“John Mueller from Google clarified that updating your web layout can affect your rankings.”
A question was asked by someone to John Mueller – whether changing a web design layout has any effect on the rankings. Mueller clearly answered without any uncertainty.
He said yes, it could affect rankings.
Here is the crucial point to note during Mueller’s answer:
Even if the content and URL structure remains the same, the layout changes will still impact the on-page ranking.
He continued explaining that generally, the answer would have been a NO. It doesn’t make a difference. However, several important factors are connected to the website design, which affects the ranking factor on the search engine.
If you catch the drift, he mentioned that out of the box website themes that label themselves as “SEO-friendly” aren’t going to be enough. The website needs to be styled and updated as per the requirements. In fact, how the HTML elements are stacked could significantly impact the ranking.
How web layout can affect your rankings?
Muller said that many web templates use heading elements for styling side-bar navigation and elements. These elements are not the primary content, like the blog posts. However, they do have an impact. So, not optimizing them could affect the on-site SEO. He clarified that it is not about avoiding making any changes. But it is about making sure that the changes made are done right and complement the website’s overall SEO.
Should you continually make layout changes to your site?
If some of your pages are ranking well, review those pages thoroughly and figure out the design working for you. You can replicate that design for the other pages that are not doing good. However, you have to be cautious.
Moreover, the out of the box template – no matter how SEO optimized design they label it, will still require some design effort. There is no single template that doesn’t need some icon or section update. Every web layout needs to be improved upon to complement your website architecture and theme.
I understand that updating a web design layout can be a daunting task. So, If you don’t know what makes a design tick, things could go seriously wrong in terms of SEO. If you cannot understand the stylesheets and coding part of it, get in touch with a professional.
A website auditor and marketing specialist can analyze your website design and point out the mistakes that can hamper your website SEO.
Read More | SEO Ranking Tips In 2020
Here is the video of the question. You can check it out:
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