For better or worse, how your website performs in search engine results is significantly affected by the website’s design. But how?
The importance of the design of your website cannot be overstated, most especially if the website has been designed for business or some other specialised purpose. But asides from looking good and making your organization appear more professional, reliable, and effective, quality web design can also positively affect the search engine performance of your website. On the other hand, a poor design can keep your website at the bottom of the pile of search engine rankings.
How does web design affect SEO?
- Navigability of the site
The more navigable a site is, the more search engine optimised it will be. A site that has been designed to be easily navigable improves user experience by allowing visitors easily switch between the pages of their choice and find content that is of interest to them. But the significance of navigation isn’t limited to only human visitors as search engine bots also need a site to be easily navigable in order to effectively do their job. If a search engine bot has problems navigating your site, it will automatically lead to a search engine considering your website as less user friendly and this will negatively affect your SEO ranking.
- Consistent content format
An important aspect of web design is how the content of your website is arranged. A website whose content is cluttered, or improperly formatted in any other way makes it difficult for visitors to enjoy content and get the information they want. On the other hand, consistency and originality of content boosts the credibility and appeal of a website and this in the long run positively impacts SEO.
- Mobile friendly
Search engines such as Google now favour websites that are mobile friendly in search result rankings. Thus, it is important that your website has a responsive design if it is to be appropriately search engine optimised. Fortunately, an Ottawa Search Engine Optimization Agency can easily help you ensure that your website has effective SEO.
- Images
The images on your website are vital for effective SEO. A website’s images can be search engine optimised by adding suitable captions and titles. They can be further optimised by compressing them to reduce their size but without jeopardising their quality. The lower the size of an image, the faster it will load and site loading speed can seriously impact your SEO ranking.
- SEO content
The content of your website has to be engaging and compelling, and it also has to be optimised for search engines. This can be accomplished by ensuring white space, adding legitimate links, and appropriate use of keywords.
By ensuring the above features are part of your website; your chances of having a healthier SEO are improved.
