretty pics and a bunch of fluff, but that's a complete
misnomer and even disrespectful to the art involved. Great web design is as
much a form of art as the best paintings and sculptures. The following are some
of the reasons why well designed web pages are also great for your search
engine optimization and getting the cash register to ring with consistency.
Pleasant Designs Attract
People
A lot of search engine
optimization actually isn't just about search engines themselves. While they
and their various technologies are important to the overall operation, the
technology isn't everything. Ultimately, human beings are an important part of what
makes any kind of site popular with search engines. This comes down to the
initial view of the page, the general layout's impression, how the pages relate
to each other and the information they express thematically.
The point to consider
first and foremost is that SEO isn't really about the search engines
— it's about the people. User optimized sites get more traffic. They have
better click-through rates and conversions with fewer bounces. When you choose a website design, make sure it's one that is consistent and puts forward the
right vibe.
Proper Link Design
Encourages Everyone
With the point
thoroughly made about how the search engines are of secondary importance,
they're still a vital part of your web design. While most people will never
consciously register the link design of any given site, everyone who visits
will eventually find out if it's hard to find what they're looking for. This
can manifest itself in a lot of ways, from not being able to find a given link
to having broken links. A surprisingly large number of websites actually suffer
from these problems, and it often comes down to the designer knowing the site
so well that they never notice these tiny details.
Keep in mind that search
engines look for proper link arrangement. If the links are truly messed up, the
"spiders" may not be able to find some of your deeper pages.
Similarly, human beings may have difficulty finding these pages. In a situation
like that, you could have a problem with retention and drawing back previous
visitors.
Easy Functionality Means
Easier Navigation
Navigating your website
should not require a manual. If it does, you've done something wrong and need
to fix it immediately. When you take someone to your site, how quickly do they
find a given thing you ask them to click on? The average search time is only a
few seconds — longer than that, and the traditionally attention
deficit-ridden online reader will generally click somewhere that's more
accessible. While the search engines can find links in your code anywhere, most
people find this difficulty to be frustrating and intolerable.
Well Designed Sites are
Shared More Often on Social Media
Have you ever had
someone share something awful with you? Naturally, such things happen, but
there are several kinds of low quality. Among those kinds are simply awful
content, which is reasonably easy to update, and awful overall design, which
can be a serious and time consuming challenge. When your website is well
designed, people are more likely to share it, post it, pin it, and otherwise
draw positive attention to it with their friends and fellow readers. Remember
that shares tend to result in better rankings.
Little Touches Add to
Search Engine Appeal
You have meta tags,
carefully chosen search keywords sprinkled throughout the content and
highlighted on specific deep pages, and are using the alt notation for images,
right? While these and other small touches are not necessarily crucial to making
your website search engine friendly and helping people find your site, there
are ways to go from doing a good job to doing a stupendous job. When you add
the little touches, such as surrounding pictures and videos with text, you will
be doing wonders for both the SEO aspect of your design and for the
accessibility of your page.
While it's rare for
anyone to be using an interface that doesn't support pictures or videos, it
does happen. Also, media that has text around it is more easy to catalogue when
the search engines go crawling through your page.
The way websites are
designed have a lot to do with their SEO effectiveness. Think carefully about
the details, and try to branch out your design style to find what works best
for your site.
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