subject: How Website Design Can Affect Search Engine Listings [print this page] How Website Design Can Affect Search Engine Listings
When creating a website, pay attention to details. There are specific designs that could adversely affect your website traffic. Complex designs with lots of graphics and animation may be difficult to find on search engines. Additionally, the content and number of pages also influence search engine listings. Below are some details you need to keep in mind while designing a website for your business.
First and foremost, think of a good name for your website that will stick in the mind of the visitors and can be easily found on the search engines. The domain name and title are considered as the primary marketing tool and are given first preference by search engine spiders. You could put your business name or your product name as the name of the website, or you could think of a more appealing name. However, both the domain name and title should be related. Domain names should not be too long or too complicated and they should clearly reflect your product or business.
The content on your website should also be simple, yet very informative. The more information the better, as the search engines can easily crawl through the content and match your website to the search terms. This makes search engine optimization easy and gives your website a good ranking. If you are advertising, ensure that your content reflects what is mentioned in your advertisement. If you are offering good buys, make sure that the same deals can be clearly viewed on the website. Additionally make certain that the ads link the visitor to the relevant page and not a page that contains unnecessary information. Keep in mind that unique information should be provided, not content that is found on a thousand other websites.
Flash animation and graphics can make your site appear much more attractive, but at the same time, it may slow the loading of the website to a great extent. This is not a good user experience. This will adversely affect your listing on the search engine pages because some search engines have trouble reading Flash files. Search engines index only text and not graphics or animation.
The quality of your website is also very important. It should not promote any inappropriate or illegal material. There should be transparent and original content and lend a positive user experience. It should not download malware of collect sensitive information from the user. Copying site content from others would ultimately lower your ranking on the search engines. Additionally, ensure that visitors can get the necessary information without going deep into your website.
Coding compliance is another important aspect to consider. Any coding errors in the design of your website can cause the search engine spiders to totally ignore your site. This means that it won't have a chance to even appear on the search engine page. Continuously revamp your website in order to have the upper hand.
