Design makes your web pages look great
SEO helps you get discovered
I hear quite a few designers saying: “what would you need SEO for? if the site is designed right then SEO will take care of itself”. Believe it or not, I have even come across designers who don’t even know what SEO is. And then I talk to SEO people who build web pages that are super optimized, but don’t read well in terms of the English and really lack in terms of look and feel and usability.
So there is a balance to be stroke here. If your website is controlled too much by a technical SEO person than you might run the risk of limiting the creativity of the site. If your website is controlled too much by a designer without SEO knowledge then you run the risk ending up with a site that looks fantastic and makes, but can not be found by search engines.
Having worked with web designers and developers over the last ten years, I have always noticed that the people who are excellent at design and interface tend not to have the necessary expertise in technicalities and vice versa. Then, there is a third group who have emerged in the last few years, called “SEO specialists” SEO specialists not only have a solid technical understanding, but more importantly they have the relevant business and marketing experience to be able to help clients with a winning website strategy and achieve top ranking in search engine results.
In any case it would be lazy to ignore the simple changes that can result in more people finding your site. For most small business owners, getting ranked simply comes down to ensuring you’ve done the basics right.
So how can design and SEO professionals work together effectively? From my experience, this is made possible only with effective team work. For example, on any design and SEO project there should ideally be three types of people involved; a designer, a developer and a SEO specialist. Depending on the size of the project where applicable it is also a good idea to employ a professional copywriters and a larger development team. And then of course to make sure tasks are delegated accordingly, we need a project manager to lead the team. Now, I know this is not always realistic. In a smaller project it is not going to be possible to have specialists in each area, hence I would recommend as a bear minimum have one creative designer and one technically savvy SEO person to ensure the crucial elements of your website are correct from the beginning.
With the team working well in this way, the important building blocks of your website come seamlessly together, producing magnificent results for your business.
In any case it would be lazy to ignore the simple changes that can result in more people finding your site. For most small business owners, getting ranked simply comes down to ensuring you’ve done the basics right. Here are 10 basic SEO considerations every designer should implement.
- Top 10 SEO myths revealed
- Keyword Research 101
- Top 10 SEO tips to help you improve your search ranking
- One way editorial links and how to get them
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