Search Engine Optimisation, SEO for short, is an invaluable asset for business websites. When a good SEO strategy is in place, you will enjoy many great benefits. When people search for your keyword, they will see your site, increase your traffic and ultimately use your services, helping you to succeed. You may have been told on numerous occasions that content is the key to SEO, but did you know that web design can actually affect your placements too?
Every website needs to have specific aspects of design to achieve the full effects of their SEO campaigns. A lot of people are searching and viewing websites on their mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, so it’s important that your website is easy to navigate and looks great on all devices. A well-designed website will not only be more pleasant to use, it can also have a positive effect on your SEO. Here’s a rundown on some of the things that may be holding you back from the first page.
1) It’s time for a responsive design
When we say responsive design, we mean a website layout that responds to the device that it is loaded on – whether that’s an iPad, desktop computer or smartphone. In today’s world, websites need to be able to adapt themselves to different screen sizes and allow for easy navigation. 2013 was branded as the year of responsive design, and this only continues to be relevant in 2014.
2) Fix that coding
If you have coding, you can do something called minification to improve the loading speed of your website. By simply removing all of the unneeded characters in your source code, without changing the functionality of the website, you can dramatically improve your rankings. This could also be considered as a part of responsive design.
3) HTML 5
This programming language is slowly but surely turning the internet into a truly beautiful and efficient place. It allows for so many things to be easily added to a website, such as embedding fast-loading videos and animations. Not only are features like this loved by users, but they’re loved by search engines too.
4) Infinite Scrolls
Is a website with all of the content on one page attractive to you? It’s a popular type of design right now but you need to alter it slightly so that it loads faster. To do this, consider using infinite scroll. This will mean that all of the content will appear when the user scrolls through the website, rather than trying to load it all at once. You’ll be able to keep your design but also have Google’s approval – a win-win situation.
5) Fixed Position
Similar to infinite scrolls, fixed position navigation allows you to have a menu on your site that stays in place as the user scrolls, which will improve user experience by allowing them to navigate around the site easily rather than having to scroll all the way back to the menu when they have finished looking at something.