{"id":10136,"date":"2016-06-28T08:41:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T13:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/?p=10136"},"modified":"2016-06-28T08:41:51","modified_gmt":"2016-06-28T13:41:51","slug":"blogweb-design-seo-you-cant-have-one-without-the-other-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/blogweb-design-seo-you-cant-have-one-without-the-other-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Web Design & SEO: You Can’t Have One Without the Other"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEO and web design are the tag team of the century<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your Philadelphia\u00a0<\/span>web design<\/span><\/a> firm has a well-established reputation as a skilled architect of the type of design symmetry they have created for your website. \u00a0They utilized a bold color scheme to enhance your brand\u2019s image, even giving your website an elegant image gallery featuring seamless transitions.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to building you an appealing website, your designer likely offered you an inexpensive SEO package, which you quickly agreed to because it seemed like a good deal. \u00a0As a paying customer with a limited knowledge of the online world, you now believe that everything is in order and are ready to launch your website, right? WRONG!<\/span><\/p>\n

What is good web design<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While your web design firm has posted all of your written and photographic content, a good web design job should not end there. \u00a0Good design is so much more than well-crafted content, beautiful photos and the Rule of Thirds<\/a>. Here\u2019s what else you really need:<\/span><\/p>\n

Internal and external linking<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Internal linking is crucial to disseminate page authority evenly across your website. \u00a0It is not enough to simply have every page listed in the navigation bar, although that is important, of course. You must also have links in the text to other pages, using appropriate anchor text. \u00a0These links allow search engines to create a hierarchy for your site and assign authority to your pages accordingly.
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External links give search engines a better idea of what is on your website. \u00a0If you own a brick-and-mortar sporting goods store with external links to a sponsored little league team, a friend’s sports blog, or even to the manufacturers of the brands you sell, keep at it! \u00a0Such links indicate to search engines that you have content on your site similar to what you are linking to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quick load time<\/strong><\/h4>\n

47% of users<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>give a website less than 2 seconds to load before giving up and trying another one. \u00a0Compressing your CSS, HTML, image sizes, javascript, and everything else on your site is a crucial step in keeping potential customers from going to your competitor’s page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NAP in header<\/strong><\/h4>\n

NAP stands for \u201cName, Address, and Phone Number\u201d and is one of the first things your users check on. \u00a0Your NAP should be displayed in the header of the page and easy to spot. \u00a0If any web design agency tells you otherwise, you should be wary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keyword-focused content<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The thin paragraph or two written by your web designers for each service may be quality content, but not from a web developer\u2019s standpoint. \u00a0While it is a benefit that you, an expert in your field, write coherent content for your web designers to put on the site, I doubt you did any appropriate keyword research to go\u00a0with your content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If your team does not provide you with a list of the three best keywords, you should rethink if you want to continue with your current team. Your site’s content must be keyword-rich (but not spam) if you want to higher SEO rankings. \u00a0Additionally, your landing pages<\/a> need to be a mix of great user experience and content catered specifically for search engines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Original and unique content<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Simply put, everything (yes, everything) on your site needs to be original and unique, including content displayed across multiple pages of your site. \u00a0Search engines have been cracking down on duplicate content so prevent them from penalizing you for minor content issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aesthetics<\/strong><\/h4>\n

All of the previous points are borderline useless if the site itself is not aesthetically pleasing. \u00a0When in doubt, keep it simple instead of cluttering your site with visual noise that doesn\u2019t fit the theme. Color scheme, shapes, patterns, typography, images, and other visual cues are important for reducing your bounce rate<\/a> and helping customers along the conversion path.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is good SEO<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Knowing the difference between <\/span>affordable SEO<\/span><\/a> and valuable SEO is a strength for any business owner. \u00a0That $200\/month bargain with an endless list of promises from your web design company seems good on paper, but you should know that good SEO does not come cheap. \u00a0At Planet 8 Digital, we strive to keep our customers at the top of their respective industries by providing the best SEO possible: there are no cookie-cutter SEO packages. \u00a0Planet 8 creates a detailed strategy geared for your unique situation. \u00a0Here\u2019s what makes good SEO:<\/span><\/p>\n

