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Responsive web design is being hailed as the end all, be all solution by several web design professionals. This is no huge revelation when factoring in its ability to effectively address the conundrum born from such a wide variety of web-enabled devices. With that said, this trend is proving to be one of those things with no middleground. People either strongly recommend it, or disapprove. Those who are against it are probably familiar with some, if not all of these SEO burdens responsive web design brings to the table.

1. Structural Issues

On the web, marketing and SEO objectives are generally easy to align. As a result, it is possible to implement features designed to captivate the visitor on top of optimized content geared to attract the search spiders and get the visitor their in the first place. The very nature of responsive web design can present a situation where you literally have to choose one or the other. So if you’re putting the spotlight on certain components, be it an app or even a web form, it could come at the sacrifice of your SEO or marketing value depending on your site structure.

2.The Speed Dilemma

You probably know that speed is among the many factors Google looks at when evaluating the search value of a website. What that means is that if your pages are slow to load or crawl in general, it’s going to cost you in the SEO department. It only makes sense in the eyes of Google because a slow page obviously shouldn’t wield the same value as one that greets the visitor with a fast and optimal experience.

Responsive websites generally run slower than sites that have specifically been designed for mobile users. There are a number of reasons for this, including the fact they are usually rich in code and content, which gives the browser more to process. Because of the speed aspect, businesses have come to appreciate having two separate versions of their web destination – one that caters to traditional computing devices that handle huge chunks of content with relative ease, the other stripped down and optimized to run fast on sensitive smartphones.

3. Lack of Keyword Variance

The desktop web doesn’t fully port over to the mobile version in the way of performance or SEO value. In regard to the latter, it means that the same keywords that have clout on PCs don’t always produce the same visibility as those used on mobile devices. This puts responsive design, which is designed to deliver the same content, keywords and all, to every device platform, at a disadvantage right off the bat. As a result, you may once again have to make a sacrifice, this time choosing where you want the most visibility.

4. URL Modifications

Responsive design eliminates the need to have two separate versions and two separate URLs for your site. This may seem like a good thing on the surface, but it can actually be detrimental from an SEO perspective. URLs play a huge role in the optimization process, in terms of both indexing and ranking. So whenever you alter them, you run the risk of hurting your position. Tweaking a URL is one thing. Getting rid of it is an another.

5. The User Experience

The user experience has a bigger impact on SEO than you can ever imagine. Let’s say your website is known for its popular Java-based social game. In this case, responsive web design can prevent the user from enjoying the experience they came for in spite of your solid SEO efforts. For example, visitors with devices that struggle to render Java could have a difficult time with the game, despite it being at the top of the search page. This could in turn, result in quick departures that impact bounce rates and negatively affect rankings in the end.

The Big Picture

An article on Search Engine Land tells us that sites with responsive web design are losing over 10% of total mobile web. That number, as many statistics are, is rather misleading, but it should be viewed as an eye opener nonetheless. The fact remains that while the responsive concept will in most cases bolster your SEO efforts, it can also hurt them in others. Therefore, anyone considering this method should heavily weigh the pros and cons and more importantly, devise a strategy that will enable the positives to outweigh the negatives.

About the author:

Aidan Hijleh is a freelance copywriter and serves as the Non-Profit Partnership Liaison for Benchmark Email. Aidan advocates free email marketing services to assist with the flourishing of grassroots organizations.

Dating is hard. Like really hard. Nobody likes to go on dates. It’s terrifying. Sure, you probably have a crush on a boy and when he asks you out, it’s so exciting and you feel like you could break into song without anyone looking at you like you are crazy. But when it comes down to it, first dates are awful. Nerves are high. Sweat glands are producing more than usual. And suddenly all of the things you love about yourself become questionable. “Will he like the fact that going to bed at 9:30 is late for me?” “Will he think I’m crazy for having 1,258 pictures of my dog on my phone” It’s exhausting. And now Facebook has been thrown into the mix. As if dating wasn’t hard enough, here is how Facebook had to go and ruin it for everybody even more.

1. Girls become the Gretchen Wieners of the dating world. We know everything about everyone.

But seriously. We do. If we like a guy, the first thing a girl is going to do is Facebook stalk him. I’m sure guys will occasionally browse through their crush’s profile, but not like girls. We are experts. Facebook has transformed us into grade A stalkers. The minute we like a guy, we can tell you everything. From the trip he took last summer to what his mom looks like. Did I mention we know all of this is before a boy even asks us out? It’s bad. And I blame Facebook.

2. Who is this new girl and why does she keep ‘liking’ his posts?

When you do land a date, you go out to dinner, have some laughs, and generally it’s a good time. But then you get home and log into Facebook. Mistake #1. You check up on his page and see that some new girl is all over his profile. Who is she? How does he know her? Did he go on dates with her, too? Maybe she’s his sister. No, she’s too pretty to be his sister. It’s so annoying. I mean, if you are going to date other people that’s fine. I just don’t want it to be thrown into my face when it’s all over your Facebook. Granted, I was asking for it since I went looking for it. But if Facebook wasn’t a thing then we wouldn’t have this problem.

3. Why did he say he lost his phone and then update his status from ‘mobile’?

Again. Back to the creeper status. If a boy is going to say that he “lost” his phone, don’t believe him. And whatever you do, don’t go on his Facebook. Chances are he has updated his status, uploaded a picture, and has been Facebook chatting with a few other girls. Just let that one go, sweetie. Boys never lose their phone.

4. Who is he messaging?

There are so many ways for men and women to communicate with others secretively nowadays. I mean, you can even chat on Words With Friends for crying out loud and your significant other would never know. So naturally, a man’s inbox on Facebook is probably the most terrifying thing for a girl. Who is he messaging? Who is he talking to? Why can’t he just write on her wall? Thanks, Facebook, for giving people a new way to communicate secretly. Do we really need another way? No. We don’t.

5. As soon as he says his ex’s name, you are already searching for her under his friends list.

Before Facebook, when the ex’s name was brought up she was still a mystery. You could make her as ugly as you wanted and have no idea what she really looks like. Now you can search for her on Facebook and browse through her 2,000 pictures. Which brings me to point #6.

6. Here come the comparisons.

Thanks, Facebook for showing me that she is in fact really pretty. Ugh.

About the author:
About the author: Carly is a blogger for Smith Monitoring, a provider of both Lancaster home security and Austin home security. As an avid Facebooker, she has become the go-to stalker for her friends.