If you are trying to make a website that creates an impact in the modern age, you need it to be SEO-friendly. Without that, your website is just a waste of your time.
What is SEO-friendly and why is it so important? Essentially, being SEO-friendly means that your website is visible and optimized for search engines. If you are not found via searches online then you will not build and maintain a strong readership and audience. Google, Yahoo, and countless other search engines are the key to bringing in new readers. You cannot bring in a fanbase solely by word-of-mouth alone. You need help and search engines can be that help.
But how do you create a website that is SEO-friendly and will pop up more frequently on these search engines? You don’t want to just be found in search results, you want to be found on the first page. There is no quicker way to wither away and die than to be placed on the second or third page of search engine results.
It all comes down to a few things: having a SEO-friendly website design, creating powerful content, and keeping your page modern and with the times. With those things combined, you will be on your way to great success.
If you want to make your new website truly SEO-friendly, follow a few of these web design steps and you will be heading in the right direction: straight to the first page of Google.
Make it Mobile-Responsive
This is a major way to make your website SEO-friendly. Creating a website that has responsive design is a must-have in the modern world we live in. Responsive design means that no matter how your website is being viewed – whether on a computer, tablet, or phone – it will still look and work great. It changes depending on how it is being accessed. But it doesn’t change that drastically.
Why is this such an important part of SEO-friendly web design? It is quite simple: if your viewers are not happy with how the site looks and feels on any device, they will not stick around for long and their visit to your page will be short. Google keeps track of that. The search engines are well aware of something called a bounce rate, how quickly a reader leaves your site, and if your bounce rate is high, your visibility on search engines will be low.
If you want visitors and want them to stick around for a while, you need a mobile-ready, responsive page. Thankfully, many web page bootstrap templates provide just that so it is not hard to achieve!
Create a SEO-Friendly Domain
Your domain name needs to do a few things. It has to be easy to remember, easy to read, and it has to get across the point of your site or business.
A good domain name also has to be SEO-friendly or else it is really shooting you in the foot. You need to find a short, memorable domain name that also can be featured somewhere in the search terms that will lead readers to you. If you are selling vintage furniture, try to find a domain name that is brief and catchy but also somehow mentions vintage furniture. It can be tricky, hard even, but it is a great way to boost your SEO score and make your page stand out even more.
Remember that your domain name is a very powerful tool that you will stick with for an incredibly long time so make sure you are happy with your choice before you commit. A lot is riding on that name.
Connect to Your Social Media
Your success is based on more than just how many people visit your website. These days, people can create a huge following through various social media profiles like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can use those profiles to drive up traffic to your official website.
How do you create social media pages that will attract a lot of fans and followers? You need to create a lot of posts that contain personality and character and speak to your audience. Interact with those who are following you and do not make your social media pages feel simply like ads for your products or website. If you follow those steps and keep up with it, you will soon have a collection of loyal fans.
If you have a strong social media presence that is attracting a lot of fans, make sure you connect those profiles to your website and draw your followers to your site. This boost in traffic will enhance your standings on search engines and will increase your visibility and just how often you pop up on Google and other sites.
Remember that traffic and repeat viewers is a great thing for your SEO. If you create a lot of returning traffic, your numbers and standing will be boosted greatly.
Caption Your Videos and Images
Search engine spiders are tools that search engines use to scroll through the entire internet, looking for new content so they can constantly refresh their results. These spiders will look for every bit of information on your website.
Therefore, if your website has videos and images then they need captions. Why? Because these captions will be found by the spiders and each keyword you use as a caption will help boost your SEO score and bring in new readers. Most website templates allow for you to add captions, both visible and invisible. For example, if you are posting images of a musical artist, fill up a caption that features the musical artist’s name, album title and information like that.
The more information via keywords that you fit into your captions, the better your SEO standings will be. Think of video and image captions as a little hidden trick that your viewers might not always see but the search engines always will. Do not forget about these handy little tools that can help boost your traffic in some major ways.
Always Use Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are one of the most important tools for an SEO friendly website design. They are something that all professional web designers know and use often and you should never pass up on an opportunity to optimize them to your advantage.
Meta descriptions are what you see under the title on a search engine page. They are little one or two sentence descriptions that sums up your page. You can write them for your entire website or each individual page on your site. You need them and you need them to be accurate and to the point, lacking any fluff and getting across as much information as possible. If you can fill your meta description with a lot of keywords related to your site, even better.
Think about what your website is offering and make sure your meta descriptions touch up on that. If you are a photographer for hire, fill your description with references to photography and low rates. If you are a restaurant, mention your specialties and food style. There are many ways to make these short descriptions work in your favor.
A good meta description will greatly increase your SEO power. Make it easy to read and understand and direct and you will be bringing in new readers in no time.
