Website Design - 5 Mar 2015

The Benefits of Responsive Design and SEO

As one of the hottest developments in website design since its emergence in 2012, responsive website design has steadily gained momentum. Understanding the benefits of combining both Responsive Design and SEO can push a company’s online success far beyond their competitors.

In a world where people are heavily connected through a variety of handheld devices such as mobile phones, iPads and tablets, companies need to step up their marketing game to include the use of Responsive Design and SEO.

Some of the benefits of incorporating both Responsive Design and SEO are:

• Increased Local Rankings

As Google prefers responsive websites over non-responsive, it should come as no surprise that Google favors mobile-optimized websites. Consumers conducting an online search will receive results of responsive websites over those which are non-optimized for mobile.Google also identifies responsive websites as being industry best practice.

• Elimination Of Duplicate Content

Web designers who develop mobile versions of websites end up with issues involving duplicate content. Each mobile site is essentially a standalone site which means content is easily duplicated from the main website to the mobile site. Use a responsive website and the issue of duplication is eliminated.

• Easier SEO Management

A big advantage to having a responsive website over that of a mobile site is that you only need to manage one website and one SEO campaign. Incorporating mobile specific words, such as “nearby”, on a responsive website is a simple technique to add for an effective mobile SEO strategy

• Reduction In Bounce Rate

Responsive Websites provide optimal navigation for mobile users, resulting in a better user experience. Online consumers who are able to see all page elements without the need to endlessly scroll, squint and swipe are less likely to leave a website and move to another. Lower bounce rates equal higher rankings with Google.

In order to meet the needs of online users and be favored by Google, responsive design is the best option for any company’s SEO overall strategy.