SEO Friendly Web Design

The tips provided here are aimed more towards designers then optimisers but some may apply to both. There’s far too much to list so hopefully the more important aspects are highlighted. Hopefully the list will grow in the future so feel free to add comments and suggestions.

Keyword Research

Although you may not be performing long term SEO (SEO is an ongoing process) do a small amount of keyword research for the target market, compare search volumes against competition and determine the feasibility of the website performing well with certain key phrases. Once you have a selection of keywords keep them for writing meta tags and content.

More Content Less Code

Using XHMTL and separating presentation and content through CSS narrows down your code and feeds search engines what they’re really after, the content. Design well structured and minimal markup, put Javascript in external files and if you really want to narrow things down import other CSS files via a single stylesheet. Well designed markup is also easier for you (and others) to understand and manage too.

Content is King

There’s nothing better than useful, relevant and interesting content. Make sure you have enough content but not too much as to confuse or put-off visitors. If you are marketing items make sure the product descriptions are specific, informative and contain as much useful text as possible. A good example of a web site that does this well is Amazon. Once you have great content carefully insert any keywords you’ve researched and targeted carefully in a natural manner.

Make Buying Easy

If the website is selling products make them easily visible and easy to buy. The standard internet user loves easy to use web sites and if they want to buy something encourage it by making it as simple as possible. Add subtle internal advertisements, “buy now” icons and make sure the process is highly visible and requires minimal click-throughs.

Validate your Pages

Although there’s no substantial evidence (in my opinion) to suggest that Google or other search engines favour valid pages that adhere to W3C standard there’s no harm in ensuring pages validate. Valid pages show professionalism, care, a passion for standards and are also more likely to work better cross-browser. It’s also a method of future proofing so why not?

CSS Navigation

Where possible use CSS to style menus and navigation. In the case that Javascript is necessary make sure it’s minimal and a <noscript> alternative is available for both search engines and users with Javascript disabled. If, for some reason, you’re forced to use Javascript make internal linking work by adding links to internal pages from the homepage content.

Consistent Link Structure

When taking into consideration how things are internally linked make sure important content is only 1-2 clicks away from every page. Don’t categorise things too deeply (only two-three levels deep tops) and use friendly URLs containing targeted phrases. Also, to help search engines associate page content with keywords, use keywords in the link text.

Minimal Flash

Although advancements have been made with Google in regards to flash it can still be a nightmare. Use it in small amounts while using HTML for content. Remember flash is proprietary, not installed by default on Windows, Linux and Mac and is also required to be downloaded as a plugin in many browsers. Minus the usability and accessibility issues HTML content is still better.

Take a Step Back

Remember your target audience. Take a step back and try and think like a visitor. What is working and what isn’t? Remember you’re not only making a website for search engines but also for the users. SEF and SEO isn’t just about ensuring SERP visibility to drive traffic but it’s also about keeping visitors and giving them a good experience.

Quick Tips

• Use the alt attribute to place keywords in images
• Don’t use splash pages. Luckily they’re in decline as people have realised they are completely useless for the vast majority of websites.
• Only use one H1 element (primary heading) per page
• Keep the title tag under 65 characters in length, don’t repeat words and try to avoid stop word.
• Keep the length of the keyword meta tag less than 375 characters in length and use secondary keywords (ignored by Google but used by Bing)
• Don’t use HTML frames. There is no excuse and the same effect can usually be achieved with CSS.

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1. Search Engine Friendly (SEF) & Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): The Difference

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