How does a responsive web design affect my SEO?
This question is very much popular on forums like Quora or Reddit, but too often the answer goes off the track and is not at all informative.
The majority of the online industry today is being dominated by the mobile platform. A year back Google made the announcement that they are moving to a more mobile focused indexing and since then the SEO landscape has undergone many transformations.
That announcement only necessitated the incorporation of responsive web design to an SEO’s mobile website because having a responsive web design affects your SEO through positive user behavior signals. Incorporating a responsive web design to your website need a lot of time, effort, and energy, but it is worth the investment if a professional website design company is given the task of designing the business website.
Bad Design is bad for SEO
When someone searches for an answer, product, or service available on your website, the search engine will redirect them to your site.
But if in case the content is not so engaging or the design is very poor. Suppose it becomes difficult to read, too ugly or complicated, they will return back to SERP (Search Engine Results Page) to find a better answer to their query. This action is known as bouncing which tells the Search Engine that the information available was not satisfying. If your design is turning people off, it is very hard to bring the rankings for your website.
Here are the answers to your question “does a responsive web design affect your SEO?”
Avoid Pop Ups – Pop ups are highly beneficial but can be a hassle for the online audience visiting your site. It is a painful thing for those who are visiting your site for the first time and have not yet accessed your content. Use them sparingly, not as soon as someone arrives at your site. First, build trust amongst the audience prior asking them to fill in their information or like a subscription or sign up for the newsletter.
Page Load Time – One factor that Google considers while making the websites rank is the page load time. The faster it is, the better would be the rankings. The skilled teams at professional website design companies make sure that the site loads fast so that it ranks higher. Websites that load fast lead to a more positive experience. Therefore, it is detrimental for you to optimize your website for faster page load time.
Illegible Text – Make sure that you always choose the font that is easy to read, and is medium sized. At the same time, the font color and the color scheme in the background should not look offensive. Do not trouble the audience by making them decipher your messages and information. Use a readability tool that helps ensure that your text is always a delight for the visitor to read and understand. Often the illegal text leads to a higher bounce rate.
Large files slow down your pages – Not everyone has access to incredible high speed internet in their surroundings. Therefore, make sure that the site has a limited number of images and videos so that it does not slow down the pages. If it is there, get it fixed asap. It has been estimated that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. On regular basis, ensure to use online tools to check your page load speed.
Great layout improves SEO – An elegant and clean layout engage users and reduce the chances of “bouncing”. If an oversized image is hiding your content, the design is not at all SEO friendly and you should think about refurbishing the layout structure. Whitespace is your friend, and it’s nearly impossible to go wrong. So, go ahead and give your images some more elbow room. Functional navigation is another important factor.
Engaging & informative content improves SEO – Once the layout is done right, fill it with engaging and informative content that makes your page rank higher. Optimize it with suitable keywords to increase engagement. Get quality backlinks by posting your content on the relevant sites.
In the end, have a responsive web design to make your website rank higher on the search engines. Do not be in a hurry while making the design changes instead hire a professional website design company who assist you in building search engine optimized, highly intuitive websites that effectively optimize conversion rates and boost your revenue. The customer centric website thus designed will help you generate more traffic, increase conversion rates and get more repeat visitors.