SEO is a continuous process that starts from web design and continues beyond the launch of your website. In the long run, SEO is primarily focused on off-site techniques such as link building and social media optimisation. However the importance of on-site factors should not be discounted. Although SEO is an independent field, it works hand in hand with web design. Core on-site SEO principles are applied at a web design level. This article lists basic SEO methods that every web design should include. Most Web design companies will gladly include on-site optimisation of your website as part of their web design service.  It is however your responsibility to ensure that the essential SEO principles have been taken into account in web design. A website that is designed with search engines in mind stands a better chance of ranking for your desired keywords.

Following are some SEO principles to consider during design.

1. SEO friendly page names

Today most websites are designed with a Content management system (CMS) where web pages are created dynamically from the content stored in database. Most such systems generate dynamic page URL’s e.g ‘index.php?cat=1&content=20′. Search engine friendly URL’s on the other hand are easier to index and include keywords in the name e.g.  ’www.yourwebsite.com/web-design-service/’.  Dynamic page names can be converted to a search engine friendly format with basic customisation and tweaks to your website.

2. All pages should be optimised independently

Meta tags mainly title and description should be assigned to all pages individually. It is a common mistake to optimise all pages of the website with common keywords and search phrases. This reduces the chances of ranking for multiple keywords and dilutes the relevance of pages for your search terms. If your websites used a CMS, it is important to have the ability to assign Meta tags individually to all pages of your website.

3. Web Design should be table-less (div based)

Old websites were often designed using tables. In this approach, elements on a page were positioned using tables. Modern design standards advise against this approach. Instead of tables, your website should be designed using layers or div containers. If you are using the services of a Web design company, you should include this in the specification or clearly communicate this requirement to your designer. Table-less lay-outs generate cleaner code that has better content to code ratio. Search engines consider this when determining the rank of a website.

4. Avoid the use of in-line styles in your design

The overall quality of coding has an impact on search engine ranking. Use of in-line styles within the HTML increases load times and code to content ratio. This is not in line with good SEO practices. All CSS styles should be defined in external CSS document and referenced by your web pages. Similarly most websites use scripts like JavaScript to support form validations, roll-overs, menus, other website elements. The script code can be either inserted within the header code of your design or included in a separate document. The latter generates cleaner code, reduces load time and in general is better for SEO.

4. Include a sitemap

There are two types of sitemaps. The first is a publicly accessible page on the website and the second is an XML version which is used specifically by search engines. If the XML sitemap is outside the scope of your web design project, you can still benefit from the first as search engines will still benefit from the inclusion of this page.

5. Images on your website should include Alt tags

Alt tag is a short description used to describe an image. In most cases they are never displayed on the website. It is nevertheless important for search engines. Use of keywords in alt tags for images is known to positively influence a website’s rank on search results.

6. Relevant social tools should be included as part of the design

It is common for businesses to use social networks such as Twitter or Facebook or tools like RSS to connect with customers. Social media and SEO work together. The design of your website should take this into account and include relevant icons or links to allow customers to connect with your website.  They should be prominently placed in the design to improve conversions.

7. SEO friendly Navigation

Necessary SEO principles should be taken into account in your website’s navigation. Links play an important role in how search engines index your website. Search engine crawlers read websites from left to right. Factors such as where you links/menu items are placed and whether or not keywords are included in the anchor text of links play a role in determining your website’s rank on search engines. Additionally, search engines find it easier to index CSS or DHTML links than complex JavaScript or flash menus.

8. Formatting of text

How content is formatted can play a role in search engine ranking. Relevant SEO implications should be considered when formatting the content on your website e.g. keywords should be included as bold or headings where appropriate. This can influence your website’s rank on search results.

9.  Avoid flash

While it is acceptable to use flash for certain elements on your website such as images or banners, you should avoid developing entire pages in flash. Although search engines have become better at handling flash, in general Flash pages have poor indexing on search engines.

10. W3C Compliance

Your websites HTML and code should comply with relevant web design standards. The code should be well formed and error free. Poor coding standards can have a negative impact on the search engine ranking of your website.

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