Why SEO Matters Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what gets new prospects onto your site. Google Search Console can also help you identify the terms that are already driving users to your site, which might help you reframe your own thinking on the list. These keywords will inform all of your website design choices from here on out. Think Like a Search Engine The way that a human sees your site is very different from the way Google sees it as it crawls through sites looking for information relevant to a given search. If your pages are showing up mostly blank, you know that search engines are missing out on crawling the majority of your content, so you’ll want to restructure your site to be more HTML heavy. Consider Website Structure In addition to thinking about the way a search engine will see your site, you want to make sure you’re building a structure that makes sense for SEO and for visitors. How can you make it easy for users to get from one relevant piece of information to another? Creating a site with crawlable link structure is critical to making sure that all of your content is seen by search engines. Create Rich Content Of course, this effort you’ve put into creating a site that’s easy to find, functional, and appealing will all be useless if your site has sub-par content. If you liked this post, check out our Small Business Guide to Website Design.
Your website is the heart of your online marketing efforts. So it stands to reason that it should be built with marketing, rather than aesthetics, in mind. Yes, there is something to be said for having an appealing website, and you should certainly aim to design one that has both form and function. But the mistake that a lot of small business owners make is focusing on form exclusively, and that is where they miss a major opportunity.
Your website can be the most beautiful one in the world, but if you don’t focus on its function, then it’s all for naught. If you want to build a successful website, you need to start with a solid SEO framework to build a site that is easy to find and works seamlessly with your other online marketing efforts.
Why SEO Matters
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what gets new prospects onto your site. If someone does a Google search looking to solve a problem that they have, and your business is capable of solving that problem, you want your website to be the first one that they see. Think about your own browsing habits: How often do you look at the second, third, or fourth page search results on Google? If your site isn’t ranking on the first page of results, you’re not being seen by the majority of people.
Start with Keyword Research
Ensuring high rankings on search results is why it’s critical to begin the website design process with keyword research. Start by brainstorming the terms you would search for if you were looking for the good or service your business provides. This can and should be a long list—write everything down and don’t self-edit. Google Search Console can also help you identify the terms that are already driving users to your site, which might help you reframe your own thinking on the list.
Then begin to winnow the list down to 12-20 terms; some that speak to the fundamentals of your business and some that speak to a specific intent a user might have when searching. These keywords will inform all of your website design choices from here on out.
Think Like a Search Engine
The way that a human sees your site is very different from the way Google sees it as it crawls through sites…
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