When it comes to getting seen on the internet, the only sure-fire way of doing so is by making sure that your website’s content is SEO-ready – that your keyword rankings are fresh, relevant and that you’re not missing out on any lucrative views and clickthroughs. SEO is a fine art and it can take a number of professionals – designers, coders and writers – to make sure that a webpage is primed and ready to be placed at the top of Google’s mammoth list of search results.
However, there are a number of factors which may actually harm your chances of being seen on Google without you ever realising. You may well have your keyword rankings analysed and your content freshly rewritten – but there are still pitfalls for you to avoid.
A great-looking website is essential, that’s for certain – if you are looking to convert casual browsers into regular visitors. A poorly-envisioned design or broken layout will turn even the most invested customer away, and it’s understandable that looks count in a big way towards that important first impression. However, it’s very important to remember that words, and words only, will get you picked up by Google. If your website is all images and no text, you’ll struggle to climb the rankings.
In addition to this, as a website light on essential text may suffer in the rankings, so too will a page that relies upon images for essential webpage navigation or function. Google picks up on absolutely everything in terms of text, so it’s important to tread very carefully when making image-based decisions. The more text related to your trade you have on your webpage, the more likely you will be placed at the top of the pile. Google can’t sift through images, meaning that while a menu comprised of professionally-designed .jpg or .png icons may look good, it won’t help you when it comes to being found.
SEO is no laughing matter when it comes to promoting your website. You may have already undertaken a great deal of keyword research and know exactly how to reach your target audience – but in return, you’ll need a web designer and content writer to ensure that such keywords are used correctly and efficiently within the main text of your website. It’s a misnomer to believe that all web designers will understand the intricacies of content optimisation for Google, therefore, it’s pretty crucial that you broach this topic with your designer before getting started – otherwise, it could mean you losing out on a lot of lucrative business.
You may eventually wish to redesign your website, or change a few factors in terms of structure – this is understandable, particularly if you are looking to broaden your audience or your appeal. However, it’s important to understand that Google (or indeed your customers) may have already indexed or bookmarked certain pages on your site, meaning that any major changes to HTML or the file path will result in a dead end for them – and this may also affect your rankings.
Your web designer will need to appreciate and understand that any major changes to site design and structure must be undertaken with the utmost care and attention, for example implementing page redirects where necessary so that your existing Google ranking does not lead visitors to a blank page or 404 warning. You will also need to ensure that your web designer retains the work you’ve undertaken with regard to your keyword rankings, and of course, implements any new research too.
For expert web design and consultation on SEO that will convert browsers to visitors (and visitors to customers), contact SEO Co-Pilot today for a friendly chat about the vision you have for your website – and how we can help you avoid the pitfalls listed above!
