4 Ways Responsive Web Design Boosts SEO

 

Mobile dominates the internet, but many estate agents are still reluctant to make the switch from traditional to responsive web design.

Here are 4 reasons why you should make the switch for SEO purposes:

1) Improves usability

If users can’t easily use, access and/or navigate your website then they aren’t likely to stick around.

Google sees the time spent on a website as an indicator of a websites value for each search query, this means if people aren’t staying on your website for very long then Google will see that web page as irrelevant or not useful and will rank it down.

Responsive web design ensures that a website is optimised for all devices making it easier to read and navigate, improving the overall experience of the website.

Google will reward your website for this with higher rankings.

2) Faster Loading Speed

Page loading time is a known ranking factor within Google’s search algorithm.

Your website should be optimised to load as fast as possible in order to rank higher and this is just one of the many reasons why Google recommends responsive web design.

Websites that are responsive will usually load faster, especially on mobile devices. This will also result in better user experience which will again boost your rankings.  

3) Reduces bounces

A bounce is how many people visit your website and leave without visiting another page on your website.

If a visitor lands on your website and leaves quickly, Google will take note of that. User behaviour when it comes to entry and exit of a website and the time spent on a site helps Google see how valuable and useful that page is.

Google is likely to interpret landing on a page and backing up quickly as a sign that the content isn’t relevant to that search term, and you will be ranked down because of it.

However, it isn’t just content that impacts users. Design is important when it comes to keeping people on your website. Your content may be superb but if the design of your website isn’t mobile optimised or is poorly formatted then it can cause a user to leave your website.

Either way you will get ranked down.  A responsive website enables you to provide great content as well as display it in a way that is suitable for all devices.

4) Duplicate Content

Having a separate mobile website from your actually website can cause duplicate content problems, as the content is the same but it’s on two separate URLs.

This can cause serious harm to your rankings. A responsive website is just one website, held on one URL regardless of the device you use.