How Do I Make My SEO-Friendly Website: Create an SEO-Friendly Design for Your Site

You’ve built a website. It looks good, the content makes sense, and everything works. But then you realise search engines can’t find it, and neither can your customers. That’s when most business owners ask, “How do I make my website SEO-friendly?”

Before anything else, you need to understand what that actually means. An optimised site lets Google and other search engines read your pages, understand what you offer, and rank you where people are searching.

At Matter Solutions, we’ve been helping Australian businesses get found online since 2000. That’s why we know making the site work for search doesn’t require a complete rebuild. You just need targeted changes across a few core areas that shift how Google sees your content. And this guide walks you through each one, step by step.

What Does It Mean to Have an SEO-Friendly Website?

An SEO-friendly website allows search engines to easily find, read, and rank your pages.

Search engine crawlers visit the site to index content, but they need clear signals to understand what each page covers. If technical barriers, broken links, or confusing structures block their path, major search engines like Google won’t know how to classify what you’re offering. Other platforms face the same problem when they can’t access your content properly.

Simply put, a website’s SEO depends on 3 things working together:

1. Pages need to load quickly and function smoothly on mobile devices
2. The experience has to keep visitors engaged without frustration
3. Content must target relevant keywords that match what people are actually searching for

Once you establish these foundations, improving your rankings becomes a matter of fine-tuning the details rather than starting from scratch.

Why Should Your Website Be SEO-Friendly?

Making your website search optimised gives you higher visibility, steady traffic, and lower marketing costs over time.

Think about it this way. Higher search engine rankings drive more organic traffic without the need to pay for ads or ongoing promotion campaigns. In our experience at Matter Solutions, companies that invest in SEO see consistent leads month after month. Meanwhile, competitors relying solely on paid channels burn through budgets with nothing left when the spending stops.

An optimised approach also builds the site’s authority, which makes every piece of quality content you publish work harder for your target audience. In practice, strong web design paired with smart digital marketing strategies creates a foundation that compounds.

You improve your position once, and the benefits continue rolling in for months or even years.

How Do You Choose the Right Keywords for Your Site?

Choosing the wrong keywords wastes months of effort targeting searches nobody makes. That’s why your keyword research should focus on the terms your target audience types into Google when they need what you offer.

Now, if you’re thinking where to start, follow these steps:

Start with Seed Keywords

Seed keywords are the foundation terms that describe your business most simply. For example, a Brisbane plumber might start with “emergency plumber,” “blocked drains,” or “hot water repairs.”

So start by writing down basic terms your target audience uses to describe your products or services. From there, think about the questions customers ask when they contact you or search for help online. 

Then pick terms that match what you offer instead of chasing high-volume words with no relevance (this separates useful traffic from empty numbers).

Keyword Research Tools for Better Targeting

Sometimes the keywords you think people search for are completely different from what they actually type. That’s why you need keyword research tools to see what’s really happening in search queries.

For starters, Google Keyword Planner shows monthly search volume and competition levels for free. From what we’ve seen across hundreds of client sites, tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush reveal what competitors rank for and content gaps to fill.

Pro Tip: Check related searches at the bottom of Google results (called “People also search for”) for additional keyword ideas down the track.

Search Intent and Keywords

Search intent is the reason behind someone’s query. They either want information, comparisons, or to buy something.

Breaking this down further, informational keywords target people looking for answers, guides, or explanations. Meanwhile, commercial keywords attract users who are comparing products or researching before they buy (best for pre-purchase decision-making).

On the other hand, transactional keywords capture people ready to purchase, book, or sign up right now. Adding phrases like “buy now,” “book online,” or “get a quote” helps match that intent.

What On-Page Elements Should You Optimise?

On-page elements are the parts of each webpage you control directly, including titles, headers, and meta descriptions. You need to optimise these if you want search engines to understand what each page offers. 

Focus on these 4 elements: 

1. Title Tags Under 60 Characters: This is the clickable headline people see on Google. While you’re writing them, include the target keywords and keep them short so they display fully in search results.
2. Header Tags for Structure: H1 goes on your main title, H2s break up sections, and H3s sit underneath for subsections. They help search engines understand the page’s text while making it scannable for the target audience.
3. Meta Descriptions That Drive Clicks: Write within 150-160 characters to encourage people to click through. They don’t directly affect on-page SEO rankings, but they’re the difference between someone choosing your result or scrolling past.
4. Body Content with Purpose: Place keywords where they make sense instead of stuffing terms into every sentence. And if you create copy that answers questions, you’ll rank better while keeping readers engaged.

Getting these elements right covers the basics. After that, the next layer is understanding how your meta tags actually influence whether people click through.

How Do Meta Tags Affect Your Rankings?

Meta tags don’t rank a site directly, but they control how the pages appear in search results.

Let’s start with meta titles. The meta title shows up as the clickable headline on search engine results pages. It tells Google what your page covers and needs to include your focus keyword within 60 characters. And compelling meta titles improve click-through rates because they’re one of the primary signals to search engines.

