Making a webpage attractive and eye-catching to users does not necessarily make it appealing to search engine bots and crawlers, therefore making it difficult for the webpage to be indexed and causing it to achieve a lower ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).  If an article cannot be indexed by search engines, it doesn’t matter how informative and enlightening it may be, it will never be seen by the majority of users.  There are some search engine optimization tips that can make a webpage user-friendly and search engine-friendly at the same time.

The layout of the webpage plays an important role in engaging a visitor’s interest almost immediately; if the site is not organized and laid out well, the visitor will navigate away from it no matter how informative the content is.  Always put the most important information at the top of the page so it can be seen without scrolling.  Paragraphs should be no more than 100 words in length; and the use of bullets, bars, tables, white spaces and margins should be used appropriately so the page is easily read.

Another important factor is the size of the webpage; longer webpages take time to load and readers prefer not to have to scroll as they are reading.  Mangoco, a leading Search Engine Optimization company in Virginia, suggests that, “Based on our research, loading time should be no more than 8 to 10 seconds (and ideally more like 2 seconds) and the pages should be less than 32 kilobytes.”  Avoid having the user scroll on a webpage if at all possible, however if it is absolutely necessary add internal navigation that allows the user to jump directly to the needed information.

Proper navigation tools make a webpage more user-friendly; navigation links should be located at the top of each webpage, they should be clear and easily accessible.  You should use a consistent navigation structure on each page of your website and if your website is complex, include a search function.

The font you choose for your website can make a website less user-friendly as well as less search engine-friendly.  Fonts that are too small, too large or too ornate can cause a user to navigate away from the site almost immediately.  Using the default font of most browsers, ariel, verdana or times new roman is usually the best bet.  Bev Gray of Exhibit Edge, a trade show exhibit company, said that she “worked and thought about the fonts on the website for days — I wanted it to be JUST right”. Always make sure titles and headings are in bold font and underline the most important aspects of your webpage.  Avoid unusual fonts and italics unless they are used in graphics; plain fonts are easier to read.  Also avoid light text on a dark background; it is difficult to read, and annoys some users, me included.

Of course, content is the most important aspect of any website and there is no substitute for quality content.  The content should be informative and unique without grammatical and spelling errors.  Hyperlinks embedded in the content give the user the opportunity to learn more about the topic easily.  Any and all of the above mentioned tips should increase your website traffic, which will in turn, increase your SERP ranking; these tips will also increase your sites readability to search engine bots and crawlers, further raising your website’s SERP rank.

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3. Google Maps Optimization Boosts Rankings
4. Work with Search Engines, Don’t fight them – Mutual assistance makes sure we all gain
5. Tips for an Accessible Website Design