Create websites for people first, and Google second

The Verge recently published an article How Google perfected the web which highlighted how lots of websites are starting to look the same as they all try to rank highly for competitive Google search terms.

Indeed, as Google’s influence has become so large and pervasive, commercial businesses have had little choice but to toe the line and do what they think Google likes so they can be found by more of their audience online.

The result? A homogenised internet, with many websites looking a bit more generic, as more and more of them are being created with Google in mind first and users in mind second.

But wait … shouldn’t it be the other way around?

If you want your website to rank highly in Google searches, the reality is you’re playing by and with Google’s rules—but the natural outcome of that shouldn’t be that you strip your content and design elements of everything you think Google may not like.

After all, your website isn’t for Google—it’s for your audience. Your search engine optimisation (‘SEO’) strategy should absolutely help people find you online, but it shouldn’t compromise your ability to engage your audience once they’ve found you.

While it can be hard to create something original that still conquers Google and rises to the top of search results, it’s not impossible.

Google doesn’t reveal all its secrets so forcing yourself to follow all of Google’s ‘rules’ to the letter—to coin a famous pirate, they’re more like guidelines anyway—isn’t a great strategy to begin with.

Knowing the rules guidelines (as much as one can) is important, as this allows you to decide which you’re going to implement and which you’re going to ignore and jettison into the 41st millennium.

You don’t have to contort and twist your website content and design out of shape so they tick every single SEO box.

Clear, focused SEO strategies often won’t do everything. This is because they know what to do and what not to do, making smart choices that pay off without sacrificing personality and uniqueness.

Successful websites aren’t created solely around what Google might do—this is just one part of a larger puzzle.

User engagement is key and, fortunately, this is something increasingly recognised by Google.

You could have a website that appears in lots of searches and gets lots of traffic, but you could receive no conversions.

Why?

You still need to engage your audience when they find you, otherwise they will bounce from your site faster than they got there.

In other words, your website needs to work for your audience—it needs to wow them and win them over. The most incredible online traffic in the world won’t help you if your site doesn’t operate on this most basic human level.

It’s also important to remember that some websites don’t need to rank well at all in Google for them to be considered a success.

Many businesses don’t care where they rank because they have enough word-of-mouth referrals already or they get work through tenders or other means.

Instead, they just want a nice portfolio site—to hell with Google!

They know their audience will look them up directly as part of their due diligence prior to converting, so they don’t need to worry about jumping through Google’s dancing and invisible hoops.

And some sites are appreciated precisely because they don’t have generic designs or content that have been put through the ‘would Google like this?’ filter, and this also helps them find an audience.

That’s not to say that Google doesn’t have some good suggestions—secure websites with clean code and compelling, topical content are a no-brainer—but it’s important your end users’ wants and your ultimate website goals are what drive the creation and ongoing growth of your website.

Need a winning, personality-rich website to represent your brand? One that’s optimised for search engines like Google and actually results in more conversions? Start the journey—contact us on 08 8223 3099 or email info@argon.com.au.