All I read about is keywords. I understand keywords are important. Why do you think that design is just as important as keywords?
Great question! Here is a simple answer. Design is equally as important as keywords. Design is important for many reasons:
Design for your target audience
In a recent study from over 2,600 participants were asked to rate the credibility of web sites based on a variety of factors. The study's results showed that the two most important factors for credibility were "Design Look" (46.1%) and "Information Design/Structure" (28.5%).
Imagine a web site that is only constructed with words formatted in HTML text. No products photos, logos, nothing except keyword-rich HTML text. Would you honestly purchase products from a site that has no photos of the product?
Likewise, what do you think doorway pages are made of? That's right, mostly HTML text. That's why they can rank well -- temporarily. But they rarely convert.
So the design of your site matters to your site's visitors. They have to trust you. They won't order from you if they do not trust you. Your web site design does communicate trust.
The problem with many search engine marketing firms is that they think with blinders on. They only thing that matters to them is a top position, or they focus on keywords only. I am not saying that keyword phrases are not important (because they are). I am saying that there is so much more to the search engine marketing process than placing words on a page. Usability issues, branding, and the user experience are all equally important.
Design for the search engines
Of course, all web sites should be designed and written primarily with the target audience in mind, but your target audience will probably be using the search engines to find the products, services, and information offered on your site.
Let's say your copywriters have written the keyword-rich text that you need. If you build your site with various technologies (Flash, session IDs, scripting, etc.), then the search engine spiders will have a very difficult time accessing that keyword-rich text. Or they will not be able to access it at all. Result? Little or no search engine visibility.
Also, popularity is a very important component of search engine algorithms. So your human visitors must actually like your site. In other words, they should find your site easy to navigate and easy to use. If your visitors find your site contains quality content and easy to use, they are more likely to link to it.
Therefore, design matters to the search engines so they can access your keyword-rich text, and it matters to your human visitors so they can easily find that keyword-rich text once they arrive at your site.
In fact, a search-engine friendly web site is going to provide more accurate search results for your internal site search engine, which totally enhances the user experience.
Pay-for-inclusion (PFI) and pay-per-click (PPC) programs
Many search engines offer pay-for-inclusion programs so that sites with problematic, dynamic URLs are guaranteed to be in the search engines' indices. Which I think is a great solution.
However, sites with 1,000 or more pages will have to enroll in a pay-per-click program. And if your site has 800 pages? Just for one search engine, and I'll pick the least expensive one, that's about $15 x 800 pages = $12,000 annually. That might be pocket change to large companies, but that cost can be prohibitive for other firms.
Likewise, if a site naturally ranks well for targeted keyword phrases, there is little need to purchase those keywords in PPC programs, such as the ones offered at Overture and Google (AdWords). In fact, the PPC programs are often a good supplement for an effective search-engine friendly web site. But they can be rather costly if they are the sole means of finding your site online.
If a web site is designed in a search-engine friendly way, PFI and PPC costs can be greatly minimized.
The reality of web site design
Realistically, the majority of web sites need to contain graphic images. Sites need logos for branding purposes. People like to see what they are purchasing, whenever possible. And as much as I love style sheet capabilities, they are no substitute for many effects that designers can make with Photoshop or Illustrator.
I have also read many articles where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms claim that they specialize in SEO only, not being a web design firm who "dabbles" in SEO.
I wouldn't hire a search engine marketer who DOESN'T understand how design affects search engine visibility. All search engine marketers should be able to work with any type of site design and troubleshoot it. Is the site navigation scheme problematic? Or is the URL structure the problem? Sloppy HTML code? When should you use graphic images and when should you use HTML text? What about usability? How many search engine marketers are educated in usability? People are not going to order your products and services if they do not find your site easy to use.
Web designers and developers can create web sites that please both the search engines and human visitors. It just takes practice.
Design is just as important as keywords.
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