Whether you want to rank your website on Google or publish web content on your blog, content strategists always consider using SEO techniques. However, we don’t pay much attention to the role of SEO in UI/UX design.
Simply having a website to boost your online presence isn't enough anymore. UI/UX designers must implement SEO techniques at the initial stages of designing to ensure that the website design is user-friendly and has all the features to implement SEO techniques.
This article will talk about the role of SEO in UI UX design and how you can get an SEO Optimized website design for your business. Moreover, you'll know about the factors that affect the SEO and User Experience. So, buckle up and be ready to take your website design to the next level!
Why is it important to consider SEO in UI/UX Design?
There are hundreds and thousands of websites available on the internet right now. Have you ever considered, How your website will stand out from the crowd? How will you maximize your engagement and attract traffic to reach your target audience?
Let's consider you have created a website for your business that is visually appealing and provides the best user experience, but when you search for it on Google, it can't make it to the first page. This is a severe problem because your website designer hasn't considered using SEO tactics while designing the website, and now you have no visibility on SERPs.
SEO and UI/UX are co-related because when an SEO expert uploads content on a website, he needs a layout specifically designed for posting SEO content, such as a page structure with headings, subheadings, hyperlinks, alt texts and images. So, a web designer builds the website on this framework, and an SEO expert makes it visible to the world through audience-focused content.
According to a study by Adobe, 38% of people will only engage with a website if the content or layout is attractive.
If you analyse this study, you’ll find that Google focuses on the structure and layout of your website content to rank it on SERPs. But if a web designer does not focus on SEO and layout structure at the designing stage, even an SEO expert won't be able to help you.
What factors should be considered for an SEO UI/UX Design?
Search engines prefer a website with a user-friendly interface and an SEO-friendly structure. Knowing about factors that can impact SEO while
User Experience Design impacts bounce rate
The bounce rate of a website is the percentage of visitors who enter a website and then leave ("bounce") rather than continuing to view other pages within the same website. A high bounce rate tells the search engines that your website isn't relevant to your audience and will affect your website's search rankings.
Website loading speed
Your website's SEO also affects the loading speed, which is an essential factor for ranking on search engines. If you have a well-designed and optimized UI/UX design, your website can rank higher on search engines, and users will spend more time on your website.
Mobile responsiveness
Most users use mobile phones more than desktops, so having a website design that can adapt to mobile screens is crucial. This also plays a key role in ranking your website because search engine prefers mobile-friendly websites.
According to Statistia's report
“Mobile accounts were responsible for approximately half of the web traffic worldwide. In the fourth quarter of 2022, mobile devices (excluding tablets) consistently generated 59.16 percent of global website traffic”.
Navigation and structure of the website
If a user comes to your website and the structure of your website is so messy that he can't navigate easily, then it's bad news for you. A badly structured website causes the bounce rate to increase, and engagement suffers, resulting in low rankings.
Use of visuals and media
If your website isn't aesthetic enough to catch your user’s eye, it's high time you work on your website design because visuals and images are impacted by SEO too. Besides, optimizing your visuals for their size and Google Image search is also a key factor affecting SEO.
Content optimization
Lastly, content optimization should be focused on while building your website design. If you design a website that doesn't focus on the essential elements of SEO, such as headings, subheadings, text boxes, images alt texts, and links, your rankings go lower.
How to Get SEO-Optimized Website Design?
To get a website design that is SEO optimized and provides your users with the best experience possible, you need to follow these basic principles:
Improve your Bounce Rate
The most common indicator of a high bounce rate is a poorly designed user interface and a bad user experience. Big chunks and blocks of content on your website are another factor that affects the loading time of your website.
Improve Page Dwell Time
Dwell time directs to the amount of time a user spends on a specific page on your website. When ranking websites, Google considers this factor highly, so you must build a website design that can retain your user's attention for the longest time.
Improve Web Page experience
For a fast user experience, it is crucial to improve your website’s web pages. This can be achieved by working on your content management system. Use descriptive and concise URLs, properly use header tags, and use optimized alt tags for images. Remember to use lightweight images and optimize them to rank well on search engines.
Integration of social media
Integrate your social media platforms with your website to drive traffic and improve your reach. Promote your content on all social media platforms so more people can know about your website and generate more leads. This will also impact your brand awareness by improving social signals.
Do UI/UX web designers need to know SEO?
Web designers aren’t needed to be SEO experts; they need to know about SEO basics. We saw how SEO plays its role in the success of a website, and a well-structured website is just one fraction of SEO.
If a web designer is unaware of how SEO works and how a website's UI/UX design is linked with SEO, then your website will only be pleasing to the eye, not the search engine.
Overall, UI/UX designers must consider SEO while designing a website. So, whenever you are looking for a website design services provider, consider all these factors to get maximum benefits from your website.
At ZAPTA Technologies, we have a dedicated team of UI/UX website designers who pay attention to all the minute details while designing websites for your business. Our web designers have participated in multiple training workshops related to SEO so they can design a website that is both aesthetic and search engine friendly.