How SEO and Website Design Works Together
Naturally, my passion lies in website design and SEO. One is like a digital business card, while the other helps you pass out that “card.” When I’m talking to potential clients, the first thing I look at is their website. Even if they’re only investing in SEO, the fact of the matter is that if their site isn’t built for conversion, they’re leaving money on the table.
But how, exactly, is that happening? Let’s go over five ways you’re leaving money on the table with a questionable website design.
Useless Above The Fold
When someone lands on your website, what do they see “Above The Fold”? In other words, without scrolling, what will a user see? Read? Notice?
Since the average user makes a split-second decision on a site. The average time spent on a website is 54 seconds, but if the Above The Fold part looks like trash, they certainly won’t make it past ten of those seconds.
Bad UX Design
In the same vein, if you aren’t making it obvious where a user should go, how will they know what to do next?
Your buttons should be very noticeable, whether in color or animation (or both). Use interesting CTAS to encourage a behavior or thought.
How does the information flow? Is it blocks of text and some images? Nowadays, websites need far more than that, especially if you’re looking to stand out.
Learn more about UX design here.
Bad Website Platform
Sure, this is a total “gimme,” but still…a lot of people don’t realize how limited their website is. Sites like Squarespace, Showit, and Wix, at face value, are boons for business owners looking to DIY. I mean, they make it look simple and really, what else do you need for a site?
Until you find out none of those let you edit your robots.txt, leading to more 404s. They don’t let you choose canonical URLs, so Google will do it and you might not like it. Looking to transfer your blog to WordPress one day? Too bad—Squarespace will make it as difficult to leave as possible.
Want to add a simple SEO plugin to your Showit WordPress blog? You’re gonna have to fork up a lot of extra money to veer away from their predefined plugins.
Without full control of your website, you’re shooting yourself in the foot long term!
Disconnected Branding
The concept of branding is severely misunderstood and over-discussed at the same time, making it an overwhelming and convoluted topic. But one thing is for certain: if it’s inconsistent, it’ll attract and retain far less than it will gain.
If you use too many different fonts, various uncoordinated colors, What about photos with inconsistent styles/editing?
Sure, people are on their site, but how are you inspiring them to invest?
Not SEO Optimized
You’d think this would be obvious…but it isn’t. I’ve seen clients confidently tell me they’re optimized with SEO titles and meta descriptions, but it’s just keyword stuffing. Or the images aren’t WebP (another thing Showit and Squarespace won’t allow).
What about internal linking? Have you considered how the “spider web” of links on your site connect?
There’s a lot more to SEO for a site than people realize. Most have outdated understandings and by outdated, I mean you think 2022 is still current standards. It moves FAST.
Wrapping Up
Of course, things are a tad more complex than just these five examples, but. if you’re wondering if it’s time to redo your website to succeed at SEO, these are some great reasons to consider the possible investment!
