6 Common Web Design Mistakes That Hurt SEO
Most businesses understand that a website is crucial for success in the modern marketplace. Unfortunately, many companies work with inexperienced website design services or attempt DIY solutions to save money, resulting in poor-performing sites. Without at least a foundational knowledge of SEO best practices, businesses are bound to make little mistakes that can hurt their performance in search engine rankings.
Website Mistakes That Hurt SEO
An effective website is about more than looking attractive; it must have substance. Also, the design and engineering of the site must allow for meaningful consumer interactions and engagement. SEO is about optimizing your site not only for search engines but also for the viewer, regardless of the device they use. When creating your website, try to avoid the following six SEO mistakes.
1. Poor Speed
A slow website speed is detrimental to a business. According to Google, slow speed affects a company’s ranking in search results because it compromises reputation and credibility. Over 45% of visitors to a page will not wait longer than three seconds for a page to load.
While there are many things you can do to improve webpage speed, the most significant contributor can include the hosting service you use. You want to invest in the best hosting experience to ensure your customers get rapid access to sites.
2. Poor Navigation
Consumers want to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. If your website does not provide clear navigation tabs, buttons, or features, your customers will become frustrated or bored and leave the site.
Many business owners lack the knowledge to implement effective navigation strategy and design. If you feel navigation and web design are outside your area of expertise, hire a full-service digital marketing and web design agency.
3. Non-Mobile Friendly Site
Mobile devices are the primary tool people use to access the web. If your site is not mobile-friendly, or better still, mobile-responsive, it will not perform well. Google will not even display non-mobile-friendly sites to mobile users.
Having a mobile-friendly site used to mean having a separate URL for the different devices. Today, you can build a responsive site with a flexible design. Responsive sites automatically adjust the page layout to fit a consumer’s screen size.
4. Low-Quality Content
Search engine algorithms are sophisticated. They can tell a web page’s quality by analyzing the text and links. If search engines like Google determine your content is spammy or low-quality, they will penalize you and remove your content from the results.
Consumers are also judges of content. When you spend time writing content, you want visitors to spend time reading it. A consumer will not waste time on irrelevant content.
When focusing on a content strategy, consider quality, uniqueness, and relevance. A digital marketing agency can help you design your SEO and content strategies.
5. Pop-ups
Over 90% of consumers hate pop-up ads, so much so that they will close out a page. Businesses perform better with pop-up-free designs. Consult a reputable digital marketing and web design service to learn more.
6. Missing CTA
A call to action tells a consumer what you want them to do, whether buying a product or subscribing to a newsletter. Too many companies invest in beautiful web design only to leave out the CTA. By ignoring the CTA, you effectively sabotage your conversion rates.
Improving Web Design With Professional Services
Most business owners do not understand web design or SEO strategies, which is fine. However, it is a mistake to ignore these essential tools. Instead of trying to master an entire field, you can hire an experienced web design and digital marketing firm. Contact Unwired Web Solutions to learn more.