The aesthetic aspects of SEO are something that is not frequently discussed when it comes to SEO advice. It could be that search engine optimisation seems such a technical subject that aesthetics are neglected. Aesthetics, however, can have a big impact on the search engine friendliness of your site.

There are a few different ways in which the appearance of your pages affects your SEO. One way is the navigability of your pages. If search engines cannot follow the paths you have set out for them, your site may not be indexed in the way you want. As you may know, the design of your pages can affect SEO as well, in that use of images and some image technologies can prevent search engines from accessing all of the information you want them to. The appearance of your pages can affect your SEO in a third way, in that the placement of different items in different areas of the page will provide certain information to both the search engines and your human users.

The on-page SEO techniques used on your site will necessarily affect how both the search engines and human users experience your site. Take, for example, the very basic SEO technique of using bold text. This will control the way both search engine spiders and site users react to a page. In the case of the search engines, it is thought that bold, italic, coloured or otherwise highlighted text is interpreted as important content. In the case of human users, these kinds of text draw the eye to important content.

As you can see, the effect is essentially the same. Search engines are in many ways designed to act like a regular internet user. They are meant to uncover things that human searchers will think important.

There are many aspects of your on-page elements that will be just as important to your SEO as to user experience. For example, your hyperlinks work in both ways. The SEO community often speaks of hyperlinks in terms of their value as part of internal link structure. It’s important not to forget that hyperlinks produce a visual reaction as well. They draw attention to important terms and concepts and break up the page. Thoughtful use of your hyperlinks can augment user experience and improve your search engine friendliness.

Even though on-page elements can improve your searchability, it is important to keep a tight rein on their use. Just as stuffing keywords into your content can provoke a negative reaction from both search engines and users, stuffing your page full of visual elements can have negative consequences. Many businesses make the mistake of over-using hyperlinks because of their value to SEO. This over-use results in a cluttered, unattractive page which may trigger a search engine filter. The visual elements of your pages need to be carefully balanced to please both users and search engines, and it can be of assistance to obtain a professional perspective.

Talk to our experts for more information on how your site’s aesthetics affect your ranking. At SEO Consult we realise how aesthetics can influence your corporate future.

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