The new SEO rules consider the ultimate user experience and that has lots to do with the website design. The newest Google algorithms calculate statistics on page layout, content and website speed into its rankings, which means that visible, quality content and faster websites will garner higher internet visibility. This is why your website design and SEO should work together like a symphony.

User feedback to Google prompted many of these changes. Content stuffed with keywords, buried content and slow loading pages creates a less than friendly user experience, even though the practices may have enhanced SEO for a while.

Website Design Fundamentals

While Google talks about website load speed, the vital element needed to improve your Google ranking is the bounce rate, and both layout and website speed influence this critical measurement. The back and forth action of users clicking on search results and the search engine results pages (SERPs) constitutes the bounce rate, and higher bounce rates indicate irrelevant web content in relation to the keyword search and slower loading pages that lose the user’s attention. This is why website design is so important to SEO now.

For example, if your website content and the incoming links produce strong relevancy for the search query “learn to play piano,” but your website logs a high bounce rate and short average times for pages, Google’s algorithms will interpret these statistics negatively and push your rankings down, all because of a bad website design. In addition, Google will assume that a higher bounce rate results from content that is too difficult to access and awkward page layouts that distract the user.

Regardless of the cause, whether it is too much irrelevant content, slow loading pages, chaotic layouts or excessive advertisements, Google will not reward a website with a high bounce rate. This is why it’s critical to have a great website design.

Thus, search engine optimization may become bounce rate optimization, or more accurately, bounce rate minimization. Website designers and content providers must make this a priority for your website to attract and retain visitors and convert them into customers.

Improving the page load speed of your website is one prong of a multipronged approach to the post-keyword stuffing SEO era, and it is the easiest refinement to make. However, the speed, the design layout and the information available to the user combine to provide either a good web surfing experience or not. Many businesses have seen an increase in conversion rates and average order values after making such improvements.

Designing websites for a superior user experience is designing for SEO and bounce rate minimization. You can expect future algorithmic revisions to reward websites that keep the user engaged.

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