Sorry this site requires JavaScript to be enabled in your browser. See the following guide on How to enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox and Safari. Alternatively you may be blocking JavaScript with an advert-related or developer plugin. Please check your browser plugins.

"The answer, according to the majority of the users (86% as of this writing), is that coders should, at a basic level, have an understanding of core search engine optimization concepts."
Comments15 Comments  

Comments

Avatar
from onreact 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 1

Yes, they should, as SEOs should know design basics (they mostly do not). Nonetheless most people won’t master both design AND SEO at the same time so you need different people. For each task a specialist.

Avatar Moderator
from Sebastian 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 1

Web designers as well as developers should be able to "think SEO". Unfortunately, that’s wishful thinking from a site owner’s perspective.  Fortunately, designers and developers fuck up site architectures and such by design, so there’s still a lot of undone work out there.

Avatar
from g1smd 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 2

SEO isn’t something you add as the site is about to be put online.  As someone said only last week "SEO is something that should be baked in at the design stage".

Avatar
from MiriamEllis 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

I’m with g1smd on this one. There is literally no point in being a web designer without knowing at least the basics of on-page SEO.

Avatar
from g1smd 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Yes.  You expecially see that lack of knowledge almost every time you look at a forum, blog, cart or other type of CMS-driven site.

Avatar
from Chatmaster 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

The basic onpage factors should be required. If a designer considder themselves a specialist in designing web sites, they should at least design a site that can actually work online. What is the use of having a website if it is not even visible online? There is no doubt in my mind that they should at least know the basics, SEO is much more than just modifying a few metas or onpage factors like page titles and headers. Knowing all about SEO is however not required.

Avatar
from EricLander 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Designers should absolutely have some working knowledge of what’s needed or expected for moderate success with SEO.  Too many times I see sites relying on Flash and graphical elements when text and a strong style sheet would work.

Avatar
from GotanRaider 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Absolutely NOT. If they do, they will become addicted to SEO and quit Web Design. And then we will run out of designers.(note to self: quit hinting people that I used to be a designer)

Avatar
from Wingnut 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

No they shouldn’t - as if they did 1/3 of my easy income would go out the door. :D

Avatar
from risabb 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

I am a web designer and I’ve been doing SEO for a few years.  I always tell new clients who want a design only that my beautiful design will mean nothing if noone visits the website.  I tell them briefly about the importance of SEO and SEM, so if they choose to go ahead with just a design, I feel like I’ve cleared my conscience by letting them know that web design is just one part of the equation.

Avatar
from billse 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Should they be?  No.  Could they be?  Well, I think it could be a fantastic add-on or selling point, but ultimately I don’t believe it’s the designer’s job to think for the search engines... it’s like expecting the painter to also be a framemaker (where a glorious frame could help sell the painting), or the wedding photographer to also be a bookbinder (where a bound wedding album could sell the package).  Even bad sites can get high rankings from algos with good content, but SEO’d sites by designers may not do much on their own anyway (without a constant SEO’ing).  My 2 cents.

Avatar
from g1smd 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

I disagree.A web designer who knows no SEO is like a bricklayer who can stack bricks but has no idea what the cement is supposed to be used for.

Avatar
from MattC 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

I say  the more people who don’t understand SEO, the more my service is needed :)

Avatar
from toprank 1587 Days ago #
Votes: 0

Depends on how you look at it. Designers not knowing SEO is what keeps a lot of SEOs so busy. But that doesn’t really help anyone, especially the unfortunate business owners that end up shelling out big bucks to have their CMS or ecommerce platforms re-engineered. There’s a big part of SEO that is simply good user experience design and that along with technical considerations for spidering and architecture would hopefully be the basics to web developers and designers.

Avatar
from GotanRaider 1586 Days ago #
Votes: 0

How many times you’ve been faced with the following:"Hello, I am interested in your services. This is our website, we’ve just finished it and now we need to start getting visitors."Excellent, so you go see the website and you see a big flash file, or a big frameset, or a horrible custom made PHP CMS developed by a college kid with no sensitivity whatsoever to SEO.This happened to me many times. When I told my potential clients that they wasted all their money and we needed to start all over again, they walked away. Why? Because as I keep saying, humans are not rational, they are rationalizers. And they love to support their decisions and actions.

Upcoming Conferences

Search Marketing ExpoSearch Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.



Join us at an upcoming SMX event:

Upcoming Webcasts

Search Marketing Now Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include: