You may know that SEO and quality web design are important to increasing your company’s sales, but you probably aren’t aware of just how crucial it is to incorporate the two together in a way that makes an impact. You want your website to be high ranking in the search engines in order to be seen by more potential customers. The trick to getting it there is to strategically utilize SEO techniques in your website design. Follow these tips to using SEO and web design together in order to obtain the best results.
Start With Your URL
Many business owners don’t even take the URL of their website into consideration when it comes to search engine rankings. The truth is, it actually plays a big role in how well your site performs. You want to choose a URL that is short and easy for people to remember. It should contain a keyword or two that is relevant to your business, or your company name. People should know exactly what your business is about simply by reading the URL.
Use the Right Keywords
Keywords are important. However, it’s imperative that you don’t go overboard in their usage. You also want to be sure you use the right keywords to attract customers to your business. This means they should be the words people are using when they search for your kind of product or service. Because search engine optimization practices are constantly changing, it’s best to hire Boise SEO experts to help you reach your target market.
Make Your Website Responsive
Mobile device usage is commonplace these days. Because so many users are going to access your website through their smartphone or tablet, you need to be sure your web design is mobile-friendly. For SEO purposes, your mobile and main sites should have the same URL. Making sure everything points to the same place will increase your number of backlinks, which is also good for search engine ranking.
Always Use Sitemaps
The use of sitemaps is even more important today than they’ve been in the past. They make it easier for users to navigate your web page help to make your site more visible in the rankings. Most importantly, though, is the fact that it’s the sitemap that lets web crawlers know immediately of any changes you make to your site. The result is a page that is indexed faster than one without a sitemap. An update to modern sitemaps is the XML sitemap, which is far more effective than a traditional one with regard to SEO purposes.
Images Matter
Not only should the copy, URL and sitemap of your website be optimized for the search engines, you’ll want to utilize strategic SEO with your images, too. Take advantage of your images, and add keywords to things like header images, graphics, button images and logo images throughout your site. Also, keep in mind that large images will slow down your load time, which has an impact in search results. So keep them between 30 and 100 KB with a 72 dpi resolution.
Structure Your Site Strategically
Having a site that is easy to navigate and visually pleasing will keep visitors around longer. This is great because the longer they stay, the more chance they’ll buy. It’s also beneficial to how you’re seen in terms of search. Your navigation bar should be in a handy location, and you want a header that broadcasts your company name. Image sliders are a tool that adds visual interest.
These tips should have you well on your way to creating a website that keeps customers engaged, is easy to find and ranks well. Incorporating SEO into web design is key to maximizing results.