Jan 30, 2012
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Incorporating SEO Into Your Web Design
The Beginning Stages of Web Design
In the web development process, website design is the very first step. The design of the website must be attractive and search engine-friendly. Search engines cater to the user. If the user isn’t happy with a website, search engines won’t be either.
Having a foot in SEO (search engine optimization) during the beginning stages of your web design is critical for the future success and strength of your website in the search engines. SEO and web design go hand in hand. One cannot function without the other, although some businesses would like to disagree.
You may have a beautiful looking website that you throw up on the Internet and have a well designed marketing budget focused on paid ads and sponsored links, but you’re out of luck when you realize how little people trust those paid ads and sponsored links, passing right over them to click on the first website they see in the organic listings. People subconsciously trust those websites who have paid their dues in order to get to those top organic rankings. Search optmized web design is the key to your potential customers’ trust and business.
SEO Components to Include in Your Web Design
There is so much you can incorporate into your web design in order to appeal to the search engines. These key SEO components can make or break your website, so consulting with a professional web design company would be a smart move.
Choose a platform that contains search engine-friendly components. A few things you need are areas where you can include:
- Meta Title Tags
- Meta Description Tags
- Meta Keyword Tags
- Custom URL’s
- Blog Post Capabilities
We at Innovation Simple create custom search optimized web designs on WordPress platforms using a variety of WordPress SEO plugins.
Make sure you include “breadcrumbs” in your web design. This establishes a hierarchical system that search engines and users are able to easily navigate through. This hierarchy gives your website organization and power that will definitely improve your rankings as long as the content on those pages is unique and focused on ONE particular subject. For example, don’t create a page called “Playground Swings for Sale” and then talk about slides, monkeybars, and sandboxes. Focus on swings and swings alone.
Many web design companies compare websites to a funnel, putting so much effort into the home page because they feel that most people will go to the home page (top of the funnel) first and then find their way to a specific page (bottom of the funnel).
In reality, a website is like a spider web. The home page, being the center of the web, is surrounded by specific pages targeting specific products, services, or pieces of information. People search for specific terms and are lead to those specific pages on your website FIRST rather than the home page. If your website is designed correctly using SEO tactics, the user will probably never even see your home page (the center of the spider web). Make sure your home page includes general information about who you are as a company and what you offer. Save the details for specific pages you create throughout your website including blog posts.
A Few Good Examples of Search Optimized Web Design
Here are a few good examples of search optimized web designs that attract and convert.