Web Design Influences SEO? Really?

Some of you are probably familiar what a responsive website is. For those of you who don’t know, responsive websites reformat on the fly based on the device, browser and screen size of the person accessing it.

In short, instead of having a bunch of different mobile versions, you have one website which re-formats, expands and contracts based on those and other factors. On the development side, it’s much more complex than that, but it’s the end result that counts.Now in relation to SEO, let’s consider what Google has said about user experience being vital, and factors such as time-on-site being taken into account for your search rank. If Google as a company has customers – US – and returning the best results possible is what makes them maintain market share, doesn’t it make logical sense that how their customer react to the product being delivered – your website – would be directly taken into account in how much they “promote” you?

Not Just Ranking But Conversion Too

Now, let’s put this in context of the money, time and effort it takes to actually achieve good search ranks. Let’s say you are able to gain quality links, lots of social signals, have great content and are now generating quality traffic after making it to page one.

Just because people are clicking on your result doesn’t mean they convert and become customers. Just think about how you react when searching for a business on your phone and the website is a nightmare to navigate. You’re zooming in, scrolling left and right, the menu doesn’t work…Many times just trying to get a phone number or find an answer to your problem.

Since we live in a world demanding instant gratification, if your website is not responsive, why would they not just click back instantly to Google and check your competitor’s site?

Let’s Face Reality

The answer to this is obvious. It’s exactly what many potential customers do and you just gave up a chance to increase your conversion percentage. Will it still have been worth it to gain a great search rank? Of course it was. You will gain all sorts of customers and see an increase in leads.

However, as mobile browsing continues to increase and surpass desktop browsing, Google will continue to put greater weight on your sites ability to appeal to all potential searchers, not just those on a normal computer.

Think This Through & Research Yourself

Google has said this on many occasions and continues to stress to webmasters the importance of responsive websites. As a business owner, startup founder, or marketing executive, you can’t continue to ignore the need to get with the times. Not just from an SEO perspective but also just brand credibility. Think about how you respond when you are a customer and this all make sense.

When you are the master of search – Google – and literally are run by some of the smartest people on the planet, why would you think for one second they haven’t taken human interaction into account and applied it to their algorithm. Research this for yourself, but make sure whoever is doing your SEO, building your website or managing strategy is also taking steps face reality!