SEO is massive and many businesses both old and new are using SEO services to boost the impact of their business. Even though this is no directly about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) you can see that many companies utilise this form of business promotion.
As a Web Designer this means that you need to keep up with the ever changing world of SEO. For those just starting out or who do freelance work it is important to keep an eye on your competition and see what they are offering. By knowing more than the standard web design crowd by having some SEO knowledge then you will be much more likely to attract new business.
Incorporating some basic SEO techniques and tactics into your web design will also make your websites easier to find which is great for both you and your clients. Using the following steps you can better optimise your web designs for the search engines
- Validate your code to W3C standards for both CSS and XHTML. Not only does this mean your website will display correctly on all browsers it will also assist the search engine spiders when they visit your site. In addition to this it also opens up the opportunity to submit your website designs to some of the top CSS design galleries, which in turn will give your website more exposure.
- The speed of your website is crucially important and can determine the success or failure of your website as a whole. On top of this the speed of a website has now become a ranking factor in Google. Taking the extra steps such as compressing images, GZiping text and combining CSS as well as JavaScript files will all help to speed up the website you are working on.
- Use Google’s keyword tool to determine the most common phrases that people use to search for your clients website. By placing these words in the title tag of the website you are designing you can make it easier for people to find your website. This will also increase the relevance of your website to search engines.