As small businesses in Fort Worth grow, they are thinking carefully about how they are represented online. Often, this means choosing a Fort Worth web design company to assist them in redesigning their website.
However, small business owners seeking web design services may not know about the critical importance of SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is the process of fine-tuning your website so that it can easily be found using search engines. The right web design company will understand the importance of SEO and work to optimize your search engine rankings and boost your traffic.
Not Every Web Design Company Is Skilled in SEO
Website redesign is an investment, and it should yield a return in search engine rankings, traffic, and leads or sales. Unfortunately, not all web design companies in Fort Worth produce the SEO results that your small business needs. A great website is of no use when potential customers can’t find it. Low search engine ranking and poor traffic can result in lost sales and leads every day.
Is Your Web Design Company Making These 7 Common SEO Mistakes?
1. Rewriting Content
Web designers may perform SEO audits of your website, but changes should be targeted at content that is not performing well. Drastically changing or rewriting content that is performing well is unwise and can result in a drop in rankings.
2. Choosing Keywords Without Researching Them First
Implementing keywords without doing the appropriate research beforehand is a common SEO error. Web designers need to implement carefully chosen keywords, using the newest available data. Web designers should research and understand keyword volume— that is, how often people are searching for particular keywords— before using those keywords on your site.
3. Non-Unique Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Another common mistake is using a default page title and meta description on every page on your site. When your website appears in a list of search results, the page title and meta description are shown to the potential visitor, enticing him or her to click through to your site. Because the title and description are so important, each page on your site should have a unique, optimized title and meta description, and the title should contain target keywords for that page.
4. Not Considering URL Structure
Each page on your site has a unique URL, commonly known as a web address. However, some web design companies may not recognize the importance of good URL structure. URLs should not:
- Use underscores (“_”) between words. Instead, hyphens (“-“) should be used to separate words.
- Use “camelcasing” in URLS, which produces a mix of upper- and lower-case letters. URLs should use all lowercase letters.
- Fail to use targeted keywords within the URL. URLs should contain the right keywords for your business.
5. Ignoring The Impact Of Site Speed
Site speed refers to how quickly your site loads, and it has two important impacts. Every second counts when page load times are concerned, and faster sites have higher conversion rates. When your site loads quickly, your visitors will stick around longer and be more likely to make purchases or take other meaningful actions. Additionally, site speed affects Google search engine rankings, and faster sites receive a ranking bonus. Web designers must pay close attention to the technical aspects of the site that affect site speed as no business can afford to have a slow website.
6. Not Implementing Redirects
Redirects are essential when an page’s URL changes. Some designers fail to redirect old pages to new ones, or they redirect defunct URLs to the homepage. A proper redirect, on the other hand, brings visitors quickly to your updated content. Furthermore, redirects preserve the SEO value of your old page and transfer almost all of that value to your new page. This ensures that when others link to you, the value of that incoming link is retained even if your page URL changes.
7. Converting Text to Images
Web designers may replace text with images, but this design choice negatively impacts your site’s search rankings. Text headings and navigation are best because Google and other major search engines use the keywords in these headings to determine the content of your website. A properly formatted text heading containing a target keyword is more valuable in SEO terms than an image.
All of these SEO pitfalls are common and all can result in lower rankings, lost traffic, and fewer conversions. When choosing a web design company to redesign your site, choose one with the skills and knowledge to boost your search engine rankings and improve your traffic through SEO best practices.
