SEO website design is all about making an effective choice that leads to a decision...converting to a lead.. And that doesn't just pertain to the appearance but to every aspect of the website from site structure, logic, functionality, colors and especially, content.
Getting to rank on page one is just half the battle. That's leading the horse to water. Then you need to get the horse to drink. The bottom line is that a well designed website compels viewers to do the one thing you want the most, leads conversion. That produces a greater revenue stream and better ROI.
With some SEO companies, web design and/or marketing is not typically part of their SEO strategy. It is very much a part of ours. Google takes into consideration the user interface (UI), or whether it is attractive, and the user experience (UX), meaning ease of use for the client. UI and UX play a vital role in web design SEO. It determines whether your site meets current and critical Google requirements.
It's all common sense. With repect to marketing, it's all about message and positioning. What does your site convey to a potential client? How does your product and service cut through the clutter and white noise of advertising to position in the minds of your clients?
You may already know these answers. What we do, is simply and effectively convey the message to evoke an emotional response leading to a quick decision or the call-to-action. We want the viewer to take action in mere seconds with the option of drilling down to sub sections that also lead to a quick and easy decision.
SEO and web design are a 50-50 endeavor to us. Both are equally important for sucess. Your website is your virtual salesman and a larger part of your revenue stream. Is it up to the latest design standards? Will it convert leads? Even if we do lead your horse to water, will he drink it? Search engine marketing and search engine optimization can help your website rank but if you have a poorly designed website it's unlikely the site will convert to leads. So how many leads have you missed? How many times has a viewer choose not to covert to a lead or call you? How much potential business have you lost?
Another old adage we love to quote is: "you only get one chance to make a first impression!" And that adage is very true especially if you think about all of the websites you bailed out of last week when you were searching in Google. What made you bailout of them? Was it a poor color palette that offended you from the moment the page loaded? Was it the disorganization of content, or the very page itself? Perhaps there was too much content and you dreaded the thought of having to wade through it to get the meat of their value proposition? All of the questions and more have to be given great consideration in the evaluation of your website.
So be honest. Objectively take a look at your web design. Have others look at it. Now's the time to get objective criticism of your website from everyone around you regardless of their motivations. Yes, having the best sample size from your intended demographic is very important, but having a sampling of everyone's reactions can help in great ways also. It's just good marketing.
Have you ever given someone something you have written to read? Aloud? The moment you hand it to them and start to peer over the shoulder at the very piece of content you just identified as finished you start to see mistakes. This is the norm and if you have never suffered from this, then my friend, you are in a far better place than the rest of us mortal content writers. The moment you start to cringe as they read it aloud or to their selves you have failed the cringe test.
Okay, let's examine two things about the cringe test. First, if you find yourself cringing about your content or website then this let's you know that you have the ability to notice negative things about your creation(s) and can act upon them as opposed to those who are so enamored of their own work that they cannot realize the need for improvement. Second, if you find yourself cringing then you realize that there is room for improvement and every improvement you can make to your website is another margin of potential success of the overall marketing effort.
Once you have gained valuable insight from all those who have participated in your trials, put together a bulleted list of items you intend to change. Share them with us. We'll do the rest! That's it. No fuss, no muss, we'll get the improvements done!