Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of web designers. Some of my ‘best friends are web designers’. But sometimes I come across situations that cause me to harbour dark thoughts about web designers, and that way the industry conducts itself.
Why? Because it adversely impacts my own area of expertise in 2 ways…
- Revenue
- Reputation
But the big issue that really ‘boils my britches’ arises when a web designer tells his/her client the following…
- I know all about SEO
- I’ll make sure your site has all the right keywords
- Your site will be ‘search engine friendly’
The client is left with the mistaken impression that his/her site will be easily found in Google. If the client is relatively unsophisticated, s/he will type his/her company name into Google and find themselves in the #1 spot. This type of client will go home happy, and fail to understand their ‘result’ isn’t all that useful from a search engine optimisation perspective.
If the client thinks a bit harder, s/he might realise its a lot more useful to be found for search terms that his/her target market types into Google when looking for a site like his/hers.
Why? Because most of the people in his/her target market have never heard of his/her company. So they’re not going to type its name into a search engine.
And there in lies the problem for me. They’ll type in some search term, won’t be on page one, and conclude that SEO is a waste of time.
I’m tired of having to explain all this to disillusioned business owners who think the entire SEO industry is some massive scam. You can see just how bad it is in this article that explains why web designers don’t do SEO.
Web designers, please stop telling people you know about SEO. Stop implying that the sites you create have some mystical ability to work their way to the top of Google.
The plain fact is, SEO ought to start before a site is created. And it doesn’t end when the site goes live. Search engine optimisation requires a strategic approach, and its tactical implementation takes time (often months).
There’s far more to it than merely stuffing search terms into the keyword description tag. In fact, keyword stuffing does more harm than good. It certainly doesn’t help the client. And while we’re at it, neither does duplicating the title, keywords and description tag on every page on the site.
Rather than ruing my industry with half-truths and lies merely to secure new business, have your client consult a professional SEO expert. Better yet, send him/her on an SEO training course aimed at regular people. That way, they can do their own search engine optimisation.
I know exactly what you mean. Like you, I’m a search engine optimiser and am sick and tired of hearing ‘my site is already search engine friendly’. It’s time to put a stop to this – web designers are telling lies.
Well I think this is a bit unfair on web designers in general. Quite a few web designers work closely with optimizers and don’t mislead their clients.
I agree. This all seems a bit hostile towards web designers. I try to give my clients an SEO friendly site. I’ve never promised or implied the site would get to the top of Google as a result.
As the blog states, web designers do make claims for SEO they can’t back up. They don’t understand how SEO works, and shouldn’t imply a site will do well in search engines when it clearly won’t.
hear hear. i develop websites and always tell my clients that my job is to make it work and look good. i tell them seo is an ongoing process that they need to outsource or learn to do themselves. people always expect me to wave a seo magic wand and presto, it’s done. it just doesn’t work that way