4 Signs That Your Web Design Is Missing Out on SEO Friendliness
When you build a business website, aesthetics are the first thing that comes to your mind. Undoubtedly, visitors are more likely to spend more time and convert through a visually appealing website. But looks alone cannot set you apart among millions of websites. Even if you run a small business in an American suburb, your website may still have to beat thousands of similar ones to be visible.
According to a survey, 27% of small businesses in the US didn’t have a website in 2022. Most of them had one on the cards, so they probably have built one by now. That means more than 80% of businesses have a web presence.
You can imagine the competition in the online space from these statistics. Besides having a good-looking site, making it SEO-friendly is the only way to attract traffic in the first place.
Unfortunately, business owners often fail to address this factor when designing their websites. Even if you have an exceptional interface, the lack of SEO friendliness means users may never land on your site and see what it offers. Why not rethink your web design and assess whether it aligns with search engine algorithms?
Here are a few signs indicating your web design is falling short of SEO friendliness.
Sign #1: Lack of Mobile Responsiveness and Speed
Statistics show that mobile devices account for 55% of website traffic. Also, 9 in 10 internet users rely on mobile phones. A website design lacking mobile responsiveness is set for failure. Responsive design is also one of the key factors in search ranking algorithms. Google may penalize a website that doesn’t adapt to different screen sizes and devices.
Another sign that your site is not designed to be SEO friendly is slow loading speed. Once again, it goes against the algorithmic guidelines and hampers the user experience. After all, internet users are pressed for time, and no one expects to wait longer than a few seconds for sites to render. A refresh should be your top priority to handle these design issues.
Sign #2: Inadequate Image Optimization
You may have the best-looking images on your website, but what if they aren’t optimized? According to Operation Technology, web design can be optimized to drive high conversions for a business. The best place to start is by compressing and fine-tuning images to improve site performance and user experience.
Consider the example of a fashion retail business in Chicago offering an array of products in its catalog. Showcasing every product through stunning photography is a great idea, but heavy imagery can slow down the website.
As a business owner looking for the best of both worlds, you can collaborate with a Chicago website design agency to optimize these images and present them on your site without compromising loading speed. Besides compressing image size, proper use of alt text is another optimization factor.
Sign #3: Lack of Internal Linking
On the surface, web design is only about the appearance of its interface. But it runs much deeper, extending to things like how easy it is to navigate. Internal linking emerges as a critical aspect of design in this context. It can even decide the ease of navigation, bounce rate, and time spent on your website, all being the elements of the SEO ranking algorithm.
According to a Forbes article, all pages without links are dead because they provide no exit point. Proper internal linking is even more significant because it enables search engines to understand the connection between different website pages. Similarly, it enhances user navigation. Both ways, it gives you a design advantage.
Sign #4: Overlooking Social Integration
The US ranks third in global social media usage, with more than 300 million active users. That spells a massive opportunity for business owners. Besides organic and paid social media marketing, you can leverage your website to reach the audience across these platforms. Not surprisingly, most websites opt for social media integration.
While it does not appear a direct ranking factor, social media integration can indirectly influence your SEO. Your web design should include social sharing buttons and features to get more visibility through likes and shares on social media. With this more users will likely land on your website, leading to trust and high rankings.
The Bottom Line
There are no shortcuts to winning web designs because aesthetics are only the tip of the iceberg. SEO should be another key factor to consider while visualizing your website’s look and feel. Overlooking these factors means that your site may never rank despite its visual brilliance. Watch out for these signs and address them to win the design game.
Bogdan Sandu, a seasoned designer with 15 years of diverse experience, has been designing websites since 2008.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
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