Fact: A single second delay in page loading time can result in 16% decrease in user satisfaction, 11% decrease in page views and 7% decrease in conversion rate!
With more and more websites being developed each day and with so much strong competition going about, there’s an increased need for website optimization.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an ideal method for helping new websites become more visible and accessible online.
Ranking high on search engines, such as Google, not only improves a website’s visibility, but its authority and credibility as well.
The better your rankings are, the easier it will be for your customers to find your website.
That’s why it’s important to consider SEO even before you start developing a website.
Like most of the online market, SEO trends also tend to change and they require constant work, in order to drive the best results.
That being said, here are a few SEO trends web developers must follow.
1.Website speed
Page load time still plays a vital role in user satisfaction and browsing experience.
In addition, a seamless experience is also a ranking factor for SEO. Search engines, such as Google are striving towards recommending websites to online consumers that can provide the best user experience possible.
Why Focus on speed?
As a matter of fact, a single second delay in page loading time can result in 16% decrease in user satisfaction, 11% decrease in page views and 7% decrease in conversion rate.
That’s why it’s important to focus on speed when developing a new website.
Online consumers’ needs and expectations concerning website speed simply must be met, in order to ensure their satisfaction.
That way, your website won’t just provide a seamless browsing experience, but it will also favor good rankings on search engines.
Note: A good web host makes a big difference. Fast web servers can loads a website much faster than slower web hosts.
2. Security measures
Online security is an important ranking factor. Not only does it protect your customers from various cyber threats, but it also protects your website and its data.
Google prefers websites that have strong security measures in place and help make the Internet a safer place for everyone.
According to a New York SEO company, implementing SSL/TLS certificates as an additional protection layer is considered a ranking factor for SEO.
This is especially true for ecommerce websites that handle multiple transactions on a daily basis.
Protecting consumers and their sensitive information is also crucial for ensuring their satisfaction, as well as for providing an exceptional customer experience on your website.
Therefore, web developers should focus on implementing proper security measures when building a website.
3. Mobile friendliness
Mobile data and traffic is now is now more present online than desktop traffic.
Mobile users expect websites to be optimized properly and to provide an excellent browsing experience.
Metrics regarding consumers that are browsing the Internet using a mobile device, like smartphones or tablets, is definitely affected by mobile optimization, such as content adaptability, speed, security and other factors.
In fact, 79% of mobile users who experience a problem with your website are less likely to visit your website ever again.
What’s more, 44% of mobile users will tell their friends and family about a bad experience on your website. That’s why you must optimize your website for mobile accordingly.
What’s even more important, there’s no longer a need to develop and maintain two versions of the same website, one for desktop and the other for mobile users.
Instead, developers should focus on implementing a responsive design when building websites. That way, your website can easily adapt its content to match any screen size and any device.
4. Enriching snippets
A snippet is a piece of information that search engines like Google display to users when they search for a specific term or keyword.
There are two types of snippets, the normal and rich ones. Normal snippets display basic information, while rich snippets, as their name suggests, are more detailed in explanations and information.
Rich snippets tend to get more clicks and views.
In order to enrich your snippets, you must add structured data to your website, which search engines can read and display in their results.
When developing a website, developers should focus on adding structured data, in order to help search engines understand the content on the page.
That way, search engines can properly display detailed information in snippets for specific keyword searches.
Summary
SEO is a vital factor for every website these days. It helps websites rank high on search results, as well as help them become more visible and trustworthy.
When developing a website for any purposes, it’s important for developers to focus on SEO trends that will elevate the website on the search engines and help online consumers find it easily.
Nate Vickery is a marketing consultant and author mostly engaged in researching the latest marketing technology trends and practices applicable to startups and SMBs. He is also the editor at Bizzmark Blog and an author on The Next Web.