Whilst many companies and marketing agencies today place their primary focus on content marketing, it’s important to ensure that this doesn’t take away from the importance of web design when it comes to search engine optimization. Although reaching the target audience is a critical factor when it comes to running a successful business, companies that look at content marketing efforts before web design are often making a huge mistake. When web design is conducted with SEO in mind, it can be a significant aid in marketing efforts overall. Let’s take a look at some of the main ways in which web design is crucial for good SEO.

Gone are the days when SEO focused solely on keywords and link-building; today, the entire user experience is taken into account when search engines determine how high up your page will rank in their results. For companies that do not utilize a mobile-friendly web design, no amount of content marketing can help them to achieve their SEO goals. With an increasing number of web users now browsing from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, Google and other search engines are meting out hefty penalties to websites that don’t keep up.

Even when web design is being developed with SEO in mind, it’s crucial that the user is your first priority and focus. Bear in mind that the user’s experience as they explore the pages on your website is just as important, if not more important than the search engine that is crawling them. After all, it’s your website visitors who are ultimately going to click on links and make purchases if they like what they see. To achieve proper optimization in web design, the user experience must be taken into account on every single page of your website.

When it comes to web design for SEO, getting the balance right is absolutely critical. Developing a web design that supports SEO is often a delicate balancing act between incorporating enough keywords, rich content, and title tags. For example, if a website has too many keywords, it will be viewed as ‘spammy’ and won’t rank at all; on the other hand, a website with too little keywords may struggle to move up the rankings. For the best results, these elements must flow well, be original, and be presented alongside visually appealing content items such as images, infographics, and video.

Once you have ticked all the boxes regarding SEO and web design, it’s time to think about the site’s content strategy. However, rather than being all about content marketing, it’s important to keep in mind what your visitors will need once they land on your page. The overall user experience has been addressed, so, it’s time to consider the specifics. What kind of problems are your users looking to solve? Are they looking for a particular product or service, or trying to find information on a specific topic? Understanding this will make it easier for you to integrate web design and content strategy with SEO.

Did you find this information useful? If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!