SEO Web Design
The architecture, or structure, of a web site can greatly effect it’s rankings. It’s difficult to change the structure after a site is built, so make certain that Search Engine Optimization is an integral part of your web design and development process.
What to Consider
In structuring a web site, the needs of both the human visitors to the site and the Search Engine spiders must be taken into consideration. While a site should be built with the needs of the human searcher foremost in mind, the spiders cannot be ignored.
If the Search Engines cannot crawl and index a site, it will not rank for relevant searches. This usually means search traffic will be sparse, so it’s critical to get both parts of this equation right.
Visitor Needs
- To easily find what the information for which they are searching
- To follow a clear path to find more information, if and when they want it
- To help funnel them towards the goal of the site, which may be information, membership, a purchase, an email contact, a phone call, etc.
Search Engines’ Needs
- To easily crawl all of the pages of a web site so that they can be indexed
- To easily tell what each page is about so that they can determine its relevance for specific searches
- To be able to tell where this web site and the information it contains fits into the larger body of information that makes up the world wide web
How the Process Works
- Perform keyword research and determine keyword strategy for the web site
- Decide what pages will be needed
- Organize how the pages will fit into categories and subcategories
- Create a navigational and internal linking structure that allows humans and spiders to easily find their way through the web site
What’s Next?
Only when these critical steps are completed, should you begin creating pages and writing copy for the web site.