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Atlanta Website Design and the Importance of Search Engine Optimization

March 9th, 2011 posted in Atlanta SEO, Atlanta Web Design , by Valerie

Search engine optimization, or SEO as it is known, is the process by which a website is given the optimum chance to rank as highly as possible in the major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing.  If a website is designed with certain SEO techniques, it will be much more likely to achieve a higher ranking in a shorter time.  To begin, you must start with the planning and the actual design of the website first.  This can be done by choosing the main descriptions, or keywords, that will let users know what your site is about. 

Over 75% of websites receive their traffic from the major search engines.  This is also known as natural traffic, as the user has typed in certain keywords to use in his or her search which brings them to the page of results.  This is basically free traffic.  By typing in keywords that are associated with your site, the user may land on your page.  This is why SEO is so  important; however, once at your site, the website’s design must be user-friendly enough to keep the user there to convert him or her into a customer.  The better and more relevant the keywords, the better quality of visitors one will obtain.

There are several different strategies that one can implement in his or her SEO campaign.  The best search engine optimization will create a site that is search engine friendly as well as user friendly.  There are steps to take to create the best possible user friendly experience, and they are as follows:

*On page optimization: in the on-page optimization process, web pages are created with the absolute most relevant keywords to the company’s site.  There are several different tags that must be placed on each page within the site to obtain the most relevant hits, or visitors.  By internally linking pages with the use of a menu bar is especially important in the navigational aspects of the site.  The creation of a robots.txt file, along with the use of HTML and XML is also very important.

*Off page optimization: another quality way to obtain visitors is by relevant link building, which is known as off-page optimization, meaning quite simply that you are optimizing your site by using another’s site that is relevant to your own.  This is possible through the use of marketing tools, such as article directories and social media platforms.

When a website is designed by Atlanta website design in such a way that it will support all of the major and minor search engine optimization factors, your chances of moving up in the ranks on the search engines increases manifold.  Visitors will be more comfortable in the navigational aspects of the site, meaning that conversion rates will increase as your ranking increases.

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The Importance of Website Navigation in Atlanta Web Design

March 3rd, 2011 posted in Atlanta Web Design , by Valerie

There are many aspects that dictate how well a business can expect to do based on the creativity and the quality of their Atlanta web design.  One of the most important of these aspects is the ease with which an individual can navigate within the website.  Website navigation is the term coined to refer to any of the ways in which the pages of a website are linked together and the user-friendliness of the site for the user.  If the website navigation has been designed poorly, it can hinder the user’s ability and will not allow him or her to flow from page to page with ease.  If a user cannot flow easily from page to page, chances are that he or she will try another website, so it is imperative to one’s business that he or she builds the most navigational-friendly site possible.

The menu is the term used to refer to the main navigation of a site.  This menu is normally placed along the top or down the side of a website and will be found on each page.  Atlanta web design knows that this is a key piece of functionality and must standout in relation to the other information on each page.  A great Atlanta web design firm will know precisely how to design the page so that the user experience is easy and flowing.  There will usually be a footer menu placed along the bottom of a page that includes information that is not as important as what is contained in the main menu.

The main and footer menus are the basis of navigation; however, there are other methods that are used in web design that are equally as important.  For instance, utilizing text links within the content of the page is relevant when it leads to another relevant page, an outside resource, or a contact form.  Text links are beneficial when used sparingly, so as not to place the user in a hindered position.

Images are a great resource to implement in order to highlight certain specific areas of the site that the company wishes their visitors to find useful.  Images can be used to promote offers, discounts, or even upcoming events.  The use of contrasting colors to make the image stand out is a great feature of a good Atlanta web design. 

The proper utilization of text content within the site can factor into the success of the navigational aspect of the design of the page.  The company can use sentences from their latest blog entries and include a clickable “read more” option below.  What one wants to do with these text snippets is to get the user to click through and read the information that is available on their site.  The longer a visitor spends on one’s site, the greater the chance that they will make a purchase or a request for services.

In Atlanta web design, the functionality of the navigational aspects of the website is crucial, as it relates to the free flow of the user experience.  The best website will be one that includes prominent and clear navigational instructions.

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