SEM for Managers

Web Development Tips to Support SEM

Contents

Usability

Improving the usability of your site helps users find what they are looking for as they navigate your website. Usability has a lot to do with the success of your website, especially on mobile devices.

Often search engine optimization experts have to deal with usability issues, especially when making optimization changes to an existing website to improve its position in search engine results. The webmaster must be made aware of the balance between good usability and generating search engine traffic. It is possible to have both.

Design

Your website must be visually appealing yet simple. An important tip is to communicate to the visitor that they are “in the right place”. This helps for usability for SEO and for search ads.

All the bells and whistles are unnecessary and can damage your site more than help it. Search engines do not see special effects and do not even care for them. It is often better to keep it simple than to over-elaborate. Go for “elegant” rather than “cool”.

What often gets in the way of search engine optimization is website design that creates too many search engine barriers. For example, if a site is too slow to load then it will negatively affect search results. Also, if your site is mostly visual and has very little text, the search engine spiders have few keywords to base the ranking on.

Content Tips for SEO

  • Make sure to keep the graphic file sizes small. Use JPG compression to reduce file sizes and use PNG only when you need a transparent background as the file sizes tend to be larger.
  • Double check all your links to see that they work.
  • Avoid duplicate content.
  • Keep the text on your site free of spelling errors. Even if your site looks great, a bunch of typos will ruin the surfer’s perception of your site and ruin your credibility.
  • The text should flow naturally and should be easy to read.
  • Keep articles you use updated or add new articles. It is frustrating when you think you have found what you are looking for only to notice it was written in 10 years ago!