A website’s organic search performance depends on more than just content, keywords and high-quality backlinks, site design also plays a key role in Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings.

In our latest blog, we run through some of the ways website design can affect SEO.

User Experience

Your website is likely to be a potential client’s first interaction with your business, so it’s vital that the design provides them with a positive experience, it’s also a key part of maintaining a strong search engine presence.

Click-through rate, time spent on site and bounce rate all influence Google’s decision to rank a page higher or lower. So, if users are spending little to no time on your site or are avoiding it altogether Google will interpret this as a poor user experience.

Factors that are likely to lead to a positive user experience include:

  • A clear, intuitive navigation structure that helps users easily find what they’re looking for
  • Minimal use of pop-ups
  • Easy to read content in a suitable font and size, broken up with images, infographics or videos rather than one long panel of text

If users are having a bad time on your website or are unable to achieve the goal they came to a page for, this sends a signal to Google that the page is unable to deliver on the desired result for the keyword you’re appearing in the SERPs for. In turn, this can cause Google to rank the page lower.

Page Speed & Performance

How quickly the pages on your website load will have a direct influence on your SEO performance.

This is directly linked to Google’s aim to provide web users with the best experience, if a page takes too long to load user centric.

Since 2010, Google has been using page speed as a ranking signal for desktop searches and announced in 2018 that it would be a ranking factor for mobile searches too.

Google uses a variety of different metrics to calculate page speed, such as FCP and FIP, comparing these measurements against real world data to provide users with

Websites with too much JavaScript, or too many large images are likely to affect page load speed significantly.

Not only this, but users who experience a slow website are likely to leave before they find what they’re looking for or make a purchase – they’re also less likely to return to that website in the future because of the poor experience it provided.

Here are some quick tips for improving page load speed:

  • Remove unnecessary plugins
  • Use compressed images wherever possible
  • Use redirects sparingly

Mobile Friendliness

Mobile friendly websites typically outrank websites that are not user friendly, so it’s definitely worth making sure your website looks perfect and functions exactly how it’s designed to on mobile devices.

Mobile optimisation involves looking at a variety of aspects of a site, including its design, structure, page speed and more.

SEO Friendly Website Design with Logic Design & Consultancy

Our team of consultants, designers and content creation specialists has over 15 years of experience delivering digital solutions that produce results.

Get in touch with us today to discuss your marketing strategy today.

Written by Maja Laws

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