The way we browse the internet has turned into a fascinating process that both web developers and SEO professionals are constantly studying. Search engine marketing can bring enormous benefits, but today, the competitive edge your internet marketing provides has to be sharper than ever to make a significant difference.
While the majority of businesses with an active online presence are aware of the importance of their website ranking, few business owners know exactly what they need to do. More often than not, they hire web developers to set up their website, and then an SEO agency to help them craft their strategy. However, this approach might leave something to be desired. If you’re redoing your website, or you’re in the process of creating one from scratch, here’s why you should consult an SEO agency before you start:
Your Website Design Is Important for SEO
If you’ve ever looked at any SEO checklist, you know that technical SEO is a huge part of a website’s usability and optimization. For good website ranking, the technical details are the first piece of the puzzle. However, not all web developers are aware of the intricacies of SEO – after all, that is a job for an SEO professional.
As a consequence, sometimes they can design websites that look great but are a search engine nightmare. They are difficult for bots to crawl and people to discover and navigate. Website design is the backbone of SEO, and there is a lot to learn when it comes to getting the backend and frontend to work well and support search engine marketing.
Where Website Design and SEO Meet
Website SEO and design need to work together to bring in visitors and have them stay long enough for the content to deliver an effective marketing message. In practice, that means fast loading times and good, intuitive navigation, along with many other details.
When a website is designed before the SEO strategy, you might end up with some inefficient pages, high bounce rates, and generally poor performance. And if it’s a problem with crawlability or accessibility where the website design wasn’t done with SEO in mind, it can be hard to fix.
Frequent Problems in Design and Navigation
Navigation problems are the most frequent offender when it comes to inefficient design and lack of SEO complementation. Mega menus, accordion navigation, dropdown navigation riddled with sub-categories – these are just a few of the options that may look great on screen but can take away from your website ranking. On the side of design, infinite scrolls, lazy redirects, and large images are something SEO professionals would like to see less, among other things.
Websites should be easy to use, good-looking, and intuitive, as this contributes to SEO. However, even the best-made SEO website can take a while to gain traction. If you wish to start enjoying good results for your business faster, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love to discuss your marketing strategy and help in any way I can.
Rob Dunford is a Marketing Consultant in the Greater Toronto Area with over 20 years of experience in implementing marketing plans for small businesses.