Responsive design is Google’s recommended design pattern.
Your website’s responsiveness is unequivocally an important factor in improving your user experience and avoiding common SEO pitfalls that can hinder your Google rankings.
And while responsive web design isn’t a sure ranking factor, Google has it implicitly its importance on multiple occasions.
But how to create a responsive website – both structurally and visually – is an exercise far beyond many marketers and designers.
The good news is that there are detailed steps to improve your website’s responsiveness.
Let’s start now.
Here are seven ways having a responsive website benefits your SEO strategy, plus some tips on how to make your site more user-friendly.
What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive web design (RWD) involves creating web pages that display well across a variety of devices and screen sizes.
In this way, web designers can create a website experience that accommodates the many different ways users access and interact with websites.
Mobile traffic accounts for Almost half of all web visits, globally.
This means that it is essential for website owners to have websites that are accessible and easy to navigate, even on a small screen (such as a tablet or smartphone).
Why do you need a responsive website
Many website owners have been slow to adopt responsive web design, despite the large number of published statistics that show responsiveness produces a better user experience.
These are some of the top reasons why he should be high on your list of priorities.
1. Google prioritizes mobile first
It’s no secret that Google has moved towards a “mobile first” approach in recent years.
With more users than ever before searching from mobile devices, it is becoming increasingly important that websites be easily viewed on any device.
Google aims to provide valuable and accessible content to users.
The algorithm mostly tends to rank a site that fits the law – by being responsive and easy to use.
Google prefers mobile-optimized websites that have adopted mobile-responsive web design.
2. Improve usability
Time on page can be an important indicator of whether your content matches what a user is searching for and whether they have a positive experience on your site.
The reason is that if a user is unhappy with your content (or, in this case, your website experience), they are less likely to stick with it.
Responsive web design makes websites faster, easier to access, and easier to navigate.
It makes it easier for users to find the information they are looking for and usually encourages them to stay on your site.
Additionally, your great usability may encourage users to come back to your website in the future.
And not only do users stay on your site longer, but they are also more likely to convert into paying customers or subscribers.
3. Better customer experience
Google is primarily concerned with keeping users happy by showing them the content they are most interested in.
Create a user-centered experience, and Google is likely to reward you with a higher ranking in search results.
Responsive web design is essential to creating a positive experience for users.
Happy users are more likely to convert into subscribers, leads, and paying customers.
Having a responsive website is one of the many ways to ensure that your users have a positive experience on your site.
4. Page speed optimization
Page speed is another factor that greatly affects your SEO and, in turn, your search rankings.
How quickly website loads can make or break a user’s experience with your site.
Then, it is no surprise that your website is optimized to load quickly and without a hitch.
Mobile responsive websites load faster on both mobile and desktop devices.
Optimize your page speed for more traffic and conversions on your website.
5. Low bounce rate
Bounce rate indicates how quickly users visit your site and then immediately leave.
This metric can be an indicator of whether or not your site meets a user’s search.
A high bounce rate may also indicate that your website did not load quickly or did not provide the positive experience that users were looking for.
However, it is not just about content.
Your content may be great, but if your web design makes it difficult for users to navigate the site, users will scroll down and look for information elsewhere.
6. Avoid duplicate content
When you prioritize your website’s responsiveness, you necessarily start to care about your site’s content and overall user experience.
And while responsive web design isn’t necessarily the mechanism by which duplicate content is prevented, it can often help you spot this common pitfall.
When building or redesigning your site, it’s easy to accidentally create two versions of your website – one for mobile and one for desktop – which can lead to duplicate content issues.
Although the two URLs may be different, the content is often the same, and this can confuse Google as to which content to prioritize.
Responsive web design best practices emphasize creating a single, mobile-responsive version of your website.
This can help prevent the URL from being duplicated across two copies of your site.
At the same time, it’s important to keep an eye out for other duplicate content issues.
7. More social shares
When users like your content, they are more likely to share it with their friends.
Having a responsive website makes it easy for your users to interact with your site, fully enjoy your content, and then share it on social media.
Many RWD designers create sites with social sharing capabilities in mind to make it easy for users to share your content at scale.
Although social shares do not directly affect rankings, they do help grow your online audience.
More social traffic means more users visiting your site, which can mean more clients or subscribers for your business.
Additionally, a large social media presence can increase your website’s visibility.
With easy-to-use social sharing buttons, your mobile-ready site will encourage users to share your content, reaching a much wider audience.
Offer users a fast and friendly mobile experience
Creating a mobile-friendly strategy as the foundation of your website design (or redesign) will set your site up for success.
Responsive design puts users first, makes it easy for them to interact with your site, and gives Google a “thumbs up” that your site was built for search on any device.
Planning your web design from scratch will help you create a fully optimized architecture that is easily accessible on any device.
Having a solid framework in place from the start will help set up your website for SEO success.
Is your site mobile ready? It’s time to step it up with a responsive, easy-to-use design.
More resources:
- Google mobile-first indexing: everything we know (so far)
- The 10 Most Damaging Mobile SEO Mistakes
- Top 10 Pay Per Click Trends To Know In 2022
Featured image: muhammedbinzain/Shutterstock
