I’ll keep this brief and focused! Here we go…
The Problem
No-one loves SEO. Well, some people must do, but I’ve not met them yet. Very often SEO isn’t fully considered until after a website has launched. At that point, it’s too late for strategic planning, and it’s a missed opportunity to get your website found on Google and seen by humans!
The Solution: Front-Load Your SEO Strategy
1. Start with Data, Not Design
Before creating a single wireframe, investigate:
- Current keyword rankings
- Top-performing pages
- User behaviour patterns
- Conversion funnels
- Competitor strengths and weaknesses
Tools for the job: Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog
2. Focus on User Intent
Modern SEO isn’t about keyword stuffing—it’s about understanding what users actually want when they search:
- Informational (wanting to learn)
- Navigational (looking for a specific site)
- Commercial (researching products)
- Transactional (ready to buy)
Map these intents to your site structure. A search for “coffee” might reveal users looking for:
- Local coffee shops
- Online ordering
- Information about coffee health benefits
- Coffee brewing techniques
Each requires different content and conversion strategies.
3. Build Your Architecture Around Intent
Create a sitemap that:
- Targets high-value keywords with dedicated pages
- Groups related content semantically
- Provides clear navigation paths for different user journeys
- Scales easily as content grows
Remember: Your URL structure, navigation, and page hierarchy are SEO decisions first, design decisions second.
4. Write Content Before Design
Designing with actual content always leads to the best results:
- Research keywords and user intent
- Create content strategy and write key pages
- Design around real content, not lorem ipsum
- Build with SEO best practices baked in
This approach ensures that content hierarchy drives design decisions, not vice versa.
The Streamlined SEO-First Process
- Research Phase
- Define clear business goals and conversion metrics
- Analyse existing performance data and rankings
- Conduct comprehensive keyword and user intent research
- Map competitors’ strengths and content gaps
- Strategy Phase
- Build information architecture around user intent
- Create content briefs for all key pages
- Develop semantic linking strategy
- Plan URL structure and redirects (for redesigns)
- Content Phase
- Write core landing pages and key content
- Craft metadata and schema markup
- Develop internal linking framework
- Create conversion-focused CTAs
- Design and Development
- Design around real content, not placeholders
- Build with technical SEO best practices
- Implement proper semantic HTML and structured data
- Optimize for Core Web Vitals and mobile experience
The Payoff
When SEO drives design—not the other way around—you get:
- Faster indexing and ranking after launch
- Higher conversion rates from intent-matched content
- Lower PPC costs from improved relevancy scores
- Reduced post-launch fixes and emergency SEO work
- Happier clients who see immediate results
Conclusion
The most effective websites aren’t just designed and then optimised—they’re built with SEO strategy as their foundation. By integrating user intent research and content strategy from day one, you create websites that not only look good but actually deliver results.
Stop treating SEO as an afterthought. When research drives design, everybody wins.
