SEO Myth: Web designers are the best SEO consultants

Posted by on Sep 16, 2010 in SEO

It is not that hard to find a web design company or to find website developers to develop your online application according to your needs. The question is…do they understand search engines? Do they know how to optimize your website and make it search engine friendly? Do they really understand Search Engine Optimization?

So you told your web design company that you would like to appear on the search engines. Great, now what? It’s not an accomplishment if you type in your company name in the search engines and you are ranked number 1. How can this benefit you? If people already knew your company name why not just type in your URL to browse to your site (if they knew your URL of course).

What if you were ranked on the first page on the search engines for the keywords your company relates to? If you were, people would find you without typing in your company name on the search engines but by searching for relevant keywords and keyword phrases that you are targeting.

Search Engine Optimization is vital

Most web designers/developers don’t know the critical information regarding SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the vital role it plays when designing/developing a new site. SEO needs to be taken in consideration from the first moment when the development for your site has begun.

Most of the factors like met content, title tags, headings, keywords, meta descriptions, content, image tags, linking structure, xml sitemaps, etc plays an important role in the on page optimization of your website.

SEO doesn’t consist of just on page optimization. Off page SEO plays a bigger part than most think. Off page SEO consists of article submissions, press releases, social bookmarking, back links, etc. All of these factors needs to be in place if you want people to know about your website.

My site looks great!

What is the point if you have the greatest, nicest looking website and no one knows about it? It is the same as if you had an expensive new sports car and it just stood in your garage because you don’t have fuel to drive it.

If you are in the process of designing / developing a new site, I strongly suggest that you speak to your web designer about this and to make sure that they understand SEO and Search Engine Marketing. Your website should be build from the start with on and off page SEO in mind.


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  • Jacqui

    Thanks for a very pertinent article. I am new in the web design industry and have learnt an enormous amount about SEO on the internet. I understand the need for SEO but many small companies cannot afford the cost of having a designer/developer manage this. I do not sell SEO but do my best to incorporate this into my clients sites to give them some benefit without sending their budget sky high.
    I believe that all companies need to have a web presence and if they cannot afford all the bells and whistles then at least they have a site that they can refer their clients and prospective clients to. It is therefor a more modern and less expensive form of brochure or catalogue.
    Thus planning is vitally important in accordance with your budget. In my view, something is better than nothing and it is at least a starting point. The nice thing about SEO is if you plan the site ahead you can incorporate SEO as your budget grows,

  • http://blog.wsioms.co.za Anton

    You are 100% correct Jacqui. I believe “on page SEO” should always be done on any design. It is really simple. Have a look at the SEO cheat sheet for quick reference http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-web-developers-seo-cheat-sheet

  • Jacqui

    Thanks Anton. great link. Most helpful. Will be applying as best I can.

  • http://blog.wsioms.co.za Anton

    Let me know if you need any help

  • http://www.hirank.com seo consultant

    The advantage of a dedicated SEO Consultant is that you can get a customized SEO plan that fits your project’s needs and goals, and not a “one size fits all” approach like most SEO agencies have in their “packages” offering.