6 Different Ways a Responsive Web Design Will Benefit Your Search Engine Optimization
According to a study conducted by Google in October 2016, approximately 40% of internet users search using only their smartphones. Mobile browsing has overtaken desktop browsing as the first choice for most internet users.
This makes responsive web design not just an option but a necessity in today’s modern world. Without incorporating responsive web design in your online marketing strategy, you cannot expect your ratings to go up.
What Is Responsive Web Design?
Matt Cutts from Google offers us a fantastic, non-technical definition: “Responsive Website design just means that the page works fine whether you access the site’s URL with a desktop browser or whether you access that URL with a mobile browser, things will rescale, and the page size will be taken into account.”
Why Is Mobile Traffic Important For Your Marketing Strategy?
Setting up a highly responsive website not only decreases your reliance on the resources being used for maintenance but also offers numerous valuable Search Engine Optimization benefits as well. A mobile-friendly website will help you rise far above your competition by allowing you to become search engine optimized.
1. Curtails Duplicate Content
Some people choose to get a separate mobile website for their business instead of using a responsive website design. This will require using a new URL and then duplicating your content across both sites. You can avoid repeating the content by selecting a mobile responsive website design. This helps in boosting your SEO, as duplicate content across several pages will negatively affect your ranking on Google and other search engines.
2. Improves Site Usability
To judge a website’s value for users, Google views the total time spent on the website’s pages. When users are unable to navigate your site, they will not spend much time browsing through it. Responsive web design will make it easier for users to look through your website. This will subsequently lead to enhanced user experience and increased time spent on your website. Two of the most important ranking factors include time on page and consumer experience. Therefore, sites with a mobile responsive design are likely to be ranked higher in search results.
3. Boosts Social Sharing
Responsive web design will encourage internet users to share your content easily through different social media platforms. By using the social media buttons easily accessible to them, users can share content much more quickly than they can when they use a desktop computer.
4. Improves Page Speed
The time a page takes to load is a significant ranking factor. Search engines favor websites that take less time to load. These websites also offer a better user experience. Pages with slow loading speed frustrate the users and even usually do not rank well in search results. Therefore, it is recommended that websites should be optimized to load quickly. When a website is mobile responsive, it will load faster, particularly on mobile devices, which boosts search ranking and improves user experience as well.
5. Lesser Bounce Rate
Another facet of judging how valuable the site is for users is the bounce rate. Google studies user behavior and makes a note of the times when users enter a page and leave it. When Google interprets a brief time spent on the website, it is a signal that users do not find the content presented on the website relevant or exciting enough. When your site’s bounce rate is high, Google negatively adjusts your ratings accordingly.
6. Reduces User Distraction
Content and design go hand in hand when it comes to attracting or distracting the user. If your website’s design makes it difficult for the users to navigate it, they will soon leave. When you have a mobile responsive web design, users can easily find all the information they are searching for without them being distracted by unresponsive web design.