SEO (search engine optimization) is the process by which firms use key strategies to increase visibility in search engine searches by potential customers. Many times, SEO will involve writing content based on keywords, which can lead to keyword stuffing and attempts to “game” search engines.

However, SEO is more than all that. One underestimated aspect of good SEO is optimal web design. Making your website easily readable and pleasing to the eyes is just as much a best practice.

Specifically, better design targets the human aspect of our audiences. Technical strategies, like adding canonical tags and ensuring fast load times, may increase your search rank, but better design is vital for appealing to the humanity we often easily forget about.

To make a name for yourself in organic search, it is absolutely vital to pair good technical SEO with great website design that can aid branding and conversion rates.

Research by Joseph Putnam directly asked consumers what made them distrust a website, particularly regarding health-related queries. The study found several common features to avoid, including:

  • Complex layouts
  • Pop-up ads
  • Unreadable text
  • Bland web design (especially too little color)
  • Slow loading times

With this feedback in mind, we’ve compiled a list of tips to focus your web design optimization efforts. Here are some things you can do to bring your content to the next level:

Brand Yourself

Logos, mottos, packaging, site colors, identifiable advertising, and more can all be instrumental in creating and maintaining brand name recognition — something that is vital for consumers to recognize and choose you over comparable competitors.

Design Your Content Well

A readable font is key. Make sure your content also features sentences that are easily understandable and in short paragraphs of text. Include graphic highlighting such as bolding, underlining, italicizing, and numbering to ensure content is scannable for readers.

Make Your Site Easy to Use

The harder your website is for consumers to use, the higher your bounce rate will be. You want to make your users’ experience is as seamless as possible so they can find what they’re looking for and what you’re offering. In particular, your site structure should be understandable and simple, and your URL structure short and rememberable. It is essential to focus efforts on increasing navigational ease.

Make a Mobile Version

In 2018, Google rolled out its “mobile index,” which values good-looking mobile websites more than desktop experiences. As mobile use grows, it is crucial to make sure your online mobile presence is just as accessible as your regular one. . Design a mobile site that is readable, engaging, and easy to use for all users. A poor mobile design can create a bad user experience.

Optimize Your Images

The use of relevant images throughout your website can increase your readability and interest readers more by giving them breaks between reading. In addition, it is important to assign alt attributes to all images to make sure that crawlers can access them. Do not put text inside of images — crawlers cannot access it. Size also matters in terms of loading time, so be careful with the images you choose for your site. (Other files, like PDFs, can also contribute to a high loading time.)

Choose Good Colors

Bright or unsightly colors may lead to a quick bounce, but choosing a relevant color can be a much more nuanced decision than that. Ultimately, you don’t want consumers to even notice the background color of your site — you want it to blend in and look natural. There are more complex considerations, such as which colors appeal to users the best from a scientific perspective. Consider social media — Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr all use shades of blue for their logos. Blue as a color is universally calming and relaxing. For headlines, red is often touted as a color that can grab a user’s attention.

 

Nick Andrew Rojas is a self-taught serial entrepreneur who has worked with various startups as a business consultant.  He’s also a journalist focusing on technology, marketing, and social media.