As
we tread along the New Year, it is only suitable that we learn and reinforce
the latest trends in web design and online marketing, especially SEO.
Even
in 2015, the newcomer to the world of search considers SEO to be a game of
keywords, and quasi-spamming still seems to the general practice in the
cyberspace, despite Google’s algorithm updates.
The
pre-2011 SEO methodology of inserting web content in keywords (and not the
other way round) is taken to be good enough.
Savvy
content marketers know how faulty and wasteful this approach is. They know that
text isn’t enough, and even while writing content, special regard is being
given to long-tail and voice
search terms. And now there is proliferation of video marketing, and the
use of infographics is common-place.
But
the real question is: Does web design play any part in Search Engine
Optimization?
Web Design Attracts
Attention to Content
Even if you
are blogger extraordinaire and hold unique solutions to the problems of your
target market, you still need to attract online visitors to your website. They
wouldn’t come running to you.
And while
content plays the major role in this respect, web design shouldn’t be
disregarded.
Killer web
design is what creates the necessary first impression that converts visitors
into readers/viewers, and then it is the job of the content to convert these
into customers. In that
respect, web design becomes a crucial part of SEO, in that the former provides
the environment in which the visitor chooses to consume or ignore the optimized
content.
Some
Examples
To illustrate
my point further, I am going to provide some examples of modern web design
trends and how they can successfully hinder or boost your search efforts.
Let’s start
with parallax design. This is where you have all your web content on one single
page, much to the user’s convenience. Parallax offers you to take your visitors
through an elegant storytelling process and it does have a proven track record
of improving conversion rates.
However,
parallax design can sometimes clash (or so it seems) with SEO. For example, if
you want to leverage a variety of search terms along with other optimization
processes to attract visitors to your page, the parallax design can make things
difficult.
But, it
doesn’t have to be that way, for the simple reason that you can use parallax
design for more than one page. Not to mention, you can even incorporate parallax
designed pages as part of your main website.
Another
example is that of responsive design. Basically, responsive design means that
your website adapts to the type of device users are accessing it with. A
website that performs optimally for multiple devices is especially favored by
Google. Another SEO benefit of responsive web design is increasing your
external back-linking count to each page instead of you trying to juggle links
between two different websites, one for desktops and other for mobile devices.
Other types
of design schemes can be referenced
here along with their relation to the optimization experience, but these will suffice.
But what we
have learned from these two examples is that user convenience is where the
intersection of web design and SEO lies.
What Really Matters in SEO
The best way
to optimize your website is not just in inclusion of the most relevant keywords.
Yes, that is
important. But what you need to understand is that while ranking your website
for popular keywords may bring visitors to your website, if the content is not
up to the par, then you will find your Google search position decreasing over
time.
Bounce rate
(the number of times people visit a web page but leave without navigating the
rest of the site) is a good measure of optimized landing pages. The keywords
compel visitors to click on the landing page, but if the content does not meet
their expectation, they will leave and never return. Hence, SEO is about making
life easy for your prospect.
In the same
way, a clear and lucid web design attracts visitors and makes site navigation a
breeze.
So, make web
design a part of your SEO strategy today. ‘Follow’ our blog to get all new
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