Is Your Fort Worth Web Design Company Making SEO Mistakes?

As small businesses in Fort Worth continue to grow, many are focusing on how they are represented online. A key part of this is choosing the right web design company to build or redesign their website. However, web design alone isn’t enough to generate the traffic and leads your business needs to thrive. To truly succeed, your website must be optimized for search engines (SEO) from the very start.

Unfortunately, not every web design company understands the critical importance of SEO. While a beautiful website might impress visitors, it’s useless if potential customers can’t find it online. To maximize the return on your web design investment, you need a company that combines expert design with SEO best practices. Here’s why SEO matters for your Fort Worth business and what to look out for when choosing a web design partner.

Not Every Web Design Company Knows SEO

It’s essential to recognize that not all web design companies are skilled in SEO. Many focus purely on aesthetics or functionality, overlooking the technical aspects of SEO that help your site rank higher in search results. This can lead to low visibility on Google and other search engines, which means fewer people will find your business online.

Mistake #1: Rewriting High-Performing Content

While it’s important to update and optimize your site, rewriting content that’s already performing well can be a huge mistake. Some web designers might not recognize which content is driving traffic and rankings. Before making any drastic changes, a proper SEO audit should be conducted to identify which pages are performing well. By leaving high-performing content intact and only optimizing areas that need improvement, you can avoid losing hard-earned rankings.

Mistake #2: Choosing Keywords Without Research

Keyword research is the foundation of any good SEO strategy. Unfortunately, some web design companies skip this crucial step or use outdated techniques. To rank well in 2024, it’s important to use data-driven keyword research tools that identify high-traffic, low-competition keywords relevant to your industry. This ensures that the keywords used in your website content are effective at attracting the right audience. Without this research, your site might target the wrong terms, or worse, miss valuable traffic opportunities.

Mistake #3: Generic Titles and Meta Descriptions

Each page on your website should have a unique and optimized page title and meta description. These are the first things potential customers see in search results, and they play a critical role in encouraging clicks. Some web designers make the mistake of using default titles and descriptions across multiple pages, which dilutes your SEO and decreases click-through rates.

To avoid this, ensure that every page on your site has a well-crafted, keyword-optimized title and a compelling meta description that entices users to visit your site.

Mistake #4: Poor URL Structure

A poorly structured URL can harm your SEO without you even realizing it. URLs should be short, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Avoid using underscores (_), mixed-case letters, or long strings of numbers. Instead, use clean, readable URLs that tell both search engines and users exactly what the page is about. Good URL structure is not just for aesthetics—it directly impacts your site’s ability to rank.

Mistake #5: Ignoring Site Speed

Site speed is a critical factor for both user experience and SEO. Google now considers page load times as a ranking factor, meaning that slow websites are penalized in search results. A slow-loading site can also lead to higher bounce rates, where visitors leave your page before it fully loads. This is particularly important as more users access the web on mobile devices.

Web designers must pay close attention to optimizing site speed by compressing images, minimizing code, and utilizing fast hosting solutions. A fast website provides a better user experience and can lead to higher rankings and conversions.

Mistake #6: Failing to Implement Redirects

If your website redesign involves changing URLs, failing to set up proper 301 redirects can result in lost traffic. Redirects ensure that when an old page is replaced by a new one, visitors (and search engines) are seamlessly directed to the new content. Without these redirects, users may land on a 404 error page, damaging your site’s SEO and frustrating potential customers. Redirects preserve the SEO value of the old pages and help maintain rankings, so it’s crucial to get them right.

Mistake #7: Converting Text to Images

While it may seem visually appealing, replacing text with images can severely damage your SEO. Search engines rely on text content to understand the subject matter of your website. Keywords used in headings, navigation menus, and body content are essential for rankings. When text is replaced with images, search engines can’t read or index the information properly, which results in missed ranking opportunities.

Instead, use properly formatted headings and text for important content, and reserve images for enhancing visual appeal, not conveying key information.

Choose a Web Design Company That Understands SEO

Your website is an investment, and like any investment, it should deliver measurable returns. At Nickel SEO, we combine our expertise in web design and SEO to create websites that not only look stunning but also perform well in search engine rankings. By avoiding common SEO pitfalls and following best practices, we ensure that your business gets found by the right people.

For more support with your web design and SEO needs in Fort Worth, contact Nickel SEO today. Let’s work together to create a website that drives traffic, improves search rankings, and helps your business grow online.