If web design is the heart of website success, we can term SEO as the brain of website success. Normally, a website comes for optimization once the design part gets completed. At this point, the website is raw, without any SEO stuff.
The burden of optimization worsens things for both SEOs and designers. SEOs need to optimize the visually-compelling website. Designers need to make phenomenal modifications in it to achieve higher ranking in SERPs.
To avoid all these circumstances, it is better if SEO and design get married in the initial phases itself. Better if they evolve together into a well-optimized and well-designed website.
SEO is not an old snake oil with stereotypical strategies or straitjacket methodologies. It is a fast growing, ever-changing ‘happening’ field in the world wide web. Search Engine ranking algorithms change every now and then so much so that one can easily forget about meta tag optimization, keyword stuffing etc.
In such a state of flux, does Link, Design and Content deliver any value to a website? If they do, should web design and SEO work together to achieve this? The answer is a big YES!
Make Links Carry Value
No more “click here” and “learn more” links will be seen in a website if SEOs and Designers work together. When we try to go with terms like “click here” and “learn more” for making a clickable anchor text, we lose vital keyword rich anchor texts in internal navigation / internal linking.
Make Design Deliver Value
The word “Link Baiting” is not for SEO territory alone. It can even be used by designers. Websites with great design can easily catch people’s attention and would gain more backlinks from bloggers. On the other hand, you can design a great site, validate with CSS, submit to CSS galleries and gain even more link backs.
Make Content Speak Value
Make search engine bots read your content much earlier. This can be done using ”source ordered content” which incorporates placing content as close to the beginning of the page as possible and using CSS to display page elements where they “belong”. It allows you to give prominence to keyword-optimized sections of your site and thus helps you achieve better rankings for optimized keywords.
Last but not the least, let’s finish up with the footer part.
Footer Not Only to Rest:
Create a compelling footer. Designers, don’t forget to leave your link. SEOs don’t forget to include your keywords!
For instance, instead of going for site created by “Dot Com Infoway” you can go with Site Created by “Dot Com Infoway – Web Design Company”. Once you design a few sites with your keyword-rich attribution links, change the wording. It doesn’t need to be drastically different, but make some variations. Do this periodically.
Simple things can help us achieve bigger targets. Though the above tips do not show the way to any phenomenal SEO or design strategy, they sure will help you create a well-optimized website with near-perfect SEO and design elements.
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9 Responses to “Link, Content, Design – Do they add value to your SEO?”
Good Post! I have seen plenty of cases where SEO isn’t the part during the development phase however when we come up with the suggestions to modify various aspects of the website, that includes design and development then ppl think that they should have included this during the initial stages.
Hi great article, I completely agree that SEO and Design must be incorporated from the beginning thereby leading to great results.
How ever I disagree with you on the Click Here and Learn more links considering the usability perspective..
There is a proverb ‘ face is the index of the mind ‘. the sameconcept applies for the presentation ofwebsite as well. people will form a preliminary opinion regarding ourconcern by looking at the website.We understood the importance of the above said statement and the various technologies needed to be integrated to design the website in a fascinating manner.
The preliminary step is aim to maintain the site simple, understandable and translucent.The fundamental endeavor of every website is to make business thus the graphics and the text must provide to each one visiting the page and so bringing them closer to buying a product.
Properly optimizing your pages to make them “search engine friendly” can greatly increase your search engine rankings, traffic levels, and potential earnings from your website.
Fine Thinking which will gives as the solution of reworks based on the SEO friendly site after the site comes to the SEO in the final stage. How the testers are involved in every stage of software development. SEO person needs to be there in every stage of site development.
It is an universal truth that success of a website always depends on both design and content. Design is something which lures the user into the site. But SEO is something which pushes the search engine to index your site. So, both are vital to a website. Better if both designer and seo coordinate right from start.
Very nice and informative post. I really had a great time reading this post.. keep it up and looking forward to read more soon.
@Joel, The post explains the “click here” type links interms of internal links to make it keyword rich anchor. This help us increase keyword density within content as well as keyword ranking! Btw, thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed your stay and do share your thoughts!