There was a time when graphic design and SEO did not overlap. Those were the dark days of the internet. Brutal websites all around and no user guidance. David Livingstone could have been lost in any of the websites. Then came the renaissance period (or so we would like to call it) of the internet.
A change was coming
Balancing a beautiful website design with great SEO practices was not a thing of luxury anymore. It became a compulsion. Google started paying attention to the user experience rather than just codes. This created a new trend of user experience oriented designs. Website code was not enough to get the attention of the search engines. You needed panache for your content. The right kind of content. Smart use of keywords and smart alignment of media for getting on the right side of Google.
What’s our problem?
Right now, we have two kinds of websites – “websites that look great and have great SEO. Websites that have great looks and sucky SEO. To be the king of all relevant SRLs you need more than just good looks”, says our representative from the SEO services Brisbane. Search engine optimization demands scores of social mentions, social links, citations, and backlinks.
Good looking and smart: the perfect website
The challenge lies with the beautiful websites that offer very less opportunity for SEO. Now, what’s the point of having a dashing website that has zero search engine optimization? If your potential readers and buyers cannot find you, what is the point of the latest interior décor for your shop? The challenge soon became creating a website that was both good looking and functional.
Your guide to a great site –
Keep your code clean, people
Clean code is search-friendly code. Remember this mantra, and you will never go wrong. There is no truck between designers and coders, as long as the code is clean and it conforms to the clean design of the website. Your HTML code should follow the structure of the page including navigation – H1 tags, meta tags, URL tags, and more. Do not overuse your Divs. Use CSS to keep your site “cool,” responsive and amicable.
The strongest link in the chain
Links are going to be the lifeblood of your website. Use anchor text for your useful links. Never use a link farm, rather take the time to create your own set of working link directory. This will boost your SEO, a cute picture of a kitten on your homepage definitely WILL NOT!
Alt tags FTW!
Every image and every video on your site are important. For you and your audience. Now, you need to exert that by mentioning alternate tags to your media files. You can do that while uploading the files. Use “example of rounded CSS corners” as a label for your screenshots will help your page’s findability. Do not ignore your meta tags while you are at it.
Site maps rock
If you want your search engine bots to crawl your pages accurately and then lead more traffic to them, get your sitemap. You can use a sitemap generator creation tool to generate site maps in XML and HTML formats. Just get one and give it to Google.
Apply a general dose of HTML and CSS
Make sure to populate your website elements with HTML, CSS, and web fonts. This will keep your entire site crawlable. Always include multiple CTA and trust signals throughout your website. The trick is to make these images on the billboards and banners crawlable by bots. Once you incorporate web fonts and CSS to them, the banners including “free delivery,” “50% off” or “Clearance Sale” will become crawl-friendly for the Google bots and other search engine bots.
Anatomy of a great website
Google likes top-heavy content. That’s just a way of saying, keep most of your information to the top of the web pages. Google bots index the top quarter of a web page to communicate their key offers or key features. Put the best offers, services, and products in the visual “hot spots.” These are the zones, which have the maximum chance of gaining the user’s attention. These hot spots are quite similar to offline fashion and lifestyle magazines where the editor knows certain placements will garner more attention.
All of this should first go to the homepage. It is the most important page on any website. You can think of your home page (in case you don’t have a landing page) as the face of your site. It should work as the perfect introduction to the rest of your site. Give it a lucrative look, so your users are compelled to look inside. This will increase your CTR and decrease your bounce rate too.
Author bio: Harry Francis is an analyst and designer. He has been freelancing for the last ten years. His stint with SEO services Brisbane has led to some of the finest designs in the history of website building.
