Web designs seem simple, right? You come up with an aesthetically pleasing design, throw in some compelling content, and viola! You have a website that’s ready to take on the world.
But if you want your website to actually succeed, there’s one more important ingredient you need to consider – SEO.
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of making sure your website shows up on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant queries. Essentially, it’s what helps you get found online. And if you want your business to succeed, you need to make sure your web design is SEO friendly.
Here are a few tips to help you out when creating an SEO-friendly web design:
Table of Contents
Match Your Content with Search Intent
One of the most important things to consider when optimizing your web design for SEO is search intent. Essentially, this is what a user is looking to accomplish when they type a certain query into a search engine.
There are four main types of search intent:
- Navigational: The user is looking for a specific website or page – e.g., “Facebook login.”
- Informational: The user is looking for information on a topic – e.g., “What is SEO?”
- Transactional: The user is looking to buy something – e.g., “Buy Nike shoes.”
- Commercial: The user is looking to compare products or services before buying – e.g., “Best web hosting providers.”
If you want your website to rank for a certain query, you need to make sure the content on your site matches the search intent. For example, if someone is looking to buy Nike shoes, they’re not going to be happy landing on a page that only provides information on the history of the company. Likewise, if someone is looking for information on SEO, a transactional page that tries to sell them a service isn’t going to be relevant.
By matching your content with search intent, you’re more likely to rank in SERPs and provide a better experience for users.
Use the Right Keywords
How do you make content match search intent? By using the right keywords on your site. These are the words and phrases that users type into search engines when they’re looking for something.
For example, if you’re a web hosting company, some relevant keywords might be “best web hosting,” “cheap web hosting,” or “web hosting reviews.” If you sell Nike shoes, relevant keywords might be “buy Nike shoes,” “Nike outlet,” or “Nike clearance.”
You can use a variety of tools to help you research relevant keywords, including Google’s Keyword Planner and Moz’s Keyword Explorer. Once you have a list of keywords, you can start incorporating them into your content.
Optimize Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Typically, when a user sees your website in SERPs, they’ll see your title tag and meta description. These are the pieces of text that show up under your website’s URL.
As reported by Digital Authority Partners, your title tag should be clear, concise, and to the point. It should also include one or two of your keywords. For example, if you’re a web hosting company, a relevant title tag might be “Best Web Hosting Provider – CompanyName.”
Your meta description should provide more information about what users will find on your website. It should also be clear, concise and include one or two of your keywords. For example, a relevant meta description for your cleaning business may sound like this: “Looking for a reliable cleaning business? CompanyName offers top-quality services at an affordable price.”
Both your title tag and meta description are important because they help persuade users to click through to your website. If your title tag and meta description are compelling, you’re more likely to get clicks, which can help improve your SEO.
Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly
Having a mobile-friendly website is essential for your marketing strategy. This is because more and more people are using their smartphones to browse the Internet, buy on the Internet, and do their banking on the Internet. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile users, you’re likely to lose out on a lot of traffic.
To make sure your site is mobile-friendly, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. Just enter your URL, and Google will analyze your website to see if it’s mobile-friendly.
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you can address the problem by using a more responsive design, which means your website will automatically adjust to fit any screen size.
Additionally, you can use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which is a Google-backed technology that makes pages load faster on mobile devices.
Pay Attention to Page Speed
Page speed is another important ranking factor, especially for mobile users. This is because people are generally impatient and don’t want to wait for a slow website to load. They will click away from your site if your website takes too long to load, resulting in loss of traffic to your site.
To see how fast your website loads, use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Just type in your URL, and Google will give you a report on your page speed.
If your website needs some work, you can improve your page speed. For starters, optimize your images by compressing them, so they take up less space. Additionally, you can minify your CSS and JavaScript files to reduce the amount of code your website has to load. Doing these will improve the site’s speed.
Implement Images and Videos
Another way to make your content more engaging is to add images and videos. People are generally more interested in visual content than text, so adding multimedia can help keep them engaged.
When you do add images and videos, make sure to optimize them for SEO. This means including keywords in your file names and captions. For example, if you have a video about “how to make a website,” you might name it something like “HowToMakeAWebsite.mp4.”
Additionally, you can use Google’s Image Optimizer tool to help compress your images, so they take up less space and load faster.
Design a Simple Navigation Structure
Another important ranking factor is your website’s navigation. People want to be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. If your website is difficult to navigate, you’re likely to lose out on a lot of traffic. Take the time to plan out a simple navigation structure for your website. This will make it easier for people to find what they’re looking for and help improve your SEO.
A good navigation structure includes a home page, an about page, a contact page, and a sitemap. You can also add additional pages for each of your products or services.
Conclusion
When it comes to operating a successful website, SEO is an important factor to consider. By following the tips above, you can make sure your web design is SEO-friendly and set your site up for success.
