When it comes to doing effective SEO on your website, the content that you develop and the website links that gets acquired will have a tremendous impact on your SEO performance. However, one of the things that is often overseen is how web design can aid to improving the functional SEO efforts, as well as provide link bait for opportunities to earn natural links to your site. The SEO design team from Online Marketing Gurus have provided the following design tips that will help get your website ranking on the first page of Google.
Be creative with your 404 error page.
When users are served with a page to say that the web address that they have tried to access is broken, they are typically served with a customised broken links page (or 404 error page) that has been customised to match the template theme of the website. Instead, design a 404 page that is compelling and that will encourage people to interact and share the page on other platforms. Below are a few great examples to get some inspiration.
404 page from Nosh.me.
This was a classic that was featured in Time Techland website. You can see the video that was created for the web page.
Even this creative video skit was implemented onto this 404 page.
Make the website’s page loading time a priority.
Google has made it clear that the web page loading time is one of the ranking factors in their algorithm. Not only is it good SEO practice, but it improves the web user’s experience by allowing them to receive the content that they are seeking quickly. Designers should create templates and digital assets that are light and easy for the web page to load.
Ensure that web designs are responsive to different mobile devices.
Google has also factored mobile design into its ranking algorithm. They have provided a console for designers to optimise their various forms of content that can be accessed from Google’s search platform. For example, a mobile responsive website or a mobile application. You can read more at the following link.
Resource: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/
Design a web page that is captivating.
The content that you present on your website must be valuable to the web user, however if it is presented in a way that is compelling, web users will be more likely to engage and share the content. Consider captivating designs such as:
- Data visualisation.
- Compelling web design templates.
- Using compelling and captivating images.
- Using ‘easy to read’ fonts
- Clear heading designs.
Incorporate designs that will motivate the web user to take action!
When people land on the site, you want them to take one or all of the following actions.
- That they will click to convert into a lead.
- That they will click and convert a sale.
- That they will click and engage with the content by liking or sharing the content.
To maximise conversion rates, consider:
- How colours should be used to give the web user confidence in the website, as well as to emphasize areas on the web page such as call-to-action buttons.
- How the information on the web page should be displayed. For example, should the page use long copy, short copy, video or audio?
- Using testimonials and call out images to boost credibility.
Implementing the right designs on your website can set up the site for some big wins in the SEO space. By combining the technical, content and link bait design elements of the site, the opportunity for ranking strongly across your desired ‘money keywords’ will be amplified substantially. If you haven’t done so already, make the web design for your site a priority today!
About the Author
Mirko Humbert
Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.