Many businesses make the mistake of spending all of their time and effort on creating a website that looks “cool” instead of focusing on a key ingredient needed to optimize the visibility of their website to the masses — SEO.

By employing smart search engine optimization strategies, companies can push their profits through the roof. Ignoring SEO as an important component when designing a website would be a fatal mistake resulting in a business website landing at the bottom of the pile. There isn’t much point in developing a slick website if no one is able to the site online.

SEO and Web design go hand in hand for many reasons, such as:

Increased Traffic

An SEO friendly Website will help build a constant flow of traffic resulting in increased credibility and trust from online consumers. This trusts is invaluable in retaining and retrieving return online shoppers and by skillfully incorporating keywords and content, businesses will attract better qualified traffic and sales as a result.

Better Ranking

If SEO is kept in mind when designing an e-commerce site from the beginning, a company’s website pages will start attaining rankings from its inception through all the major SEO players like Google, Bing, Ask.com and Yahoo. It can be easy to be wooed by prepackaged Web design templates, as the Internet is littered with them, but it’s worth it to invest in a website that can be found by consumers.

Boosted ROI

eCommerce businesses can multiply their return on investment by implementing SEO right from the start of the website design stage. Generating highly targeted e-commerce traffic will have a significant and positive impact on business sales.

Surpassing the Competition

Competition is stiff in the eCommerce arena, so businesses need more than a pretty face to represent their company. An SEO ready Website elevates a business profile above and beyond any other business that does not incorporate SEO in their online marketing strategy. Companies who lack the understanding of how to implement SEO in their website design would benefit greatly in consulting with an SEO and Web design expert. It’s important to research a reputable SEO company before adding them to the team, as there are companies who don’t offer the full package. A good SEO Website company should have in-house coders, be analytics savvy and have the ability to offer custom designs.

It’s optimum that Website design and SEO are done together. Most people search using keywords for what they need, not by Website title. Combining both creativity and strategic SEO planning, companies can produce Websites that are aesthetically pleasing, highly/easily useable and that will achieve high ranking on search engines.

All of these above noted points highlight why Web design and SEO go hand in hand.