The way you design a site can really make a difference in how many people visit. Many people do not make this connection with search engine optimization either. So, I think SEO and web design are connected. Here's why.
Put simply, the Google PR rating for your website is partly tied to the number of people that are visiting your site. The more people, the higher the rating. In addition, it can influence the relevance rating your website receives for informational content. In a purely logical world, facts should be facts. But in the world of the Internet, relevance plays a role. There is a kind of assumption that more visitors can mean better content.
Web design also allows you to bring the element of emotion into your overall scheme for getting people to visit your website. Pictures, graphics, colors, etc., can make a huge difference in how people perceive the value of your site. You can also use these design elements to promote a sense of what your product is all about.
Try this simple experiment. Establish a base line for how many people are visiting your website each day of the week, on average. Then, make some design changes to your website. Note the changes that are made. In a pure test, you will need to continue to add content at exactly the same rate. For example, if you always post a blog on Friday, don't stop! If you have made no content changes in a while, then don't add changes during the test for design. It can invalidate your work. An SEO expert can help you work through some of the design strategies we have discussed, should this be a task you would rather outsource. Read more...
That's my take on it,
Johnny Smoes
Posts
Very interesting article. You really are the SEO Experts!
ReplyDelete"There is a kind of assumption that more visitors can mean better content" - this is true and, broadly speaking, works. If people keep coming back (and you're not 'Rickrolling them') there has to be a legitimate reason.
ReplyDeleteThat's my take on it,
Sam Beagle
I agree that design, graphics, images etc. make a site more visually appealing, but SEO is about getting people there in the first place. I don’t have the foggiest how these things can help bump you up the Google rankings. More explanation needed please.
ReplyDeleteGood point Emma P. Once they're on the site then good design is important, but how does it help them get there? I know images and stuff are noticed by Google bots, but the DESIGN?
ReplyDeleteThanks for u r information
ReplyDeleteits very useful
The read more link doesn’t seem to work, takes me to a blank page - what am i missing?
ReplyDeleteEmma P, your comments are even more relevant after reading this new post: http://seoexpertsaus.blogspot.com/2010/08/chicken-or-egg-dilema-for-seo-experts.html. This seems to say SEO first, design later... but always both!
ReplyDeleteI was just reading that other link (above)... seems to be contradicting this article a bit!
ReplyDeletewhats sherlock homes got to do with seo and web design
ReplyDeleteSEO first tho, right? http://tiny.cc/som43
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that’s Sherlock Holmes?? Doesn’t look anything like Benedict Cumberbatch to me!! By the way, I assume the name – J Watson – is a joke?!?
ReplyDeleteThere's a new post about how an SEO consultancy can help with stuff like this, v. useful I think. Here: http://seoexpertsaustralia.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeletePS. J Watson - didn't notice that!
I don't get the J Watson thing but great article on SEO and web design
ReplyDeleteDoctor John Watson? As in “Elementary Watson”? Sherlock Holmes’ faithful sidekick? Have you ever actually read a book?
ReplyDeleteHave you Honza... or have you just watched the films? Sherlock Holmes never says "Elementary my dear Watson" in the books. So don't be so quick to judge others!
ReplyDeleteWhoa, what's with the confrontation? Anyway, found this a very interesting article, just like many others on this site. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to Read More. How do I Read More? Help!
ReplyDeleteFunny argument about Sherlock Holmes, but whats that got to do with SEO and Web Design?
ReplyDelete