Guest Author: Theresa Putkey of Key Pointe Usability Consulting
As a usability expert, I was surprised to learn of the ways that search engine optimization (SEO) can fly in the face of usability.
Basics
Let’s establish some baselines for what we’re talking about:
Usability: While many people argue about precise definitions, in practice, usability basically means that the product should serve the user needs, whether that product is a tea pot, a piece of software, or an e-business website.
Search engine optimization: As Wikipedia defines SEO:
The process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results for targeted keywords
The point of a website: A website educates or instructs a user or sells products to a consumer. In the tight competition for marketing space, SEO has become a priority for many marketers and the websites they work on.
Why am I aghast?
While learning about SEO, I was surprised to learn that the content on a site can be relatively useless, that it is simply there to optimize results in a search engine (Google being the ultimate search engine). If you want to target certain keywords, you create links to your site with those words; you put those words in links on your own site, you write articles with those words. For example, I might target “usability Vancouver.”
I can create links on my site with the words “usability Vancouver.” My navigational links can include “usability Vancouver” and my blog posts can have those words linked.
If my page titles and navigation links are Usability Vancouver Portfolio, Usability Vancouver Services, Usability Vancouver About, I’m decreasing my reader’s ability to scan my page. In Jacob Neilsen’s Top 10 Guidelines for Web Usability, I’ve just violated rule #7: Begin Link Names with the Most Important Keyword.
Because people scan web pages so quickly, rarely taking in detailed content, you want to make sure that the information stands out, that the user knows what to do once she has reached the page. When she can’t decipher different links on a page because they all start with the same words, she’ll bounce.
What works then?
Users read very little on web pages, so make items obvious, avoid junk, make sure content is relevant to people who might request your services or buy your product.
A site that has relevant, frequently updated content automatically gets a higher search engine rating. Blogs (what this October 17th website is based on) are great tools for this. Plus, great content helps you show your customer that you are interest in selling your service or product AND interested in educating.
While incoming links, click throughs, Google Ads, keyword targeting are all great, a website relevant to your customers is the most effective marketing tool. When users look for products and services online, a company’s reputation is only as good as its website. If people view a website as pandering to search engines, the website becomes a negative marketing tool and may cause a company to lose customers.
(In other words, as a usability expert, if my site wasn’t usable, people wouldn’t take me seriously and might website wouldn’t recommend me and act as a validation tool.)
Bottom line, here’s what I’d recommend to combine usability and search engine optimization:
- Have a good looking website
- Make sure that the site works, that the information is organized, not a jumble
- Have relevant incoming links
- Target appropriate keywords
- Provide up-to-date, relevant content for readers
Find out more…
To find out more about usability and writing (such as technical writing and web content writing), go to www.keypointe.ca. There you’ll find an educational blog as well as information on different services that Key Pointe can provide. You can also find contact information should you have any questions. Theresa is happy to point you to more resources. Why? Because the more information you have, the better choices you can make.
Tags: effective websites, SEO, usability
Another interesting article about using content on your site and providing open and informative content:
Integrating Social Media into a Web Content Strategy