With 1.8 billion websites online today, cutting through the clutter and connecting with an audience is harder than ever. What we’re seeing emerge as a difference-maker in a company’s ability to help their websites gain traction is great design and attention to search engine optimization (SEO).
We all have an idea of what good web design looks like. Most of us also know a thing or two about SEO. What very few people know though is how great design can lift your site’s search engine performance.
Below, our team breaks down how an excellent design team can elevate a website’s ability to rank well on Google. Keep reading to learn more!
1. Reduced Bounce Rates
Bounce rate is the metric Google looks at to determine how quickly somebody that clicks onto your site leaves. The higher your bounce rate is, the less likely Google will be to refer your site to people in the future since Google looks at bounce rates as an indicator that your site is not delivering against people’s needs.
When people click onto a website and are met with outstanding design, they stick around for longer. Those extra minutes or even seconds can give your search engine ranking a boost.
2. Metadata Rich Media
Any design team that’s worth their salt is going to look for tasteful ways to incorporate media into your website. Not only does that media improve the visual aesthetics of your web presence but it also increases your ability to share keywords with search engines which then improves SEO.
Every photo or video that’s dropped into a website can have metadata associated with it. That metadata typically includes a description and “alt text” that’s used by disability tools.
3. Enhanced Brand Recall
When we see an orange checkmark, most of us think of Nike. When we see a silver apple with a bite taken out of it, most of us think of the computer giant, “Apple”.
Quality branding creates recall in people that can lead to engagement for years to come. A great design team can make sure your brand’s distinct character shines through every corner of your website. That will then, hopefully, lead to people internalizing your brand and eventually lead to those same people returning to your website time and again.
The more people you have seeking out your website through search engines, the more Google will take notice of your popularity and recommend you to others.
4. AI Information Parsing
For Google to determine what your website is about, it uses bots to crawl your page’s content, read its information, and make judgments. The more easily bots can parse your content, the better insight it’ll get into your page’s details which will positively affect its ability to rank you.
Great designers know how to layout information on a page that’s clear and concise. While most do this for the benefit of humans, thoughtfully laying out content also benefits search engine AI which in turn, benefits your search engine optimization.
5. Keyword Loading Avoidance
When non-designers try to boost SEO rankings, they tend to lean on keyword loading. Keyword loading is a practice that employs the tactic of repeating a certain word or phrase over and over on pages in hopes of tricking bots into boosting search engine rankings.
As bots owned by Google get more sophisticated though, loading keywords has turned into a practice that has hurt businesses. That pain has come in the way of search engine penalties.
Good design teams scoff at the idea of loading content with fluff that does nothing to improve user experiences. They instead find ways to work search engine optimized phrases into content in natural, helpful ways. That holistic approach to keyword integration sets websites up to remain in Google’s good graces and eventually find search engine success.
6. Faster Page Speeds
Beauty and efficiency go hand in hand in the realm of quality design. Consequently, we’re seeing the best visual web designers not only incorporate stunning graphics, video, and other multimedia elements into pages but do so in ways that ensure page speeds don’t suffer.
Seeing as how page load times are a well-documented factor that search engines leverage to determine rankings, efficient design directly impacts SEO.
If you’re ever curious to see how fast your pages are loading, check out Google’s free page speed tool.
7. Effective Linking Strategies
Did you know that how you link to content within your site can have an impact on those page’s search engine rankings? It’s true!
That’s why we love it when designers can find effective ways to link to other site content, whether it be in text, imagery, or menus.
Internal links give search engines additional visibility into a page’s existence which can improve crawl rates and where your content appears on result pages.
Your Design Team Is Your Secret Ranking Weapon
Company leaders invest thousands in bringing on search engine optimization teams to improve their site rank. Little do many of those business owners know that by hiring the right design team, they may be able to get the search engine results they’re looking for while simultaneously ensuring their site’s visual efficacy.
We challenge you to look for that all in one package the next time you’re hiring designers!
Would you like additional context on how web design and search engine success are intertwined? If so, we welcome you to check out more of the content we have available on our blog.