Content Marketing<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Content marketing<\/span><\/a> is the belle of the ball as we reach 2017. \u00a0Users nowadays want answers and help for their unique situation and search engines filter out websites that don\u2019t utilize content marketing. \u00a0Blogs, video tutorials, FAQ\u2019s, podcasts are all helping brands reach their potential online and if your web design team isn\u2019t developing user-friendly content, find someone who will.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inbound links<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Building upon the section that previously discussed linking, inbound links are crucial for increasing your domain authority. \u00a0When trying to get more inbound links, competitor analysis is a great tool to find out how they’re getting additional links. \u00a0If those are relevant to your industry and can help, by all means, reach out to them and ask for a link back. \u00a0If websites with high domain authority are linking back to you, search engines will more than likely take notice and reward you with a higher domain authority in return!<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There\u2019s a reason why <\/span>social media<\/span><\/a> has become a potent marketing tool; it\u2019s because there are billions of users. This ties back to content marketing because social media is a great platform to reach large numbers of people. \u00a0Your industry generally dictates which platforms to use, but a great start is a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Yelp.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Local SEO<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Local SEO services<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are so important because, in order to dominate your market, you need to start in your area and then expand outward. \u00a0For example, if you\u2019re running a construction business in Bucks County and want to expand into Philadelphia, your best bet is to establish a solid basis in Bucks, then gradually expand to Philadelphia.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Meta tags and headers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Meta tags exist for a reason: to help search engines efficiently and accurately determine what is on your page. \u00a0If you search your top online competitors, you will find they all use meta title and description tags, so consumers can determine the contents of their website without even having to visit it.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Header tags are another simple and efficient method of good SEO, but if used improperly, they can be detrimental. \u00a0Each page should have one <h1>, one or two <h2>\u2019s, and one or two <h3>\u2019s to establish a clear hierarchy. \u00a0But don\u2019t forget, your keywords need to be present so that search engines can clearly read them!<\/span><\/p>\n

Why they need to go together<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I didn\u2019t want to go into too much detail about each topic, and I didn\u2019t want to bore you with dozens of points about each one (believe me, I easily could have). \u00a0Think of it like building a house where the foundation and walls of the house are the websites itself, and the ductwork, electricity, and plumbing are the SEO responsibilities. \u00a0When building a house, you keep in mind those future installments, just like when designing a website it\u2019s important to bear in mind the SEO side of the job.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Without the utilities, the house isn\u2019t a functioning entity, nor would people want to be there. \u00a0Without SEO, your website will be unattractive from a search engine\u2019s standpoint, and you don\u2019t give the user an incentive to stay. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If that inexpensive web design firm offers you SEO services for an incredibly low price<\/a>, odds are you\u2019ll be wasting your money. \u00a0Good SEO cannot get accomplished in only a few hours every month, which is how they can get by with offering such low prices. \u00a0Furthermore, they might build you a great looking website and hound you to sign up for an SEO package month after month. \u00a0After six months you agree to it in hopes of attracting customers, but if that\u2019s the case, I can guarantee they did not lay the proper foundation upon which the SEO services could be done, and I doubt they\u00a0use the latest tips and techniques<\/a>.<\/span>
\nAt Planet 8 Digital, our goal is to get you more money, and that means more customers. \u00a0We focus primarily on SEO and digital marketing but are professional and local web designers<\/a> too. \u00a0Other firms offer SEO as a \u201ccherry on top\u201d service, however that\u2019s our bread <\/span>and <\/span><\/i>butter. \u00a0We know that all pieces of your online presence go hand in hand and they all play an equal part. \u00a0So understanding the differences between SEO and web design and knowing why they\u2019re so valuable <\/span>together<\/span><\/i> is good for any business owner. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEO and web design are the tag team of the century Your Philadelphia\u00a0web design firm has a well-established reputation as a skilled architect of the type of design symmetry they have created for your website. \u00a0They utilized a bold color scheme to enhance your brand\u2019s image, even giving your website an elegant image gallery featuring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p8site.com\/oldp8\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}