On October 12, Eric Enge, of Stone Temple Consulting, interviewed me about web site usability. His interview series typically features search engine marketing people and topics, but his personal interest in user centered web design inspired him to branch out into related fields.

Listen here: Kim Krause Berg Podcast

I’m in good company. Eric has interviewed Danny Sullivan, Avinash Kaushik, John Marshall, Jim Sterne, Jakob Nielsen and many others.

Eric writes about the interview at Kim Krause Berg Podcast, Usability and SEO

The podcasts are under 30 minutes and include a written transcript for those who don’t wish to listen to the audio version. The transcript for mine is Kim Krause Berg Podcast Transcript.

While the interview is largely on web site usability, I was able to tie some of the discussion back to search. When discussing eye tracking and how our eyes go first to what we understand or make a connection with, I used search engine results pages as an example:

…if a (page) description is chunky and I can’t even get a full sense (of what the site is about) in the search results, I am more likely to skip that website and go further down till I get to a description that’s logical and speaks to me, even if that site is lower down on the page. Everybody says you’ve got to be at the top of the search results pages. But, if you are not making any sense while you are sitting there, there are people like me who are just going to keep on going and probably make a connection (farther down in the results).

For my very first podcast experience, this one went fairly well. These interviews are different from email interviews, where I can fuss over and edit the dialog. Eric Enge put me at ease. I think the audio makes more sense than the transcript because I tend to run ideas and thoughts together like a traffic jam.

This whole experience provided me with a better understanding on why actors dislike watching themselves on screen.

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Cre8asiteforums discussion on the podcast is here.

It appears as though the pickings for those interested in both usability/user experience design and search engine optimization/marketing have one more conference to choose from in the same week. Jakob Nielson’s User Experience 2007 conference is set for December 2-7, 2007, in Las Vegas.

So are:

Pubcon - December 4-7,
Search Engine Strategies Chicago - December 3 - 7.

One wonders how this happened?

Interestingly, from the search engine marketing side, more traditional speakers are filtering out into other large, established conferences, such as those from the Direct Marketing Association. Talk at the SMX Social Media conference in NYC, where I’m posting this from, is about the number of conferences, limited number of speakers to go around, making hard choices and in some cases, leaving old stomping grounds and leaping into related industries in an effort to reach and network with new people and companies.

Okay…back to my duties covering sessions at the conference I did get to.

For December? I’m staying home.

I’m pleased to help announce that my friends Bill and Li are going to be working with another good friend, Christine. I know how much this joining of talent, skills and experience has meant to each of them.

Full press release: Online Marketing Experts Bill Slawski and Liana Evans Join KeyRelevance Search Engine Marketing

Christine discusses this in her SEM Clubhouse blog.

Congratulations. This is great news for KeyRelevance.com, an already highly reputable search marketing company, which by the way, includes usability site reviews as part of its services.

That makes it perfect, of course.

Hot off our tour of Google, Mike McDonald of Webpronews caught up with Bill and I to essentially shoot the breeze about the conference. We say nothing earth shattering, but I think Mike captured the spirit of Bill and I perfectly. He’s the brains. I just get to stand around and giggle.

Funny video…Bill and Kim on Cre8asiteforums, SES San Jose, Google and the Most Talked About Session of the Week

Discuss video here or view feedback.

Back in the 1990’s BC, before Web 2.0, search engine marketing, social media marketing and RSS feed worship, there were some folks like myself messing around with source code fully intent on outsmarting search algorithms. The tools we used then were crude and required a little elbow grease. There were these insane moments when I’d be in a meeting, being congratulated for making the client’s site rank so well, and all that was missing were the nearly naked male attendants fanning me and feeding me grapes.

I have on my desk one of Bruce Clay’s first colorful search engine maps, as my own personal keepsake of the old days when there were lots of search engines that mattered, not just one. He may represent different things to people, but for me, Bruce Clay was the man who provided the first color coded visual of what I had stored inside my head, and had on my own website in text format.

My version of the search engine map had pricing, and tracked who was purchased by whom, the date of the death of the search engine, and the URL’s for submitting to them. I had a page that tracked search engines and another one that tracked directories. In those days, there was a difference. There were many players, choices and options.

Lately, several of the pioneers in the industry are making comebacks or finding ways to meet the challenging landscape that tortures every SEO. Danny Sullivan has a new company, several new sites, a new conference program and a new social web site called Sphinn.

The man who researched how search engines work and wrote the Search Engine Book most of us inhaled on the topic, Mike Grehan, has joined Bruce Clay Inc. as their Vice President, International Business Development

Peter DaVanzo has launched Link Juicy. Peter starts off by interviewing “Fantomaster”. Interviews were something he used to do on a regular basis in his SearchEngineBlog. He conducted them with humor and a strong sense of wanting to get real information rather than fluff.

The always brilliant, entertaining and thoughtful Bob Massa has a new blog called, Ask The SEO Guru. Bob has been through hell and back in this industry. Don’t miss his blog.

“Fantomaster”, Ralph Tegtmeier, has recently brought FantomNews out of moth balls. “Fantomaster” is legendary. He and his team were cutting edge when knives and drills were needed to slap search engines around, but somehow, he managed to produce his products with class. Threadwatch got a reprieve when it was saved from drowning by Ralph and fans, who turned it into Threadwatcher.

San Jose SES

I leave for San Jose SES on Sunday. It’ll be my first visit to California and first conference I’m attending without my bodyguard guideperson husband. As a reporter for SearchEngineRoundTable, it will be my job to bring some of the conference experience to your corner of the world so you’re not left out. Our blogging schedule has been posted - Roundtable Coverage Schedule of the Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2007 Show.

I will be attending the Google Dance, looking for somebody to show me what all the fuss over this gig is about. I’ll be attending the SEO Womens Luncheon, praying I’m not kicked out because technically, I no longer do SEO. I work with them. I support them. But I’m not sure I deserve a chair at this limited seating event. I know I RSVP’d the WebmasterRadio.FM SearchBash but I never received any confirmation, so I have no idea if I filled out the form right and frustrating the usability lady is, well, we just won’t go there. I’ve caused enough trouble.

I would, however, like to know what mysterious thing you have to do to get into the so-called “private” parties. Obviously I need a hot date…someone who knows everybody and has been around for years and years.

Like I have.