Build your site with SEO in mind
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is often overlooked by designers and webmasters. Many people don’t really understand SEO or how incredibly important it is to a site. There are many things a designer can do to make sure they are taking care of SEO. It is essential that websites are as friendly to search engines as possible. You can build the most incredible-looking website site, if it can’t be found using a search engine then the effort went to little good.
Create Stylish, Clean Design
The first step in the small business website design process, as it pertains to SEO, is creating a stylish, clean design. The simpler and less cluttered your site is, the more likely visitors will stay and explore the pages. The more memorable and relevant you can make their visit, the greater the chances they are to convert to a purchaser. The design needs to be clean, but so does the code. Search engines rank sites higher when the code is clean and conforms to best practices.
Write Professional, Grammatically Correct Content
We have all heard that “content is king”, and this statement is never more true than when applied to SEO. The way you present your content has a profound effect on how visitors react. It also affects how search engines view your site. If you have professionally written, grammatically correct copy, search engines will inevitably rank your site higher than a site with sloppy content. Also, keep in mind that search engines crawl websites constantly. Keeping your content updated and relevant will show Google and the rest of them that your site is evolving and fresh.
Use Great Keywords and Meta
Keywords and Metadata are also very important, and commonly overlooked by designers. It is important to research relevant keywords and to pick keywords that will work within your content, title tags, and your social media. Once you have decided on keywords, make sure they are used correctly- and not overused. Use your keywords as naturally and relevantly as you can throughout your content. Make sure to use the keywords in your anchor text, in titles and headers, and in your Meta tags. Title and description are some of the first things search engines look at. They should be written specifically for that page and target the key phrases that make sense on that particular page.
Keep At It!
The way search engines view websites is always changing. It seems that Google puts out a new update to the way they rank sites every week. It’s important to keep up with these changes and to tweak your website accordingly. SEO can certainly be complicated and time-consuming, but if designers incorporate SEO from the beginning, the rewards will be great. With nearly 400 million websites populating the web today and fighting to be highly ranked, designers and webmasters need all the help they can get.
Looking for a search engine company to help with your business’ website? We at Anthem Software could be of help. Contact us for a consultation!
