Should You Redesign Your Site for SEO?
Source: Nick Stamoulis
While search engine optimization is about making changes to a website in order to attract search engine spiders, improve search engine visibility, and generate more visitors and traffic to a site, it has very little to do with website design. SEO is based on the content of a website, not its “look”. Many potential SEO clients wonder whether they need to redesign their site when getting started with an SEO campaign. It may not be necessary, but in some cases it can’t hurt. While the design of a website doesn’t impact SEO results directly, it can have a big effect on whether or not visitors from the search engines ever convert once they land on your site. If you are investing in SEO, it’s important to make sure that your website is worth the effort. If your website is guilty of any of the following, it’s probably time for a redesign:
It Looks Outdated
The right design for a business website is mostly a matter of taste. Of course, this is subjective. What one person loves, another is bound to hate. There is no way to please everybody. Although, what can be agreed upon is whether a site looks outdated. The web is always evolving and businesses are expected to evolve along with it. If a website hasn’t been designed in over 5 years, it’s probably time for an update. An outdated looking website is unprofessional and may no longer be user friendly. Business websites should be redesigned very 3-5 years or so to keep it fresh. Content doesn’t need to be completely rebuilt, but it should be tweaked over time so that it is still current and accurate.
Decline in Conversions
Most businesses have peak seasons and slower seasons. It’s expected that many business websites will not convert at a steady rate all year long. However, if you see a downward trend in conversion (sales, leads, etc.) over a long period of time it could mean that your website is to blame.
Costly Updates
If you make many changes to a business website each year and are paying lots of money for these changes, since you can’t make them yourself, it’s probably time to analyze the cost of the changes against the cost of a redesign that incorporates an easy to use content management system. Of course, if you are going to invest in a CMS, it will be necessary to take the time to learn how to use it. If you only make a few changes a year, this investment may not be worthwhile.
Optimization Difficulty
If you are going to invest in an SEO campaign, it’s worth doing it correctly. This means that changes will need to be made to a website’s content, meta tags, and social sharing elements. The technical functionality of some websites makes it difficult to do so. If you aren’t able to easily implement website changes for SEO purposes, it’s worth investing in a website redesign.
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