Comments on: Your Designer Does Not Do SEO

By: mark rushworth

mark rushworth — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:50:09 +0000

Well i have to say that i must be a rare breed of designer/seo combination. ive been doing both since 1998 and have taken businesses small and large to the top.

In short, you can do both.

Just like an SEO works part time on a number of projects throughout the week, a designer/seo works the same, only with some of the work being front end design/development.

Its just a matter of time.

Sure i cant manage 20+ clients per month, i can however give a hollistic service that delivers on the best principles of the entire design/development and marketing process.

By: Gerald Weber

Gerald Weber — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:34:10 +0000

@JennyR and @JennyB

I think the main point is generally speaking most web designers don’t really know how to SEO. They may know and understand the basics but actually executing and implementing a successful SEO strategy is something different entirely.

Don’t get me wrong I’m sure you are fully competent to perform SEO as you have stated. I’m just saying the majority of web designers are not.

Let’s put it this way, if all web designers were successful with SEO, then I wouldn’t be in business.

By: Dana Lookadoo

Dana Lookadoo — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:30:35 +0000

Amen!

I deal with this daily where Web designers & developers think SEO can be done after-the-fact, as if it’s some sauce that gets added on top.

Excellent dissertation! Love the, “Cliff notes pro syndrome” explanation…

By: Matt Siltala

Matt Siltala — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:27:21 +0000

So funny how SEO is “not that big of a deal” if all web designers “got it” then they would not be designing for anyone, they would be simply doing their own thing because they “get it” and would be making their own money off their OWN STUFF. LOL

By: Nicholas Fidanza

Nicholas Fidanza — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:39:25 +0000

Hi Jenny and Jennifer, thank you for your input and comments. I agree with both of you.
SEO and site design should be a concerted strategically planned ongoing effort.
I am confident that many designers are very capable in all facets of SEO. I wanted to make the distinction that they are complementary but different efforts. I have seen too many times where I hear “my designer seo’d my site when they did it, so I’m good” as Jennifer said.
But, I really don’t think SEO companies need to justify themselves – it’s evident in conversions and traffic. It can easily be seen in analysis. Again, as both of you said some designers can do both and do it well but I’d be wary of the designer that claims they “did it” when they created the site.

By: Jennifer Bourn

Jennifer Bourn — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:36:52 +0000

I agree with JennyR’s comment. We provide custom branding, web design, and marketing services for our clients and optimization is a large part of web design, internet marketing, blog design, and marketing.

The keywords you are targeting for each page need to planned out in advance just as the navigation and site plan does and the marketing does.

While there aren’t a lot of designers out there that offer design and optimizations services, there are some who are good at both. I am proof of that.

My problem is that many think of “seo” and a one time event. They say things like “my designer seo’d my site when they did it, so I’m good”

Optimizations is a process … a never ending process that requires testing, tracking, measuring, error fixing, and adjustment of the meta tags, title tags, content, links, and so much more, which is why we include the starting optimization of the site and it’s content with the site build and then contract on retainer the ongoing seo maintenance and tracking.

By: JennyR

JennyR — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:53:06 +0000

I am an SEO specialist and a social media marketing specialist – and I am a designer. I think if you are designing a new website from scratch, the best way to do it is to work out what you want on paper, then ‘SEO it’, before you even start building it.

SEO is a part of web design AND marketing. It’s the thread that links the whole lot together. If you have a designer, like me, who can work SEO into the design and then continue to monitor it, tweak it and market it as the site grows, so much the better.

Pure SEO companies are always trying to justify themselves! We all know it’s an easy job if you know what you’re doing and once you have experience – even a web designer can do it!