Search engine optimization (SEO) has become such a big part of online marketing that a lot of business owners think it’s part of the web design process. The truth is that it should be, but some digital agencies don’t offer web design packages that include it. In other words, they’ll lay out some pages for you, but will charge extra – or refer you elsewhere – if you actually want to find customers using Google.
That’s not going to be good for your business. No matter how strong your website is, you’re going to need a bit of SEO to stand out and win new customers.
Because I don’t want you to miss out on a huge opportunity to market your business, let’s look at a few things you should keep in mind when finding a web design team or evaluating different proposals…
Web Design and SEO are Best Planned Together
SEO should be a consideration from the first moment you plan your next website. This is partly because there are technical aspects to search visibility that involve HTML and on-page coding. You want your website building pages with the idea that they are going to be highly-visible on Google.
At the same time, good SEO is dependent on strong web design. After all, the visitors who find you on search engines have to be impressed enough with what they see to contact you or make a purchase. That’s why proper planning is so important.
Some Technical Web Design and SEO Factors Matter a Lot
In the same way that a good web design can give you a search engine automation advantage, bad web design can actually hurt your visibility on Google and Bing. That’s because sloppy work can lead to poor navigation, broken links, missing plug-ins, and slow page loading times.
These are all issues for search engines and live customers alike. They tend to pop up most often when you hire a low-end creative team to redesign an existing business website.
You Should Follow up Web Design With Ongoing SEO
One thing that needs to be pointed out about web design and SEO is that you can’t handle both all at once. You can hire someone to create a website that will grow, but good search engine optimization takes a commitment to generating new content over time.
In other words, you should either hire a web design team who will help you generate and post new pages regularly, or one who will teach you how and set you on the right path. Either way, it’s important you take a long-term view if you want your web design and SEO investment to pay off.
The truth about web design and SEO is that they both require some forethought and careful execution. Without good search engine optimization, no one will find your brand-new website. Likewise, if you don’t get strong web design, then no amount of search traffic is going to help you increase your sales.
To learn more about the way web design and SEO go together, contact the Biondo Creative team in Philadelphia today to set up a free consultation!