Some professional and experienced web designers might think that search engine optimization is best left to the SEO experts, but that is not, in fact, the case. Once a site is registered with search engines, those search engines send off little feelers, or “spiders,” that see what is on a site, and this determines how the site is ranked in search results. Those feelers end up determining what goes on a site, and what it value is, and here is where designers come in. It is up to them to integrate good web design and SEO friendly web features. Experienced web designers should check out these design considerations to keep in mind when trying to optimize from a design perspective.
- Text and Context
Once keywords for optimizing search results are determined, they should be worked into virtually every aspect of a site. This includes body text, headers, headlines, meta data and links. Keywords targeting is especially important on the home page, but make sure you avoid keyword stuffing by using the words in as natural a way as possible.
- Images
Search engines see an entirely different picture when it comes to images, that mean that the alt tags for images must be utilized wisely. Every visual should have a description, ideally contained keywords, and the best ones will pop up on Google image searches.
One handy tip for designers is to make banners and graphics using web fonts, HTML, and CSS, search engine spiders can read these better. And of course, all media should be optimized for the web before they are uploaded.
- Code
Page titles are more than just convenient, they boost rankings. Every page should have a title and a description of the pages contents. The titles should be direct and informative, and of course, include a keyword. Coding, in general, should be a part of the overall design of the site and have a real effect on the search engine ranking. URLs, in particular, should be concise and easy to remember, no numbers!
Indeed, web design itself is indispensable, nearly half (46%) of people say a website’s design is their number one criterion for determining the credibility of a company. SEO also is very important, studies show that SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, and they cost 61% less than outbound leads. Why not integrate the two?