SEO for Designers: Optimizing for Success
In a world that values digital presence above all, SEO for designers is not to be neglected.
Typing my name in the browser for the first time years ago, I was excited. Ready to see what Google had to say about me. It said nothing.
Google doesn’t like nobodies in the digital world.
As disappointment died down, I realized one thing. If you want to be somebody in the digital world, you need to work for it.
It is at that point that I really felt that iconic sentence Monica uttered on Friends.
“Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!”
SEO for Designers: Be in the Right Place at the Right Time
In the failed attempt to find myself online, I realized another thing. While I’ve been searching for my name, people didn’t even know I existed. Meaning, they certainly weren’t typing my name into their browsers.
They were, however, typing something I was able to offer.
You’re a designer, right? So, you have designs to offer. And, you want to pop up in the results when people search for designers.
Search engine optimization is the key towards making that happen. It puts your website in the right place at the right time.
Importance of SEO in Building a Successful Personal Website (Why Designers Should Give a Damn)
Building a successful website starts with a good domain name and an SEO friendly extension. But, it doesn’t stop there.
Why is it so important, though? And, why should you, as a designer who values art above rules, give a damn about SEO?
Increase Visibility
It’s okay to value art above anything else. Also, it’s okay to want your art to be seen.
You want people to discover you. You want to appear in their search engine results and thus drive organic traffic to your site. If SEO was a superhero, increasing visibility would be its main superpower.
Target the Right Traffic
It’s not simply about being seen, but about being seen by the right people.
Targeting people who are actively searching for design related terms will bring relevant and high quality traffic to your doorstep. Thus, you’ll increase conversion.
Get Long Term Results
PPC and other types of ads you pay for have their place in your marketing strategy. It’s just that, the results wear off once you stop paying.
On the other hand, SEO brings long-term results to the table. Doing it right means you’ll never again get disappointed with not seeing yourself in Google SERPs.
SEO for Designers as a Cost-Effective Marketing Solution
Not a one-time thing, but a long-term strategy, SEO will board you on the growth train. It will buy you a ticket to a never-ending journey. And, compared to the value you’ll get on the journey, the ticket will be quite cheap.
SEO for Designers: Technical Strategies for Improving Visibility
Search engines will crawl and index your site. You need to make crawling and indexing easier for them.
Does that sound like a bunch of strange words? Designer lingo is not the only one you have to know. Brace yourself for an even bigger bunch of strange words, because it’s time to shine the light on technical SEO.
SSL Certificates Are a Must
You’ve heard of the SSL certificate as being important for website security. It enables an encrypted connection between devices and servers, thus protecting the shared info.
Did you, however, know that SSL certificates are important for SEO? Google values security and it has clearly stated that HTTPS is, in fact, a ranking factor.
HTTPS will boost not only your ranking, but also your brand reputation, signaling one thing to your audience. You are to be trusted.
HTML Tags
Title tags, headings, image alt text, meta descriptions… HTML tags all have an impact on your ranking as well.
They provide search engines with the crucial info for SERP display. HTML tags are like signals for crawlers, they tell Google what your page is all about.
Have a Sitemap
While the tags optimize a page for the crawlers, a sitemap does the same for the entire website. With a good map, search engines will know exactly what exists on your site.
Increase Loading Speed
Google uses specific metrics to determine the quality of user experience on a website. Loading speed is one of those.
Great loading speed equals happy visitors, and happy visitors will visit again. They will also spread the word. All of which will result in a happy designer – one that is seen and valued for the hard work.
Make It Work on Mobile Devices
Sure, PCs are cool and all, but they’re not the most used devices nowadays. Smartphones are. That’s why SEO for designers has to work on mobile devices too.
You want people to discover you wherever they are. They should be able to show your site to their friends while sitting in a coffee shop. You want to present yourself in the best light across all devices. Optimizing for mobile view is, therefore, a must.
Non-Technical SEO Strategies to Improve Visibility
Non-technical SEO for designers is just as important. If the technical aspect is the heads, the non-technical aspect is the tails. Two sides of the same coin.
Let’s explore the strategies you should employ.
Content Is King
Expressing yourself through visuals is something you do best. Yet, you have to add words to the mix. Every designer needs a blog, and don’t make the mistake of thinking otherwise.
Content is king, and that’s a truth always worth repeating.
Research Keywords to Do Great SEO for Designers
Most of the non-technical SEO for designers is tied to your blog. To run a great blog is to offer value to the audience.
It is not about scribbling words that come to mind at the odd hour.
What it is about is doing keyword research first and then structuring your posts around those.
Don’t Forget Backlinks
Inbound and outbound linking is another thing to learn. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
So, inbound, or internal, linking is when you link to other content on your website. Outbound links are those that lead to external sources. Your blog posts need both if you’re aiming at improving visibility.
Placing links in your posts is one side of the story. Successful SEO for designers also means getting backlinks from other websites. That will boost your credibility. It will tell Google, and by extension, the world, that you know what you’re doing.
Wrapping Up
SEO for designers is a sure path towards becoming somebody in the digital world.
It is a cost-effective marketing solution that increases your visibility, targets the right audience, and establishes you as authority.
Employing both the technical and the non-technical strategies will lead you to that first SERP.
And, if you ever get stuck, not knowing what to do, you can always turn to me for help. In the words of Chandler Bing: “I’m your man. I’m gonna get us through this situation. Even if it means you working twice as hard”.
In the end, that’s all there is to it. You working hard. And reaping the benefits.