Then you’ve got descriptions. Meta descriptions sit below the title and work like mini advertisements for your page. They pull people in by showing exactly what they’ll find when they click. As we already mentioned, try to write them in 150-160 characters and make them specific enough that users choose your result over competitors.

Bottom Line: Well-written meta tags send clear signals while giving people a reason to click. Get both right, and you’ll see more traffic even if your position stays the same.

How Do You Create SEO-Friendly URLs?

SEO-friendly URLs need to be short, descriptive, and include the target keyword for clarity.

When the crawlers go through your pages, they use the URL structure to understand what each page covers. Clean URLs help them classify your content correctly, which improves how your web pages rank.

In short, you should use hyphens to separate words instead of underscores or spaces for better readability. For example, a URL like “mattersolutions.com.au/technical-seo” is clear to both people and crawlers. On the other hand, a messy URL like “site.com/page?id=4829x” tells users and search engines nothing about your content.

Worth Noting: Keep an eye on how your URLs connect relevant pages across the website. Good URL structure is part of technical SEO that supports internal linking, which makes it easier for search engines to discover and index all the relevant pages.

Should You Use Header Tags Correctly?

Yes, you should. Header tags organise your posts so both readers and search engines understand the structure clearly.

Start by using one H1 tag per page as your main title with your main keyword included. This sends the strongest signal about what the page covers. From there, H2 tags break content into sections and help with topic hierarchy.

H3 tags sit under H2s for subsections and keep everything logical throughout the copy. While H4, H5, and H6 tags exist for deeper nesting, most sites rarely go beyond H3.

The hierarchy looks like this: H1 > H2 > H3 > H4. (Each level sits under the one above it.)

Getting each of them on the same page is important here. We’ve worked with clients who scattered H1 tags across multiple sections or skipped straight from H1 to H3. Google struggles with that because the logical flow breaks down.

At the end of the day, proper headers do double duty: they help crawlers understand your copy while making it scannable for readers.

How Do You Optimise Images for Search Engines?

Image optimisation involves compressing files, adding alt text, and using descriptive names that search engines can read. Let’s walk through what works:

Compress File Sizes

Large image files slow down page load times and hurt your rankings because visitors leave before everything loads. And honestly, even a 1-second delay can cost you traffic.

That’s why you should use compression tools like TinyPNG or Imagify to reduce file sizes without losing quality. Beyond that, choose the right format with JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics with transparency.

Quick Tip: Compress images before uploading them to avoid having to fix them later. An ideal file size sits under 200KB for most web images.

Descriptive Alt Tags in Image Code

Alt text describes what’s shown for screen readers and appears when visuals fail to load.

While you’re adding these, include relevant keywords in alt tags where they fit the content naturally. This helps Google understand what you’re showing while making your site accessible to people using assistive technology.

SEO-Friendly File Names

Rename files before uploading instead of keeping default camera names like IMG_1234. Because leaving it with its original name makes your resources invisible and costs you traffic from image search. 

Plus, use descriptive keywords separated by hyphens, like “blue-running-shoes” instead of generic terms. That way, file names help crawlers understand content and improve search engine rankings in visual search.

What Role Does Page Speed Play in SEO?

If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, half your visitors will leave before seeing anything.

After all, slow sites frustrate users and increase bounce rates, which tells search engines the content isn’t valuable. Meanwhile, faster sites keep visitors engaged longer and lift conversion rates site-wide (the numbers don’t lie on this one).

Google now treats page speed as a ranking factor and prioritises faster sites in search results. Page speed also ties directly into Core Web Vitals, which measure website performance and user experience.

So what helps? You should enable browser caching, so that the user’s browser stores files locally instead of downloading them every visit. Plus, compress images, minify code, and reduce server response times wherever possible. All these changes compound to create noticeably faster load times.

Why Should Your Site Be Mobile Friendly?

Over 64% of searches happen on mobile devices, so sites must adapt to smaller screens. Google’s search algorithm even switched to mobile-first indexing years ago, which means it now evaluates your site’s mobile version as the primary ranking factor.

If your mobile experience is broken, your rankings suffer regardless of how good the desktop version looks. The checklist below helps you spot problems fast. Just print it, grab a pencil, and tick off what works:

Responsive web design is central to this. It adjusts layouts automatically to fit phones, tablets, and desktop screens. This approach delivers a better user experience across all mobile devices and keeps the website accessible to the majority of searchers.

What Are Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals consist of 3 specific performance metrics (LCP, INP, and CLS) that Google uses to measure user experience. That includes loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability.

Each metric targets a different aspect of how your site performs. Here’s what each one measures:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP tracks when the largest visible element (like hero images or text blocks) appears on screen. The longer this takes, the more likely visitors are to abandon the page before seeing anything useful.

When someone lands on your page, slow LCP frustrates them and signals poor performance. So your aim should be 2.5 seconds or faster to meet Google’s good performance threshold.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

Once your page loads, the next test is how quickly it responds when users interact with it. INP replaced the old FID (First Input Delay) metric in March 2024 to capture all interaction delays, not just the first one.

