Search engine optimization (SEO) is fundamental and essential for any ecommerce or mobile website design. Properly created and executed SEO will help position your website properly on search results; allowing it to be found at the most critical times.
A professional website design service company like Skynet Solutions can build your website in a way that will please both your visitors/customers, as well as Google, Bing, and other search engines. More importantly understanding how SEO can help your web presence become more relevant and profitable is our job as website design professionals. Skipping the basics of SEO will only leave your site’s foundation a mess and prevent you from fully maximizing revenue opportunities.
During the Introduction to SEO session at SES New York, Carolyn Shelby (@CShel), Director of SEO, Chicago Tribune/435 Digital, fully explained the extreme value SEO can deliver to a site, and stressed the importance of basic SEO using the following analogy: “Skipping the basics and spending all your time and money on social and ‘fancy stuff’ is the same as skipping brushing your teeth and showering, by buying white strips and wearing expensive cologne.”
Although the Introduction to SEO session was intended for industry newcomers, Shelby’s tips offer important reminders for even experienced website design companies who have been optimizing websites for years.
What is SEO and its purpose?
We will start with the purpose of Search Engine Optimization and move into what it actually is next. So, what’s the purpose of having good SEO?
- To create an informative and seamless user experience for your visitors.
- To communicate to the search engines your intentions so they can recommend your website for relevant searches.
Think of your website like a cake. Who doesnt like a good analogy? Your links, paid search, and social media act like the icing, but your content, content management system, and infrastructure act as the sugar in the cake. Without these items your cake it would be tasteless, boring, not eaten and would grow stale. A professional website design company like Skynet Solutions can help explain and maintain your website so that it never gets stale.
What are search engines looking for:
Search engines want to do their job as best as possible by referring users to websites and content that is the most relevant to what the user is looking for. So how is relevancy determined?
- Content. Is determined by the theme that is being given, the text on the page, and the titles and descriptions that are given.
- Performance. How fast is your site and does it work properly?
- Authority. Does your site have good enough content to link to or do other authoritative sites use your website as a reference or cite the information that’s available?
- User Experience. How does the site look? Is it easy to navigate around? Does it look safe? Does it have a high bounce rate?
What search engines are NOT looking for:
Search engine spiders only have a certain amount of data storage, so if you’re performing shady tactics or trying to trick them, chances are you’re going to hurt your website’s performance in the long run. Getting a website design service company to develop specific tactics catered for your needs will help you hit the ground running straight!
- Keyword Stuffing. Overuse of keywords on your pages.
- Purchased Links. Buying links will get you nowhere when it comes to SEO, so be warned.
- Poor User Experience. Make it easy for the user to get around on your website. Too many ads or a confusing navigation can make it too difficult for people to find content they’re looking for and will result in an increased bounce rate.
- Images. Images are not indexable or readable by search engine bots. If the most important information about your service is listed in an image then you are omitting this information from being visible to the search engines.
Knowing, understanding, and reviewing your website bounce rate is an important element for any business. Discussing and reviewing our clients bounce rate is a regular tactic practiced by Skynet Solutions that has proven to increase overall performance. These are some of the items that are provided for our clients in our monthly reports. If your business is need any of the items mentioned above please contact us today!