A website with a better design has better rankings. Simply because when users like your website, the search engine likes it too. But how exactly are SEO and web design related?
Search engines have gone strict
Search Engine Optimization or SEO isn’t just about getting the keywords right. SEO is a multi-layered process that answers to the changed demands of search engines which are quite picky about what kind of website will rank higher. 
Search engines now lay a great deal of emphasis on user interface. Thus, they rank websites based on a thoroughness of layout, navigation, responsive design, and site organization. It is clear that websites should be created by combining the skills of sound SEO marketing strategies with user friendly designs that would be loved by users and found easily, ranking high on SERP (search engine results page).
Search engines take a keen interest in site design, analyze the engagement time of users, bounce back rates, and most importantly these days, how mobile responsive the site pages are.
Don’t fall for the looks alone
Business owners should expect a return from their investment on the site. A well-made website will eventually become one of the company’s most valuable assets. However, sleek portfolios can often fall short of this. Often clients end up with beautiful sites that aren’t adapted to marketing strategies.
The result is a non-performing website rejected by impatient online users. Users who are looking for comfortable, easy to use websites that have relevant content presented upfront—something that a successful blend of SEO and web design can provide.
How the ‘hand in hand’ ratio works
A good digital marketing and web design firm will help your website stand out by designing with ranking factors in mind to improve your SEO. Here’s how:
- Improving engagement so that users are compelled to stay and keep on clicking. Higher bounce rates tell the search engine that the user wasn’t engaged so they went back to the SERP. Clever web design with easy navigation and quick loading that will showcase and point towards the excellent content that your site has will contribute towards satisfied users and in turn higher rankings.
- UX is king. A website’s accessibility and user-friendly quotient is a major SERP rank decider. Remember that bad design stands to harm your SEO more compared to a good design improving it. The key is to prefer simple layouts with stress on screen adaptability. In short, make it easy for users to find your content.
- Stand tall in the crowd. With millions of websites out there, your website cannot afford to lack either in content or on style. Just like an ostentatious website is no good without any relevant content, in the same way, quality content won’t work with an average design that makes reaching it difficult or boring. Latest trends like interactive designs, special effects, and quirky fonts can perfectly complement content to better the SEO.
- Mobile-friendly designing. A website design needs to be mobile-responsive. The design should flow smoothly and when it is implemented with SEO in mind then users can easily spot all your content.
Clearly, one is not complete without the other. If you want to improve your bottom line, you have to make sure that your web design and SEO are in harmony.
Final thoughts
Almost all firms offer and treat design and SEO as separate services. However, as we have seen above, a business should consider an SEO agency that can integrate its SEO methods into the site UX/UI it has produced. A huge benefit from this is seen in the reduced time and cost. Also, it promises better results.
