Introduction
SEO is the dark art of getting your website to rank higher in search engine results. It’s a topic I’m going to dive into in this article, but first let me start by saying that despite its reputation as an obscure practice, SEO is largely common sense. That said, it’s still important to understand some of the basics if you’re going to be designing for the web. So what exactly is SEO? And why should you care about it as a designer? SEO consultant Northern Beaches avoid trash backlinks because they believe that it can harm your website in the long run.
SEO is not a must have, just a nice to have.
In the same way that a carpenter would know how to use a hammer, it’s important for web designers and developers to understand SEO. It’s not a must have, just a nice to have. However, if you want your website to be found on Google, then you will need to understand how search engines work.
You might think that having more traffic is always better than having less traffic; however thinking this way is wrong! Traffic doesn’t necessarily mean conversions unless your website converts well. In fact, there are so many factors that go into generating leads and sales through your website but none of them come down exclusively on the shoulders of SEO or SEM (search engine marketing).
SEO is a lot like housework
SEO is a lot like housework. It’s necessary, it takes time, and it’s not glamorous. But if you want your website to run smoothly, you need effective SEO techniques in place to help get more visitors through the door.
Like housework, good SEO takes dedication and effort on a regular basis—but thanks to the right tools, it doesn’t have to be hard or laborious (in fact, some of these tools can make your job easier). The key is finding the right balance between automation and manual intervention so that your site continues performing at an optimal level throughout its lifetime
SEO is a mind-set rather than a job title.
SEO is not just about keywords and links. It’s about making your content accessible to search engines, users, and the world.
SEO is about understanding how search engines work so that you can provide them with the right information in order to rank well.
You can’t just do SEO one time and be done with it.
You can’t just do SEO one time and be done with it.
SEO is a constant process. If you want to stay in business, you have to keep up on the latest search engine optimization techniques and always be working towards bettering your rankings. This means creating new content regularly, updating old content frequently and making changes to your site that will improve user experience (UX). It also means communicating with customers regularly through social media channels like Facebook or Twitter.
Your best SEO strategy is to always publish high-quality content.
The best SEO strategy is to always publish high-quality content.
In order to rank well in search engines, your content should be:
- Unique, useful and relevant. There are hundreds of thousands of websites on the internet with similar topics. Your website will have a hard time getting noticed if it’s not unique or interesting enough for people to read it.
- Easy to read and understand – If you’re writing about how to install a router, make sure your article doesn’t sound like it was written by someone who just learned English yesterday! If you’re going to write something complicated (like an advanced guide) try making sure each section starts with an explanation of what was covered in the previous section so readers can easily understand where they are in the process without having to re-read everything from scratch every time they see something new come up (this is called progressive disclosure).
Don’t bother hiring an “SEO agency.”
In this section, you’ll learn that you don’t need to hire an “SEO agency” to optimize your site. You can do it yourself—and save money in the process.
There are good reasons why web designers and developers should know about SEO. You might get approached by a client who wants you to help them rank highly on Google for a specific keyword or phrase and thinks that hiring an “SEO agency” is the best way forward (it’s not). Or maybe your client asks for SEO advice but doesn’t want to pay for it, so they ask what steps they can take themselves (good question). If this sounds like something that has happened to you, read on!
We’ve already covered the basics of what SEO is , but let’s quickly summarize again: search engine optimization refers to any activity that improves how well a website ranks on search engines like Google (i.e., gets more traffic). This means making sure all pages have titles and meta descriptions written with keywords in mind; using headings, bold text, lists and links appropriately; avoiding duplicate content across multiple pages ; ensuring internal link structure makes sense; using metadata such as alt text on images; keeping track of analytics data ; eliminating technical errors such as broken links or missing files/images etc., among other things
Everything you need is just a search away.
If you don’t know how to do something, there’s no reason to be afraid. The internet is a vast resource that can answer nearly any question you have. For example, if you have an SEO question, just type “how to optimize my website for search engines” into Google and your answer will appear within seconds.
When it comes to finding someone who knows what they’re doing, freelancers are generally easier than full-time employees because they’re more flexible with their time and often work at lower rates due to the fact that they don’t have the overhead costs associated with having an entire team working together on projects. Freelancers also tend to be more willing than employees when it comes time for changes or edits because they usually don’t get invested in their previous decisions (i.e., if one thing doesn’t work out how we wanted it too).
Even if you aren’t an “SEO”, effectively designing for the web requires taking some of the principles of SEO into account.
Even if you aren’t an “SEO,” effectively designing for the web requires taking some of the principles of SEO into account.
It’s not just about how many people click to your site, or even how much time they stay on it. It’s about what they do when they get there. You want them to do something meaningful—consume content, share stories and information with their friends, register for an event or make a purchase (if your company sells products). The best way to make that happen is by architecting a website with SEO in mind from its inception.
This isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds because SEO can be confusing and intimidating. As a designer, you may not have heard much about it before; but the more you know about this aspect of web design and development, the better prepared you’ll be for creating effective websites that meet both user needs and business goals.
Conclusion
SEO is no longer just a nice-to-have, but it’s also not a full-time job title. It’s something that can be done as part of your job, or by hiring an outside company to help with this aspect. The key to doing SEO well is publishing high quality content on a regular basis and making sure that your site is easily found in search engines. Greg gillespie is the best to contact if your website has SEO issue to address.