Google search engine result pages are one of the most significant traffic sources for various companies’ websites. After all, millions of people use Google for their queries daily, and having access to even a few of these can result in significant lead generation and sales.
Google ranks and indexes websites based on hundreds of factors to ensure that users get the most valuable and relevant results possible. It is in your best interest to ensure that your website ticks as many of these boxes as possible.
You can accompany your SEO strategy with digital marketing; GOYOU Branding can provide that. Among the various factors to consider, one key factor is your website design. But why does website design matter for your Google ranking? We will discuss exactly that in this article.
Let’s dive in.
Affects Page Speed
Page speed is an essential factor to consider because visitors expect your website to load fast. If it doesn’t, they will likely leave your site and move on to the next one on the results page. As a result, Google ends up indexing your website lower in their ranking because they want users to have the best experience possible. Your website design affects your page speed, so it is in your best interest to optimize it.
Luckily, there are scores of tools and plug-ins that you can utilize to ensure that your page speed improves. Additionally, it would help if you made sure your web page’s HTML and CSS codes were as efficient as possible.
Affects User Navigation
Whenever someone visits a website, they must navigate through the various hypertexts to the specific page they are interested in. Even if they come to a particular landing page through Google search, they will have to navigate through it so that their query is answered. However, poor website design can make navigating your site very difficult and lead to a poor user experience and unanswered queries.
This also makes it difficult for Google crawlers to navigate your site, resulting in them indexing your website at a lower ranking. As a result, it is best to optimize your site’s architecture to ensure that it is easy and intuitive to navigate. You can do this by making navigation elements clickable links and adding a search feature.
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Affects Mobile-Friendliness
Mobile-friendliness is one of the more critical ranking factors on Google’s search engine. In fact, Google gives priority to mobile-friendly websites, meaning they have a greater chance of being ranked higher. This is because most users navigate the internet on their mobile phones, and this number continues to increase. As a result, many visitors also use Google to search on their mobile phones.
So, it is in Google’s best interest to show them websites that work well on their smartphones. Therefore, you should ensure that your website is mobile-friendly by using the Mobile-Friendly test on Google Search Console. Additionally, various tools and plug-ins can help you achieve this goal too. We recommend you take a mobile-first approach if you are developing your site from scratch.
Affects the Visual Aesthetic
The visual aesthetic of your website is generally subjective, so Google does not directly consider it a ranking factor. After all, website crawlers are bots that cannot comprehend visual aspects. Regardless, your website’s visuals play an indirect role in your ranking. For starters, there is a higher chance that visitors stay on your site if it is visually eye-catching. This ensures a lower bounce rate, which leads to your site staying high on search engine result pages.
Additionally, satisfied visitors will leave positive reviews and backlinks, affecting your ranking. In this way, it is an excellent idea to ensure that your site is aesthetically eye-catching and pleasing to look at.
Wrapping up
Getting your website ranked high on Google search engine result pages is crucial, as it can be a significant traffic source. Google ranks websites based on hundreds of factors, so you will want to fulfill all these requirements. One such ranking factor is your website design, which matters for various reasons. It affects your site’s page speed and navigation, which are vital for the user experience. Additionally, website design affects how mobile-friendly your website is, which is what search engine crawlers prioritize. Finally, your website design also includes a visual aesthetic, which can indirectly affect your ranking.
We hope this article has been insightful and encourages you to focus on your website design to get a high Google ranking. Thank you for reading, and good luck!