Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial in the digital age of marketing, especially with the abundance of competition available on the web. While creating online ads is just one aspect of promoting your goods and services online, many people forget the importance of SEO and utilizing it for e-commerce to increase traffic for websites. SEO is the process of increasing the visibility of a website through search results on search engines like Google.

When individuals or companies begin to create their websites, many developers put a more emphasized focus on design and content creation. Design and content are certainly important, but what use does it have when your brand or company is unknown to the web, and to potential consumers?

In the process of creating a website, it is important to be familiar with the algorithms that affect search engines like Google and Bing. Algorithms are a process or set of steps that are followed, and search engines have a set of algorithms that affect the way certain content is displayed based on an online search. 

For instance, if you were to search up “coffee shops” on Google, it would likely direct you to local coffee shops within your area, unless you specified a particular shop you intended to view. However, SEO actually affects the selection of content that is provided within your search. While creating a website, it is important to focus on adding keywords within a site’s meta tags to increase the likelihood of appearing at the top of search engine results. 

In the process of creating and designing a website, SEO should be prioritized if you intend on increasing your reach to consumers. In addition, with the fierce competition in the digital landscape, capitalizing on SEO is one way to be a step ahead of your competitors. 

The web design process can be divided into three steps, where the consideration of SEO can always be filled in. 

The Proposal Phase

The proposal phase is integral in the foundations of a website. The developers and designers are responsible for creating a website that is both functional and visually appealing. Businesses are not just concerned about a website being built, but also the effectiveness of the website being found through search engines by incorporating SEO.

During this stage, it is important to highlight what SEO can offer for a business, rather than what specific details go into the process of SEO. It is important to at least explain the importance of SEO, but talking about the mechanics of SEO to business owners is often ineffective. The failure to explain the benefits of SEO could arguably also result in the failure of implementing this system which is a lose-lose situation for everyone around. As stated before, an e-commerce website can only be successful if it receives the traffic it needs and converts the traffic into sales which can only be made possible with the incorporation of SEO.

The Setup and Planning Phase

Upon the approval of a website project, it is important to have high-quality design assets within your access. When thinking about SEO, the design and layout of a website is still an important factor for people viewing the website. Using low-resolution images or incompatible design elements will deter people from viewing a website, and consequently, result in a website’s ranking to decline. If a website ranking declines, this affects how visible the website is through search engines.

If you are a business that sells goods and services, it is important to also consider a method of enticing people to purchase a product. Say that you were successful in gaining website traffic through SEO, the effectiveness of this is only dependent on key performance indicators (KPIs) like the conversion of sales from website clicks. During the planning phase, a website should have an easy rollout in the shopping experience for consumers by implementing certain assets in the proper way.

The Design and Development Phase

This stage is extensive, but should definitely not be overlooked. There are five SEO aspects to consider in this phase. First is technical SEO, where you must ensure that certain functions are active, such as an SSL certification and XML Sitemap. Second is design SEO which focuses on ensuring that all buttons and links within the website are working properly. Third is on-page SEO which makes sure that there is no content with errors and keywords are handed off properly. Fourth, is local SEO which geo-specific words are used and that a Google My Business page is set up. Last is ongoing SEO support which makes sure that the business page being managed is free from broken links and is working properly based on speed tests. Backlinks can also be tacked on to this last step as it is a gradual process. 

These five steps are critical in making sure that a business’ efforts in investing in SEO is not lost. SEO can certainly be effective in increasing traffic, but it does not guarantee sales. Having said that, SEO is an opportunity to capitalize on the momentum of website clicks by making sure that all aspects of the website are working. By ensuring that these requirements are satisfied, businesses can certainly succeed.

At Qode Media Inc., we specialize in web design and web development, but we also offer SEO Toronto services. We are a certified Google Partner that has worked with a wide range of clients from different industries. If you want to increase the visibility and traffic of your website, please inquire about our services by contacting us.