Website design trends are constantly evolving, driven not only by a desire for a new, more modern aesthetic and competitor differentiation, but also by key factors such as the rise of search on mobile and Google’s corresponding algorithm changes. It’s therefore crucial for businesses to give their websites a regular ‘health-check’ to ensure that design is working hand-in-hand with SEO to maximize search exposure.

Here are our tips to maximize SEO with website design:

• Make sure your website works on mobile

If you don’t have a responsive-design website, it’s time to change that immediately. As Google announced last year, search on mobile has now surpassed desktop search, and that trend is only set to continue. Google can recognize which sites are mobile friendly and which are not, which therefore has an impact on a site’s rankings. A mobile-friendly site is now a business imperative.

• De-clutter your content; don’t put style over substance

Get rid of stylistic distractions that provide a poor user experience when viewed on mobile and focus on a simplified design that’s easy to navigate. It’s also important not to try and shoe-horn keywords into written content and instead use keywords only when they sound natural. Heavy repetition should also be avoided. This is also due to changes Google has been making to its ranking process where they are increasingly using a method called ‘latent semantic indexing’ – essentially meaning more importance is given to how key terms and phrases work together rather than single keywords. Content is king, but it’s crucial that it is content of the highest quality.

• Remember the importance of local content for search

Developing a local optimization strategy can truly pay dividends for businesses. Data from Google suggests that 73% of online search is related to local content, so it’s important to get the basics right. This includes making sure that your business information (and the contact details, website URL, etc.) is correct in all online listings and directories. Creating local content can also help attract qualified leads to your website, and help generate links and social shares.

Ultimately, website design should be focused on creating a seamless user experience, providing useful, highly relevant content in a format that’s easy to navigate. If you’d like our feedback on your website and how we can help create a winning SEO strategy for your business, as ever, please get in touch.