Website Design, SEO and Usability Laws or Beat Your Own Drum?
You read and hear it all the time. Somebody tells you to do something a certain way because it’s the only correct way. So, you do it, only to learn later that your original way was fine or an even better approach. You may grow tired of being lectured to. You may not know whom to trust.
I thought Aaron Wall’s SEO Book blog post called Bad Advice That Sounds Good was thought provoking. Last I checked, it had garnered 40 comments. He struck a nerve. He wrote things like, “People talk in terms of ideals because they buy into white lies that put themselves or others at the top of social networks”, and “Professionals want to make their profession seem more complex than it is…”, and “Many people with authority only consider their worldview.”
Then he goes on to list certain advice statements that he dislikes. Each of them is common. Like “Create your website for users, not for search engines.” Aaron and others have quite a list of advice peeves. One is the never ending battle over fixed or fluid width layouts.
What has always not sat well with me, in user centered design circles as well as search engine marketing, are those black or white, this way or no way kind of rules. I suppose that people want to be told what to do and how to do it. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all world. How can anyone hope to design as if it is? I prefer to look for guidelines and a common ground first. Then, I can adapt to business requirements.
Requirements Based. Not Ego Based, Not Search Engine Based, Not User Based
I can usually tell when a website was designed for engines. It makes no sense to people. Then, there are web pages that make no sense to search engines or screen readers, but are visually appealing to target groups who not only can see, but thrive on the visual experience. We often hear the mantra, “Avoid FLASH because search engines can’t handle it.”
Search engines aren’t always the target market. What is the first priority for the website? Use that as the guide. There are ways to market websites that use FLASH and images. Rather than being afraid, or creating limits based on rumors, I like to investigate options.
I cringe at the “create for users not search engines” too. By all means, design for people. But, let’s figure out whom you are targeting and deliver what will work for them. Chances are good that what works for people also works for search engines, especially with accessibility.
Design considerations become more of a challenge on global sites that must not offend different cultures. When faced with this, more time is spent studying accepted user habits and acceptance criteria by different groups. For example, if the date is displayed in a certain way, will it infuriate 80% of your readers? Are there solutions designers can try that meet the needs for different groups of people, while still being optimized for search engines?
Sure, there are. The white lie that has never been true is “web design is easy.” This is true only for those who aren’t experienced. If you hear someone say it, and offer to do it for $100, run. Chances are good that designer has never heard of requirements based design.
I was asked today by someone, during a conference call, if I critique site design. I said no. I don’t care if a site designer chooses black and has animation in 5 places on a homepage. If this meets their business requirements, it’s fine. It it satisfies the demands and needs of the target market, fine. If it converts and ranks well, fine. I am not a judge and jury.
I do, however, present the business cases for web standards. I will point out things they may not have considered, like mobile device users, poor vision, those who can’t use a mouse, and a whole host of other common issues that are often ignored. You may be satisfied with the sales and traffic you have, but what if I told you that if you implemented a few new things, sales and traffic would soar? You might even find you have interested a new target market because you no longer exclude them.
Advice that limits your design or pigeon holes you into doing something without offering data and sound reasons for doing it are what you want to avoid. Always keep in mind your priorities and goals for your website and hold them firm as your protective totem. Techniques and practices that help you achieve those goals are the choices you want to make.
Not someone else’s rules for their sites.
Stumble it!
Comments (10) to “Website Design, SEO and Usability Laws or Beat Your Own Drum?”
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My Top 10 Web Sites » Late breaking news wrote:
[...] Website <b>Design</b>, SEO and Usability Laws or Beat Your Own Drum? [...]
Posted on 27-Nov-06 at 11:45 pm | Permalink
Anghus wrote:
Hi there, I agree with the fact that people of tend to like hearing what they should do. Personally I’m not fan of those advices saying do this and that.. because I my self like to learn and I will not learn following those advices, if I’m not thought why to do so.
Second you say that it is really easy for you to determine whether a page is built for search engine or not, well basically one need to build landing pages for SE, and then focus on the customers.
Søkemotoroptimalisering!
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 1:04 am | Permalink
Priya wrote:
Hello..it was worth while reading your blog..I agree 100% to what you say…Site are created for the people and not only for machines…I really like websites that are attractive and interactive….ie why the web is here today!!!!thats what attracts people to the web..apart from information we can type on handbills,brochures etc the web is here to stay only becauseof its interactivity and color and flash ofcourse….but Search engine optimisation is necessary but not at the expense of the beauty,interactivity of the webpage.As you said..we need to find techniques to merge both SEO,Beauty and interactivity of the site!
Priya Thomas
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 4:41 am | Permalink
Should you design your website for search engines or users? | Content Writing and CopyWriting Blog wrote:
[...] Cr8pc has an interesting post titled Website Design, SEO and Usability Laws or Beat Your Own Drum? where Kim concludes with: [...]
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 6:26 am | Permalink
Chris Crum wrote:
Hi Kim,
We’ve posted the article at WebProNews and I added your bit about “black or white” rules to a discussion in WebProWorld about Aaron’s article.
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 12:56 pm | Permalink
Gerry Grant wrote:
Should you design your website for search engines or users? Yes!
Having a highly searched keyword in the heading tag that tells what the site is about is very user friendly. That term tells the user and the search engine what the subject of the site is in a word that the user will probably understand. Alt tags for photos that tell what it is help the search engines and blind people. Having a keyword in the anchor text lets the user know more about where they are going if they click that link.
Properly written targeted content makes for a much better user experience and will rank higher. Having links from relevant sites does make for a better user experience because people can find the site and the search engines will rank it higher.
The answer is yes.
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 1:01 pm | Permalink
cre8pc wrote:
For many of us, the logic is so obvious. We build for robots and humans and that makes sense. It’s not even difficult to do. But, there remain situations where there’s a disconnect or refusal to explore options and ideas. People get stuck. They don’t try new things because the old way has worked (in their mind.) I quoted a project the other day where the design is a beautiful 1995 classic, LOL, and the owners love it. They fear change. If I go in and tromp all over their “baby” without good cause, I would scare them from exploring their options.
My hope with this piece is to let some air into the room so we can learn to get past hard and fast “laws” that not only limit design choices, but in some cases, are just outdated information or not applicable in some situations.
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 1:38 pm | Permalink
Anghus wrote:
“People get stuck. They don’t try new things because the old way has worked (in their mind.)”
Well you as a designer might have other thoughts about website layout then me as a marketer. For a brand, the visual is as important as the functionality. The web site is a part of a firms brand image. It’s hard to make a change over night. Believe me, I understand your frustration, but as a Marketer I also understand the firms point of view. For you and other designers it’s important that you take it step by step, and don’t make big changes right away.
Skemotoroptimalisering!
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 3:09 pm | Permalink
cre8pc wrote:
My role as a persuasion design person is to make sure the design does what all the marketing investment hopes it will do: convert traffic and interest to sales.
If we don’t work together, the bottom line will suffer, no?
In my ideally utopian world, there are no walls and barriers and people from different skillsets unite and create a blended product that satisfies them.
And then I wake up, LOL.
Posted on 28-Nov-06 at 4:14 pm | Permalink
Andy King wrote:
Yes, creating good looking, effective, usable sites that convert users is not an easy task. So many factors must be taken into account not individually, but together at the same time. For example delay, breadth, and familiarity with terminology actually act synergistically, according to this article:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/scent/
Posted on 29-Nov-06 at 2:02 pm | Permalink