Is SEO web design important? Yes. Let me say it again for Chad: YES. I believe that SEO web design, or what other people call on-site SEO is extremely important. We have this discussion all the time here at Semify as we try to understand how this wacky Google-dominated Internet works. We’ve done many experiments on our own sites, and gained valuable experience from client engagements that lead to one undeniable conclusion. SEO web design is critical.
What does this mean? Well, you can see my full piece on on-site and off-site SEO approaches a month or so ago. But the basic idea is that your web site is designed specifically to optimize it for search engine consumption. You want all your content to be efficiently digested by the search engine spiders. Furthermore, you want the cataloging logic they apply to your content to put your web site in the appropriate place among the 65 million or so other web sites that are in their database.
Let’s be clear, your web site is still a marketing instrument and the main objective is to communicate clearly to end-users. Real people. Never lose site of this. You need a high-quality web site if you wish to convert, get leads, spread your message, or whatever your motive is. But, it is very possible to build a great site with poor SEO. It is also possible to have a crappy site with good SEO web design execution. What you want is a great site that is crisp, stylish, and converts well. Then overlay high quality white hat SEO web design approaches onto it.
So are you saying that off-site SEO is not important then? No. In science, when two things are both important to create a result, they call it a multiplicative relationship. This means that both factors are important for the result. And when both factors are done well, they multiply each other to create highly magnified results. Well, I believe the same is true of on-site and off-site SEO approaches. And what you want is highly magnified results. If you do a great on-site job and apply great SEO web design concepts to the building of your site, and then use a top-notch SEO services firm to execute cutting edge white hat SEO for your business, you will be a one magnified (read: Happy) camper.