Building an SEO-friendly website has been a hot topic for years, with strategies, tools, and techniques constantly evolving. While experts often aim for a 100% SEO-friendly site, the truth is that no website is ever perfect in terms of SEO. There will always be areas needing ongoing optimization and attention from SEO experts. However, by following proven methods and guidelines, you can get your website closer to the ideal SEO structure and ensure it ranks well on search engines.
To understand SEO, think of it like building relationships between your website and search engines—similar to how we create friendships. Just like people are drawn to those who share similar views and values, search engines prefer websites that align with their guidelines and algorithms. If your website meets search engine requirements and is designed to serve both users and search bots, it will have a much better chance of ranking high.
Here are some essential components to focus on while creating a website that is both search engine and user-friendly:
Gone are the days of relying on Flash for your website’s design. Flash is not only outdated but also detrimental to SEO. HTML5 is the modern standard for website coding. It’s faster, more accessible, and compatible with various devices and browsers. HTML5 ensures your website is easier for users and search engine bots to navigate.
Additionally, consider using JavaScript effectively to enhance the interactivity and functionality of your site without negatively impacting loading speeds.
The title of your website is crucial for both user experience and SEO. It helps users quickly understand what your site is about, and more importantly, it serves as the first point of reference for search engine crawlers
Make sure that the header contains:
A clear title that accurately describes your business or services with CTA words
Relevant keywords to help search engines understand what your site is about
Navigation that allows users to find what they’re looking for easily.
Including client testimonials on your website adds credibility and helps build trust with potential customers. Search engines may recognize your client list or case studies, enhancing your site’s authority and trustworthiness. Positive reviews and feedback from past clients can also improve your Google ranking
Including an inquiry form on your homepage or service pages makes it easy for users to contact you quickly. A good user experience often includes seamless interaction, and an easy-to-use form that allows visitors to request more information or inquire about services is crucial.
Search engines appreciate user-centric websites, and having such forms can boost user engagement and encourage Google to rank your site higher.
The footer of your website may seem like an afterthought, but it plays a critical role in SEO. It serves as a place to help search engine bots crawl your pages and also helps users quickly navigate to important sections of your website. Make sure your footer includes the following:
Links to important pages (About, Services, Contact, etc.)
Sitemap or index to help bots crawl your site better
Privacy policy, terms of service, and other legal pages
Content is king when it comes to SEO. Your website should feature quality content that is relevant to your target audience and is keyword-optimized. To make your website SEO-friendly, the content must be well-researched, valuable, and incorporate the keywords you want to rank for.
Be sure to:
Integrate keywords naturally into your content (in titles, headings, body text, and meta descriptions)
Avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your rankings
Create unique, informative content that answers users’ questions
Search engines use heading tags like H1, H2, H3, etc., to understand the structure and relevance of your content. The H1 tag should be reserved for your main title, clearly indicating what the page is about to users and search engines. Subheadings like H2 and H3 helps break the content into readable sections, improving the user experience and making it easier for search engines to parse. Including relevant keywords in your heading tags can further boost your SEO.
Social media optimization (SMO) is an important aspect of your SEO strategy. Linking to your social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.) boosts user engagement and signals to search engines that your business is active and socially relevant. By adding social sharing buttons and linking to your profiles from your website, you show Google that your brand is trustworthy and engaged with its audience across multiple platforms. This can indirectly help improve your SEO rankings.
With more than half of all internet traffic from mobile devices, responsive web design is no longer optional. Google uses mobile-first indexing, ranking websites based on their mobile version first. Ensure your website is fully responsive and offers an optimized experience on smartphones and tablets.
A mobile-friendly website will reduce bounce rates and improve user engagement, leading to better SEO performance.
Site speed is a crucial ranking factor for Google. It impacts both SEO and user experience. If your website takes too long to load, users are more likely to bounce, and search engines will penalize your website.
To optimize loading speed:
Compress images and videos
Use caching and content delivery networks (CDNs)
Minimize JavaScript and CSS files
Creating schema markup (structured data) and validating it using a schema markup testing tool is a powerful way to help search engines better understand the context of your content. Once validated, adding the schema to your website ensures that search engines can easily interpret your content, enhancing its visibility and relevance in search results. It can improve your website’s appearance in search results by displaying rich snippets, including star ratings, prices, and other relevant information.
For example, adding FAQ schema, review schema, and product schema can improve visibility and encourage higher click-through rates.
Creating an SEO-friendly website is about finding the right balance between optimizing for search engines and providing an excellent experience for users. While it’s essential to follow SEO best practices like using keywords, optimizing for mobile, and improving page speed, ensuring your website is user-centric and offers real value is just as important. Think of SEO as building relationships between your website and search engines, much like friendships. Just as people are drawn to those with shared values, search engines favour websites that align with their guidelines. By focusing on technical SEO and valuable content, you can build a website that ranks higher on Google and delivers a seamless, engaging user experience, ultimately leading to more conversions and long-term success.