Paper Leaf Design | Edmonton Web Design + Graphic Design

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is and always will be a bit of a mystery. Google, the king of search engines and what everyone shoots to be at the top of, is constantly changing their algorithm to avoid being “gamed”. However, there are a few simple best practices that are proven to improve search engine rankings – practices that are relatively easy for web designers to implement.

The competitiveness of the web design industry these days means it isn’t enough just to build a site for a client that looks good and is usable; we have to offer everything we can to our clients in order to remain relevant and recommendable. One way to do this is to offer an SEO-friendly site. Of course, an SEO-friendly site starts with the must-haves: clean and organized code. If you’re not building websites with clean, organized code, you shouldn’t be charging people for your services. With that said, here is a simple SEO checklist for web designers. Before you launch your site, make sure you’ve implemented these steps and you’re on the road to an SEO-friendly site!

1. Define a Few Keyword Phrases

Defining keyword phrases off the top ensures the goals have been set and you’re focused from the very beginning of the project. Don’t go overboard; two or three phrases is acceptable to optimize for, and I’d recommend using the Google Search-Based Keyword Tool to ensure you’re not optimizing for highly-competitive phrases or phrases that are rarely searched for.

When I write about “optimizing phrases”, I’m talking about the phrases people may use to find the website. For example, a design company might want to optimize for the phrase “Web Design [cityname]” or “Print Design [cityname]“. However, depending on the city, these may be very highly-competitive phrases, so be sure to do your research and be sure to include your client. They know their business better than you, after all. Once these phrases are defined, you can use them in link titles, image titles, and copy (where it makes sense; don’t overdo it, because Google will smack you down).

2. Use Proper Meta Information

Meta information – specifically, keywords and description – don’t carry the weight that they used to, but they are still important to implement. Don’t keyword-stuff – stick to the aforementioned two to three defined phrases – and write a concise but clear meta description. Preferably, write a meta description that has the main keyword phrase you’re targeting in it.

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