When you think about your website, what do you see? Is it an image of a beautiful, functional site with tasteful typography and a clean design? Or is it a jumbled mess of text and images that looks like it was thrown together by someone who has no idea how to use web design software?
If you’re in the latter category and trying to improve your site’s ranking in search engines, this guide is for you. We’ll go over some basic guidelines for creating professional-looking pages that are optimized for search engines like Google and Bing. Here are just some of the topics we’ll cover:
Knowing your audience
The first step in creating a successful web design is to know your audience. This can be trickier than it might seem, but once you’ve done the research and figured out who your target market is and what they need from the site, it will be much easier to create an experience tailored specifically for them.
If you’re looking for inspiration or ideas on how to get started with this process, there are plenty of resources available online (and even offline). Think about where people would look when they want information on what your business offers; if they were doing the research before making a purchase decision, where would they go?
Do some keyword research using tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or SEMrush Keyword Analytics Tool so that you can see which keywords are most popular among potential customers, then use those words throughout all aspects of design: copywriting as well as visual branding elements like logos and icons.
Related: Keyword Research Strategies: Simple How-To
The importance of meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are a snippet of text that appears below the title of your web page in search engine results. They’re an opportunity to entice users to click through to your site and engage with your content, so it’s important not only that you have them but also that they’re relevant and well-written.
In order to take advantage of meta descriptions effectively, we recommend keeping these tips in mind:
- Use unique titles and descriptions for each page on your site so they stand out from other pages on the internet (this will help with search engine optimization).
- Keep meta descriptions brief – no more than 150 characters or so -and include keywords related directly or indirectly to what people are searching for when looking up information about whatever topic fits best as part of their query (“how do i make money online?” versus “make money online”).
The importance of a clean URL structure
One of the most important things to consider when creating a website is your URL structure. URLs (or Uniform Resource Locators) are the addresses that users type into their browsers when they want to visit a site or file.
URLs should be easy for humans to read, understand and remember so that they can share them with others easily. They also need to be relevant for search engines so that they can accurately rank websites based on their content and not just because of their pretty design or catchy name!
A good rule of thumb is: “keep it short and sweet.” Longer URLs tend not only to take longer for people who visit your page but also make it more difficult for Googlebot (the bot used by Google), BingBot (the bot used by Bing), Yahoo! Slurp Bot, etc., which all use algorithms based on words found within each URL string.
This means if you have three-letter words instead of five-letter ones at the beginning, then this could negatively impact how high up on page one those results appear – which may mean fewer clicks from potential customers who would otherwise click through had there been no issue here at all!
Related: What is Web Design? A Comprehensive Guide to Get You Started
How to use keywords in your title tag, headers…
The title tag is important to your website’s search engine optimization. It’s usually the first thing that people see when they come to your site, so it’s important to use this space wisely.
The keyword density tool will help you find out how much of a particular keyword appears on a page and whether or not there are too many or too few instances of that word in relation to other words on the page. A good rule of thumb for writing effective titles is “use as many keywords as possible without making them sound spammy.
The headers should also contain relevant keywords that describe their content effectively (without being spammy). For example: “how to design a website for a startup company” could be changed into something like “five tricks web designers for startups use” or even just “tips for startup web design”
Key elements to keep in mind:
| SEO Element | How to Use Keywords |
|---|---|
| Title Tag | Title tags are one of the first things a search engine recognizes on a webpage. Include your target keyword towards the beginning of the title, making sure it accurately represents the content of the page. Keep it under 60 characters for best results. |
| Headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) | Your main header (H1) should include your primary keyword. Subheaders (H2, H3, etc.) are great for secondary keywords or variations of the primary one. These headers guide search engines and readers through the content, signaling what each section is about. |
| URL | If possible, include the primary keyword in your URL. This makes it easy for search engines to understand the content of the page, and it’s also more user-friendly. For example: www.yoursite.com/primary-keyword. |
| Meta Description | The meta description doesn’t directly impact ranking, but it can influence click-through rates. Include your primary keyword and provide a concise summary of the page’s content to encourage users to click. Keep it under 160 characters. |
| Image Alt Text | Search engines can’t ‘see’ images but they can read the alt text. Describe the image and include your target keyword to improve SEO. For instance, instead of ‘image1.jpg’, use ‘primary-keyword-description.jpg’. |
| Body Content | Use your primary and secondary keywords naturally throughout the body of your text. Remember, don’t keyword stuff, as it can lead to penalties. Aim for a keyword density of 1-2%. |
How to use images in your site design
Use images to break up the text. Images can be a great way to break up long blocks of text and make your site more engaging. This can also help improve your SEO, as it makes your content easier for search engines to crawl, which means you’ll get better rankings in Google’s search results.
