Modern web development enhances SEO and user engagement.

In today’s digital world, it is important to use modern technologies to stay ahead of the competition. In the past, simply creating a website and publishing content was enough to get ranked on search engines, but times have changed. With numerous AI content generators, everyone is publishing content, and it’s getting harder even for search engines to identify which website they should rank in the top search results. It is recommended that you use human-written content on your website, but that's not what we will be focusing on today.

This blog is about how you can use modern web technologies to boost your SEO and be above your competitors. I'm assuming that you are aware of other aspects of SEO, like keyword research, content creation, backlinking, etc. This post focuses on aspects that are often overlooked in SEO but are crucial for search engine ranking.

1. Responsive Design: The website should work on all devices.

Google and other search engines focus on providing the best search results to their users. This is logical, as users would not choose a search engine that provides poor or irrelevant results. This means that even if you have a good-looking website that is not responsive for mobile or other devices, Google won’t send its users to your website as they won't be able to read the content clearly or will have issues with the user experience.

So it's clear that responsive design should be there, and using modern web development technologies, you can achieve a better UI and user experience, which will eventually increase user engagement on your website and help you boost your website's ranking. Also, don't forget that 64% of online traffic is on mobile phones.

2. Develop fast websites with modern technologies like Next. js

Modern web development technologies like Next.js are being used to create lightning-fast websites and applications. With NextJS or any other modern web development technology, you can achieve scores like these:

3. Utilizing semantic HTML

Picture this: You're at a bustling library, surrounded by thousands of books. How do you find the one you're looking for? You'd probably start by looking at section signs, then book spines, and finally the table of contents. In many ways, this is exactly what search engine crawlers do when they visit your website.

These digital librarians, if you will, don't just skim through your content; they meticulously examine the structure and organization of your site's code. This is where semantic HTML comes into play, acting as the Dewey Decimal System of the web.

Semantic HTML isn't just about following rules; it's about telling a story through your code. When you use tags like <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, and <footer>, you're essentially creating a roadmap for both users and search engines. It's like giving clear, concise directions to someone who's never visited your town before.

4. Rich Snippet Data

Rich snippet data is a very useful feature if used correctly. I’ll try to explain it with an example.
Here is an example of a typical search result:

As you can see in the screenshot above, these search results include the following elements:

• The title of the page is "Hire Dedicated Developers."
• Meta description: Hire dedicated developers from India.
• Date: This search engine would have found it in the metadata.
• Schema: https://witarist.com> Services

An example of rich snippet data

In this screenshot, you can see that additional information like ratings, number of reviews, price, and current status is also part of the search result.

All this information was part of the website, and that’s how the search engine was able to grab it and show it in its results. Using modern web development technologies, you can also index your website and provide additional information to search engines as well as users.

5. UI/UX for improving user engagement.

Engagement is all about keeping users on your site. The user must have come to your website from a search engine with a particular intent. The search engine loves it when users are provided what they were looking for, and this is all measured through metrics like bounce rate, session duration, and click-through rate. It is important to have good CTAs, visually appealing graphics, clear navigation, and, of course, the end goal for which the user came to the website in the first place.

An example of effective UI and UX design is the website of Airbnb. This website has a clean and simple interface with a consistent color scheme and easy navigation. Its search function is easily visible, making it easy for users to find their desired location and properties. Their website also has a clear and simple booking process, making the overall experience seamless and enjoyable for users.

6. Core Web Vitals

Google's uses three Core Web Vitals metrics related to speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. These metrics are essential for the user experience and help improve SEO. The three main metrics are:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): measures loading performance. Aim for LCP to occur within 2.5 seconds of when the page first starts loading.
• First Input Delay (FID): measures interactivity. Aim for an FID of less than 100 milliseconds.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): measures visual stability. Aim for a CLS score of less than 0.1.

By working on these metrics using modern web technologies, you can significantly improve your site's ranking and user engagement.

7. Mobile-First Indexing

Mobile-First Indexing means exactly what it says: Google will prioritize mobile content over desktop content while indexing pages. If your website has separate mobile and desktop URLs, Google will show the mobile URL to mobile users and the desktop URL to desktop users. Earlier, Google gave preference to desktop content, but that changed recently. The reason is obvious, as the number of users using mobile phones is increasing in comparison to desktop users.

So it's important to have a responsive theme on your website so the same page is accessible to both mobile and desktop users.
Continuous improvements using advanced analytical tools.

There are countless analytics tools available that will help you find user behavior on your website. By analyzing these trends and behaviors, you can make data-driven decisions to optimize your website. For example, one of my known SaaS founders found out that most of his users stopped using his application within a week of their subscription. This application was about writing science projects, so it was generally used by students. With analytics, he found out the trend that apps are getting used for the initial week. Using this data, he changed his subscription model from monthly to weekly, and that boosted his subscriptions by 40%. Such insights can help you understand the needs of users.

You can analyze your website and user engagement using tools like Microsoft Clarity and Google Analytics.

In conclusion, I would say that the ranking of your website depends not only on the quality of the content but also on a number of aspects that are generally overlooked. As the digital landscape is changing daily and competition is rising, one must take care of all aspects of a website and leverage technology to give a better user experience to both users and search engine bots. With the rise of AI, it's hard for Google and other search engines to identify the right website for queries. Overlooking technical and other aspects may have a negative impact on the website.