Search engines can be the best way to market your website. However, what one needs to do is create a search engine-friendly web design that can make it easier for your ideal customers to find you.

The best way to begin is to know the audience which visits the website. This is especially important when it comes to web design. It can make a big difference in drawing customers to your site.

One needs to design his or her site with search engines in mind. It's important for any website owner to lay out their site in a way that makes it more search engine-friendly.

Every website has two types of audiences: humans and search engine “bots” or “spiders” that scan the web for the keywords and phrases users are searching. What this means as far as web designers are concerned is one and the same thing.

Find the Right Keywords
It is a popular belief that majority of visitors to a website come through the homepage. This is a misconception. Websites have multiple “front doors,” and the homepage is just one of them. Visitors who are already familiar with the site usually enter through the homepage. The rest of the visitors can be attracted by putting keywords that would draw audience through multiple routes and channels.

Getting the right keywords is just one part of the story. One needs to lay out the site with sections for each generic keyword or phrase and single web pages that correspond to each specific keyword. That way, when customers search for each generic keyword, the category pages on the website show up in their results. When customers do a search for the specific keywords, the product page will show up anyways. For example, if the website sells residential property, one of the generic keyword phrases might be “properties,” and your specific keyword could be “residential houses.” When a customer does a search with the term “residential house,” he will pull up a page that lists the different varieties of homes the website owner sells. If he searches for “residential house” he will pull up the owner's list of residential properties page.

Therefore, one needs to design the website with the text areas that contain the relevant keywords higher up on the page that makes it easier for the crawlers to find what they're looking for.

Create the Right Template
Template can increase visibility considerably for the search engine. Consistency in design is not just important but is a critical component of any good design strategy. The more pages the website has, the more important it is to have a uniform layout. Keeping the navigation, layout and content consistent will make it easier for spiders to navigate, making the site more visible to a wider audience.

Most web designers agree that having a consistent header and left-side navigation in place is the best way to increase the site's visibility. Ideally, the header should contain the company logo and some navigation on the top, such as a link to the homepage and other text links to other pages on the site. The left-side navigation should also include some text links to increase the likelihood that spiders will find your site. It's easier for crawlers to navigate your site if the layout is consistent.

It's important to keep in mind a few specific issues when designing the website for search engine placement. Spiders follow links and read HTML code for each page. They don't look through anything except the text on the site. They aren't able to follow links in image maps or Javascript, nor can they read the text embedded in graphics or other images, including Flash pieces. If the website's navigation is programmed solely within these applications, it will remain invisible to search engines.

Most sites, however, would look too plain and lack customer appeal without these graphic tools in place. To incorporate them while making the website more search engine-friendly, include a link on your home page to a site map. A site map is a simple page that has text links to every navigable part of your site. Search engines will then be able to find the text links within your site and help give you the ranking you need to bring more customers through the door.

Finally, a search engine-friendly design can be the best marketing tool for any website owner. Every time the website shows up during a search a marketing as well as branding moment for the site. And that is what matters in the end. 

Bhaswati Chakravorty
bhaswatic@cybermedia.co.in

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