Use images as cues for content or branding elements. If you have a lot of information that needs explaining on your website (such as an FAQ page), consider using an image instead of text for each question so that readers know what they’re looking at before they read through the answer in detail. This will help keep them from getting lost along the way!
Additionally, suppose certain elements like logos or branding colors need highlighting throughout various sections of your site design. In that case, adding them as graphics instead will keep them consistent across all pages while still being able to stand out visually against other elements such as text boxes and tables.
Related: 10 Websites to Find Royalty Free Images for Your Website
Content is still king
Content is still king. It’s what makes your website unique and helps people find you in the search results.
Content is the backbone of any website; without it, your site will fail to live up to its full potential. The same goes for SEO: content is the most important part of SEO / Local SEO because it gives Google something to index, which means that users can find you when they search for relevant keywords on Google or any other search engine (e.g., Bing).
What is the best way to ensure that people continue visiting and staying engaged with your site? Create relevant content that answers their questions as directly as possible. And don’t be afraid of using long-tail keywords!
Related: SEO Copywriting: What is it?
Don’t forget about mobile optimization!
Mobile is the future. It’s no longer a question of if your site should be mobile-friendly but how quickly you can make that happen. If you’re not already offering users a great experience on their phones and tablets, it’s time to get moving!
Mobile websites are easier for users to navigate than desktop sites and, thus, more likely to be found by search engines. According to Google’s research, people spend 88% of their time on mobile devices looking at content rather than ads (meaning they aren’t clicking through as often).
If you don’t have good content on your site, visitors may leave before they see any ads. So it makes sense for businesses with high traffic numbers who want more ad revenue from those visits (like ecommerce stores) to optimize their sites accordingly.
Mobile-friendly designs allow people with disabilities greater access to information via smartphones/tablets, including anyone needing magnified text or larger buttons for easier use.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the majority of internet users browse using mobile devices these days, so if yours isn’t optimized yet, then chances are good that some potential customers won’t even bother trying out what could otherwise be an excellent product/service because it takes too long just trying figure out how things work!
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you some ideas on how to make your web design more search engine-friendly. A good rule of thumb is to always keep in mind what kind of audience you’re trying to reach with your site and then design it accordingly.
If you know how people search for what they want online – and how Google ranks sites based on those searches – then it will be easier for them to find what they need when they come across your site!
For more information, check out our article “Designing for Visibility: How SEO and Web Design Go Hand in Hand“.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I improve my website SEO ranking?
Boosting your website’s SEO ranking involves many factors, but start with creating high-quality, relevant content. Regular updates, using appropriate keywords, and building credible backlinks also play a vital role. Lastly, never underestimate the power of a mobile-friendly website!
What is the #1 SEO technique that is currently getting the best results?
At present, focusing on user experience (UX) is one of the top SEO techniques. Google’s recent algorithm updates prioritize websites that offer a stellar UX, which includes fast load times, easy navigation, mobile-friendly design, and high-quality, easy-to-understand content.
What is the SEO strategy of web design?
Web design SEO strategy is all about creating a website that’s not only visually appealing but also search engine friendly. It involves optimizing your website’s structure, improving page load speeds, ensuring mobile-friendliness, using SEO-friendly URLs, and making smart use of keywords in your content and meta tags.
How can a website designer increase the possibility their website will rank highly in Google search results?
Website designers can boost their chances of high Google rankings by embracing SEO best practices from the get-go. This includes designing a site that’s user-friendly, fast, and mobile-optimized. Additionally, integrating relevant keywords into titles, headers, and meta descriptions, and providing valuable content that earns quality backlinks, can also greatly improve rankings.