Unoptimised code, bloated plugins, or poorly configured third-party tracking tools often slow down response times. That creates poor INP scores. This is why the team at Matter Solutions keeps INP under 200 milliseconds to ensure smooth and responsive interactions.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Have you noticed pages where text suddenly jumps as images or ads load in? That’s a layout shift, and it tanks user experience.

CLS measures these unexpected layout shifts when elements move as the page loads. A score under 0.1 stops sudden jumps that disrupt reading or cause accidental clicks. Usually, reserving space for images and ads prevents content shifting during page load.

How Does HTTPS Improve Your SEO Rankings?

HTTPS encrypts data between your site and visitors, which builds trust and protects sensitive information. When people see the padlock icon in their browser, they know their data is safe.

On the other hand, sites without HTTPS show “Not Secure” warnings in browsers. This immediately damages credibility because visitors assume the site is dangerous or poorly maintained. Many businesses even lose conversions the moment visitors see that warning, regardless of how good their copy is.

Installing an SSL certificate fixes this and sends positive signals to search engines about your site’s reliability. And since most hosting providers like Hostinger and SiteGround offer free SSL certificates, there’s no excuse to skip this step.

How Do You Track Your SEO Performance?

Tracking performance shows what’s working and what isn’t. Without data, you’re guessing whether changes improve your website’s SEO or waste time.

So before you launch into more optimisation work, measure these metrics:

• Google Search Console for Technical Insights: This free tool shows which keywords drive traffic and flags indexing issues or errors. Google Search Console also lets you submit the XML sitemap so search engines can find all your web pages. You should check it weekly to see how you appear in search results and spot problems before they hurt your organic traffic.
• Google Analytics for User Behaviour: Track visitor behaviour, page views, bounce rates, and conversion data with Google Analytics. This tool reveals which pages perform well in search results and which ones need improvement.
• Regular Reporting to Monitor Progress: If you want consistent improvement, set up monthly reporting to track rankings, organic traffic trends, and goal completions. As a result, you’ll spot patterns and adjust your SEO performance strategy based on real data instead of assumptions.

These tools work together to give you a complete picture of how the site performs in search engine results.

What Common Mistakes Hurt Website SEO?

Now that you know what to do, here are the mistakes that damage your rankings. 

• Keyword Stuffing Makes Text Unreadable: Forcing keywords into every sentence makes the copy sound robotic and triggers spam penalties from search engines. Instead, write for people first, then optimise. Basically, your text should flow naturally while including target terms where they make sense.
• Duplicate Content Confuses Search Engines: When identical content appears on multiple pages, the platform doesn’t know which version to rank in search results. This splits your SEO efforts across multiple URLs instead of concentrating authority on one page.
• Broken Links Create Dead Ends: Broken links frustrate users and prevent Google from crawling the site properly. That’s why you should check internal linking regularly to fix broken paths. Dead external links to other websites also hurt credibility and user experience.
• Ignoring Mobile Optimisation Excludes Audience: Test your website on phones regularly to catch layout issues. After all, sites that don’t work on mobile devices lose traffic and tank your rankings.

The difference between sites that rank and those that don’t often comes down to avoiding these four mistakes consistently.

Start Making Your Site Work Harder

Making an SEO-friendly website doesn’t require a complete overhaul or months of technical work. You just need to focus on the foundations: clear URLs, optimised images, fast load times, and content that answers what people are actually searching for.

From there, search engines can find, understand, and rank the pages properly. That’s when organic traffic starts building without you paying for every click. The SEO strategies covered here work because they fix how search engines see your site while improving the experience for real visitors.

Need help improving your rankings? Get in touch, and we’ll show you exactly where to start.

FAQS

These are the common questions that we hear all the time:

How Does Social Media Affect My Website’s SEO?

While social media doesn’t directly influence search engine rankings, it amplifies your reach. When people share your website content on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, you gain more visibility and potential backlinks. This indirect boost helps drive traffic that Google notices over time.

What SEO Tools Should Beginners Use?

Start with free SEO tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Screaming Frog (free version). These show you which pages need work, track how you appear in search results, and flag technical problems. Paid options like Ahrefs or SEMrush become useful once you’re ready for competitor analysis.

How Often Should I Update My Website Content?

Update your website’s pages whenever information changes or becomes outdated. Fresh, relevant content signals to search engines that your site stays current. We recommend reviewing high-traffic pages quarterly and creating new content monthly to maintain momentum with content creation efforts.

Does Every Page Need Unique Content?

Yes. Each web page’s content must be unique to avoid duplicate content penalties. Search engines rank pages individually, so identical text across multiple URLs splits your authority.

How Long Does It Take to See SEO Results?

Most sites see initial movement in 3-6 months after implementing changes. The thing is, rankings improve gradually as search engines recrawl your website’s pages and assess the updates. When you create SEO friendly content consistently and fix technical issues, results compound over time rather than appearing overnight.