6 SEO Rules Exclusively for Graphic Designers to Keep in Mind

Posted by Vikram Rathod

January 07, 2020

SEO 30 min read

Graphic design isn’t just about making a stunning website; it is more than that. It is exceptional to choose the right set of colours and layout that syncs the whole business idea into a visualizing effect with a balance of look and helpful functionality. 

When followed these steps precisely; it not only makes your website aesthetically pleasing, but it proves as a gateway to more visitors and business gain.

But the question arises: 

  • Is that all you need to impress Google?
  • Do you know Google doesn’t interpret images?

Keeping such pointers on your mind, ‘how can a giant search engine like Google recognize graphics and grant deserving rankings to your site?’ This is where SEO comes into the picture. 

SEO helps you to communicate clearly with users via graphics. SEO helps the search engine give an idea about your brand and its message to the targeted users. The various aspects of SEO can help one design, incorporate user-oriented graphics, and deducing that you don’t end up creating something that will not be implemented further. 

Companies prefer to hire Chicago SEO services that can guide graphic designers in curating optimizing friendly content. But expecting an SEO professional to show you at every step at all hours is a waste of time and means draining your resources. Any graphic designer who aims to land at the pinnacle of the niche must invest their time and energy to learn and explore SEO concepts. These SEO graphics design tips will save time and create a difference in user experience and factors in Google ranking.

6 SEO tips every graphic designer should practice ensuring a spot-on ranking on Google:

1. How to Design for Humans

When you search the meaning of ‘graphic designing’ on Google, the concept sums up as: “Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving through the use of typography, photography, and illustration.”

Graphic design is about interpreting the text form into the format of graphics.

As per the definition of Wiki, ‘Put a focus on designing a solution to a problem.’ Designing to catch someone’s eyes is for the novice- keep in mind the issues of a user and how your product or service can be a solution. When ingrained with this strategy, you contemplate designing for business by infusing the aspects of needs, trends, and the type of product service. Your design should communicate all such things in a perfect balance of colours, content, and visuals. Not too much, not too little. Just enough.

2. Creating Mobile-friendly Visuals

Since 2016, when mobile internet search surpassed desktop searches, Google added mobile-first designs to the ranking factors list. There are three more reasons to adopt the mobile-first approach while designing:

  • 70% of internet access is from Mobile.
  • 51% of consumers prefer mobile devices to search for new brands and products (BrightEdge 2017)
  • 80% of smartphone users opt to purchase from companies with mobile sites or apps that solve issues (if any)- as per the census of Google, 2018.

Reading these facts, one might wonder about the correlation of creating graphics that are device-friendly. As per the studies on graphic design, companies with an intense focus on graphic design outperform non-design-focused companies by 200%. It also highlights that eye-appealing graphics have long-lasting and trustworthy impressions on users- and one cannot deny the impact of user experience on Google analytics and its static preference towards it. 

So the question arises, ‘how to make graphic design work for mobile users?’ The screen’s width can leave a little less room to mark an impression, but you still have your chances to create an impact-worthy design. So the question is how to make graphic design work for mobile users? Here you have little chance to impress users because of small screens.

These seven mobile-first graphic trends of 2020 will help you design better visuals for small screens:

  • Emotion-filled colors
  • Geometric shapes
  • Abstract Patterns
  • Light and dark contrast colors
  • Brightness at a minimum level
  • Hand-drawn illustrations or designs
  • Real Photographs

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3. Scannable and Readable Structure

Users deal with many websites and apps; none read word by word to understand your business. It’s all about what they see and how they see it. It’s the design’s impact that helps them decide whether they should stay to read more or hit the back button. Any piece of content may play a pivotal role at this stage, like words, images, animations, or videos.

So, scannability is one of the critical factors of web usability. It’s how to present the content and elements that help users scan the design as per their wishes.

Different studies on users’ eye-tracking pattern unveiled three common ways users scan the webpage:

  • Z Pattern

Z Pattern is a typical eye pattern of users, but web designers avoid implementing it because it doesn’t leave much room for a combination of content and visuals. If you are sure that content quantity is too low, then only you must adopt this pattern.

  • Zig Zag Pattern

Many websites have this pattern in common. Also, it offers more space to insert content and visuals without disturbing the users’ eye-tracking behavior.

  • F Pattern

This one is too common, making more room for the content. 

Take any of this pattern and combine it with the visual hierarchy to give your website a human touch.

  • Understanding the visual hierarchy: 

Visual hierarchy arranges and organizes the content in the most human-perception form. E.g., articles use headlines first, then subheading, and at last, copy blocks. It allows users to scan the heading and subheadings to understand whether the article is helpful or not. Presentation of headlines and subheadings will decide whether the user will stay or leave. Use them wisely.

4. Insert Visuals

Any designer should ask themselves a few questions, like,

  • ‘Which of the following visuals appeals more?’
  • What and how should be the textual description of a product?
  • Should it be a video or pictorial representation (like a T.V. ad) of that product?

Once you dive into such research about those, you might dig up into finding the answer through an extreme root. That’s because visuals hold more power than text — visual content process on the less-busy area of the brain. Some of the interesting facts are:

  • 90% of total information transmitted to the brain is visual
  • Humans process visuals 60,000X faster than text
  • Humans get the sense of a visual scene in 1/10th of a second
  • The brain quickly scan images lasting for 13 milliseconds only
  • The human eye can snap 36000 visual messages every hour

What more reasons do you need to insert visuals on your website?

Follow these ten tips while using visuals in your next design.

  • Insert Photographs
  • Give your visuals a proper name, under “alt text” for search engines to recognize their relevance.
  • Put some quotes for motivation.
  • Infographics are better than long-form content.
  • Animated GIFs instantly catch the eye.
  • Visual cues like lines and arrows make users stay and explore for a long
  • Avoid using bright colors.
  • Tell stories via visuals (like a T.V. ad)
  • Make sure all visuals are communicating intended messages.
  • Put call-to-action at the end of some of your compelling visuals.

5. Favicon

Favicon is an icon associated with the brand and its website. It resides in the address bar of a browser or next to the site name.

A favicon helps users distinguish your website from a dozen other tabs opened in the same browser. Users easily remember and recognize your site with the help of favicon.

Follow these four valuable tips while designing a memorable favicon.

  • Please keep it simple and easily recognizable (like Amazon)
  • A letter or brand icon will do a fine job
  • Design it on 512px X 512px transparent canvas in Photoshop
  • It should be sharp, small but clear to the human eye

6. Psychological Principles of Design

The success of any design depends on its targeted audience. Therefore, it is crucial to understand human thinking patterns; this is where human psychology gets into the picture. Tools and techniques may change over time, but human psychology remains the same.

E.g., users still like stories, but today, they love it in a visual form rather than reading a whole book. As a graphic designer, your goal is to connect with human psychology and combine the same with the trend to build an up-to-date website.

Summing it up: 

Anyone with a designing degree can design, but it takes skill, creativity, and smart strategy to be a visualizer. Every graphic designer who aims to put a firm foot should ensure that their designs have the right mixture of creativity and SEO strategy that benefits one to secure good search engine rankings. It means that curating design and content as understandable as possible for the targeted audience while still fulfilling the brand’s goal.

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