Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for any website, yet it often gets overlooked during the design process. As a designer, it’s important to consider SEO from the very beginning of your project to ensure your client’s site will be easily found by search engines. In this article, we’ll explore some key SEO strategies designers should keep in mind.
Conducting Keyword Research
Keyword research lays the foundation for any good SEO strategy. In this section, we’ll discuss how to research and select the right keywords to optimise for.
Before beginning any new website design, take time to research relevant keywords and phrases for the site’s industry and offerings. Look at competitors’ sites to see what terms they rank for as well as related long-tail keywords that are more specific. Use Google’s Keyword Planner or other tools like UberSuggest, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to get keyword ideas and assess monthly search volume data. Also research keywords on Google Trends to see trends over time. With this information in hand, you can optimise the site for keywords users are actually searching for.
Keyword research is the foundation of any good SEO strategy. Basing your optimization efforts on high-volume, relevant keywords will help the site rank better in search engines and drive qualified traffic. Make sure to select 3-5 primary keywords to focus on throughout the site’s content and code.
Keyword research table example:
| Keyword | Search Volume | Competition | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| web design | 201,000 | High | Stable |
| responsive web design | 165,000 | Medium | Growing |
| ecommerce web design | 108,000 | Low | Stable |
Optimise Page Elements for SEO
When designing individual pages, there are many opportunities to incorporate keywords and optimise content for search engines. This section covers recommendations for optimising key page elements.
The page title is one of the most important elements for rankings. It should concisely describe the page’s content and include one of the target keywords. Use keyword-rich headers and subheaders to break up blocks of text. Write alt text for every image that includes the pictured content and keywords where relevant. And integrate keywords naturally into the body content.
Optimising these key page elements will help search engines understand the topic of each page and determine relevance for user queries.
Follow Best Practices for URL Structure
The URLs themselves also impact SEO. Best practices include:
- Keep URLs short and descriptive using keywords and hyphens.
- Avoid extraneous parameters, numbers, and special characters.
- Use dashes instead of underscores.
- Create unique URLs for each page rather than dynamic ones.
- Structure site architecture and URLs logically.
Properly structured and keyword-rich URLs improve click-through rates from search results while also signalling relevancy to search engines.
Ensure Site Architecture Facilitates Discovery
In addition to optimising individual pages, site architecture and navigation should make it easy for users and search bots to explore content. Include simple main navigation and a sitemap linking to all key pages. Ensure all site content is accessible by following a shallow hierarchy structure.
Break down long pages into multiple shorter pages focused on a single topic. Designers should also help clients create useful categories and tags for their content. All of these elements will facilitate on-site SEO and discovery of pages.
Follow Mobile-First Design and Development
With more and more searches happening on mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is mandatory for SEO. When wireframing and designing sites, take a mobile-first approach. Ensure content is easily accessible, text is readable, load times are fast, and calls-to-action are sticky on mobile.
Utilise responsive web design to create a seamless experience across all devices. Accelerated mobile pages (AMP) can also improve mobile performance. Designers play a key role in crafting websites tailored for mobile users.
To conclude, by considering SEO strategy from the start, web designers can significantly improve their clients’ search visibility and traffic. Conduct keyword research, optimise page elements, structure clean URLs, facilitate on-site discovery, and follow mobile-first design. With these essential SEO best practices in mind throughout the design process, you can create sites primed for search engine success.