of North American businesses have yet to implement an SEO plan of the 43% that have, many are still struggling to improve their search engine rankings. 

When you think of SEO, what do you think of? Chances are, you think primarily of keywords and attention-grabbing content. However, the truth is that your website design is also an essential part of SEO, and if you’ve neglected design, your SEO efforts aren’t going to stick.

How do website design and SEO go hand in hand? What kind of web design changes should you make to improve your SEO?

Read on to learn ten significant ways website design and SEO work together. 

Code Designed for Search Engine Optimization

Before you see your website’s finished product, it begins as code. One common mistake business owners make opting for Flash coding, which is difficult to alter and optimize. Using HTML or CSS code will make it much easier to implement changes over the years that will help you stay on top of changes in SEO best practices. 

Mobile Friendliness

Believe it or not, up to 70% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile use, you will have high bounce rates, as users expect a mobile-friendly design. Plus, Google and other search engines have taken note of the shift toward mobile internet use and now deprioritize websites that don’t have mobile compatibility. 

Fast Loading Speed

If your website is slow to load, it won’t matter how well you’ve incorporated keywords into your posts. Loading speed is one of the primary metrics that Google uses in determining search engine rankings because of its impact on usability. Oftentimes, slow loading speeds need to be fixed internally, and a strong web designer can make a significant difference.

Readability

Yes, the written content is one of the most critical factors in your SEO ranking, so readability is crucial. A readable page uses easy-to-read fonts and text colors and has been formatted in a way that is easy to make sense of. You can improve readability by breaking up long posts with subheaders and limiting each page to one or two fonts.

Easy Navigation

Google and other search engines will evaluate the navigability of your webpage, which will also impact the number of clicks you receive from visitors. Therefore, all of your menus, including top, side, and dropdown menus, should be easy to understand and, of course, should function. That means that all pages should open promptly, and the labels in your menu should give a clear sense of the information provided on each page.

Optimized URL Structure

Each time you create a new webpage, you can develop a descriptive and optimized URL incorporating keywords. Oftentimes, if you don’t customize your URLs, they will contain random numbers and letters that look less professional and don’t contribute to your SEO. Relevant keywords will make each of your web pages easier to find and improve their search engine rankings.

Optimized Sitemaps

Like code is the behind-the-scenes component of your web’s final design, sitemaps are the behind-the-scenes tool search engines use to navigate your website. Sitemaps guide search engines through their process of crawling your website to understand the importance and function of each webpage and the structure you’ve used to create them. Your sitemap also includes metadata that contributes to your search engine ranking. 

Image Optimization

Images offer another opportunity to optimize metadata and improve website loading speed. Each time you upload a photo or graphic to your website, make sure to consider image file size, image file names, and image alt text. While smaller file sizes can keep images from slowing down your website, things like alt text can reveal the relevance of your photos to search engines.

Video Incorporation

For a long time, business owners were told that video content didn’t impact SEO in any significant way, but this is different. Internet users often prefer videos over text, and adding videos to explain complex subjects and brand your business can increase dwell time, one of the SEO factors that businesses tend to overlook. If you’re worried about videos slowing down your loading speed, host them on third-party platforms like YouTube and embed the links in your website so that they play quickly without creating lag. 

Tiered Information

When search engines crawl your website for information, they operate on the assumption that everything at the top is most important and everything at the bottom is least important. Search engines are also programmed to consider specific pages, like contact pages, important. That means that your top menu should have links to all of your most important pages, including things like contact pages so that Google recognizes the hard work you’ve put into designing a usable website.

Don’t Overlook the Relationship Between Website Design and SEO

SEO is about more than strategized content. Website design and SEO go hand in hand, and if you prioritize robust web design, you’re taking advantage of significant opportunities to boost your search engine optimization. Overhauling your website design and SEO can seem intimidating. That’s where we come in.

IMPROZ offers Houston businesses everything from web design services to SEO services. Contact us today to find out how we can help you boost your search engine optimization and create a user-friendly website. We take care of your website so that you can focus on your business