How A Responsive Website Affects SEO
In the early days of the internet, it was enough to have a website that loaded quickly and had all the information a potential customer might need. But as the internet has become more ubiquitous in our lives, our expectations have shifted. We now expect websites to work seamlessly across all devices, whether we’re using a desktop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone.
Responsive design is one way to meet these expectations. A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts its layout and content to fit the device it’s being viewed on. This ensures that whether someone is looking at your website on a 27-inch monitor or a 3.5-inch smartphone, they’ll have a positive experience.
But a responsive design isn’t just about giving users a good experience, here’s why responsive design is so important for SEO purposes.
User Experience Counts for a Lot in SEO Rankings
You might not think that the user experience would be a big factor in SEO rankings, but it actually counts for a lot. Google algorithms are designed to favor sites that provide users with a positive experience, and one of the key components of a good user experience is responsiveness.
Some factors that contribute to a good user experience include website speed, mobile-friendliness, and whether or not the site is easy to navigate. All these things determine how likely someone is to stay on your site once they land there. And the longer someone spends on your site, the better it looks from an SEO standpoint.
Responsive Design Also Helps With Your Click-Through Rate
In addition to boosting your SEO rankings, responsive design can also help improve your click-through rate (CTR). CTR measures the number of times people who see your listing in search engine results end up clicking on it. A high CTR generally indicates a well-designed, informative listing relevant to what searchers are looking for.
Responsive sites are 34% more likely to have a high CTR than those without responsive design. So, if you’re looking for ways to improve your CTR (and who isn’t?), responsive design is definitely something you should consider implementing.
Good Responsive Design Means More Backlinks
One of the most important ranking factors for any website is the number and quality of backlinks pointing to that site. Since responsive websites provide an optimal experience regardless of device, they’re more likely to get shared, which means more backlinks—and better SEO results.
These links from other websites help to boost your site’s credibility and authority, leading to higher rankings. By ensuring that your website functions smoothly on all devices, you make it easier for users and potential linkers to navigate and engage with your content.
In fact, studies have shown that responsive design can actually improve a website’s click-through rate, leading to more opportunities for backlink acquisition. So not only can good, responsive design improve user experience, but it can also result in a higher number of valuable backlinks.
Final Thought
There are plenty of good reasons to make sure your website uses responsive design. Not only will it help boost your SEO rankings, but it will also improve your click-through rate and overall user experience.
Fortunately, our team of experts here at Wikads can help you create a responsive website that looks great and drives traffic.
Are you curious about our previous work and want to see some examples?
We’ve featured some of our best work to date, and if you like what you see, reach out to us for a consultation on how we can build a responsive website for your business.