Responsive Web-Design and your Search Engine Results
The growing increase of Smartphone and tablet acquisition among both the young and old has made it important for websites to be mobile friendly. Most companies have discovered the importance of having a marketing strategy on online platforms that addresses this growth and are incorporating it with SEO. In most cases, such websites rank highly on major search engines such as Google among others. Although there has been a debate on whether responsive websites are better than having a standard mobile site, it is becoming apparent that responsive designs are preferred by many companies seeking to reach as many customers as possible.
Reasons to have a Responsive Web Design
As indicated earlier, investing in web development that results in a site that is responsive is a step in the right direction for any company. Responsive web designs that are centered around SEO are a good choice and are preferred because of a number of reasons such as:
- Google friendly – Google prefers responsive sites for mobile devices and indicates that it is one of the best practices in the industry. The main reason for this is the single HTML and URL that is used on all devices from which information on the site is accessed resulting in better crawling by the search engine and also helps in organizing content. Also, when the content is on a single page it is easier to share on other online platforms.
- Enhanced user experience – The overall design of the website is important for responsive sites so that it remains friendly to online users. When a website is appealing and can be easily accessed through mobile devices and still maintain their look, it is likely that traffic will increased resulting in higher rankings on search engines.
Advantages of Combining SEO and Responsive Web Design
Proper integration of SEO and responsive web design during web development offers a number of benefits to companies seeking to increase rankings on various search engines. Some of these benefits include:
- Compatible to tablets and smart phones
Even as Google streamlines its policies on content that is to be shown on search results when using mobile devices, it is apparent that they will be locking out some mobile users. However, with a responsive site the search results are not affected negatively and the ranking can even go higher especially when the content is SEO optimized.
- Elimination of duplicate content
They will be no need to transfer content from one site to another when using responsive design as the pages share one URL. When information on websites appears on only one platform it helps companies avoid any penalties that are tagged to duplicate content.
- No link dilution
Having a responsive web-design ensures that all SEO feedback is directed back to the website thus increasing traffic. In addition, the back links as well as social mentions related to the site are aimed at a single website thus increasing the chances of being ranked much higher on search engines.