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Kim Krause Berg, Web Site Usability/SEO/IA Consultant

User Centered Design

Balancing Search Marketing & User Experience: Why Bother?

Posted by on Jan 16, 2012 in Articles, Recent, Search Engine Marketing, User Centered Design |

Yesterday a colleague asked me to find information on software application response times. I responded with some qualifying questions to refine my assistance but what it boiled down was this: the corporate powers wanted to know how much they could fudge things so that an ecommerce software application could roll out into “production” even though it wasn’t ready to effectively respond to customers. Could this be a problem and if yes, who says so? Selling Customer Experience Most online...

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No Guidance, No Interaction, No Sale: Improving Internet Shopping Usability

Posted by on Jan 11, 2012 in Articles, Ecommerce, Persuasive Architecture, User Centered Design |

A good friend recently told me a story about how a company built a web site that needed user instructions to use it. The only page that was allowed to put a link to those instructions was the homepage. Therefore, should a visitor arrive via a search engine to a landing page within the web site, they were out of luck. No guidance, no interaction, no sale. I went Christmas shopping online for a computer armoire. I knew exactly what I wanted because I had done previous research on the...

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Sneak Preview: Emotional Design and Affective Computing

Posted by on Jan 9, 2012 in Inspiration, News & Hot Finds, User Centered Design |

According to popular prejudice, women embody ‘emotion’ and ‘irrationality’ whereas men embody ‘rationality’ and ‘objectivity’. As such, designing for emotions/affect stir up gender issues. Are women better designers of technology which uses emotion and affect? Affective Computing, Affective Interaction and Technology as Experience One free chapter and several videos are available now for Affective Computing, Affective Interaction and Technology...

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Cre8pc Web Site Reviews on Sale

Posted by on Nov 29, 2011 in Cre8pc, Information Architecture/IA, Search Engine Optimization, User Centered Design |

In this, the season of giving, and because web site reviews are so popular, I’m offering the chance to get your site review for just $82.50, on a first come, first serve basis. What Do You Get? A full written report emailed to you in PDF format. Screenshots with notes, suggestions, etc. Fast turnaround. Input on usability, understandability, conversions, calls to action, persuasive design Feedback on information architecture and navigation Organic on page search engine optimization...

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Blended Usability and SEO Practices a Hit

Posted by on Nov 14, 2011 in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Usability, User Centered Design | 1 comment

Just when I was seriously considering not writing articles for other publications for awhile, something happened. I wrote an article that poured out in one take for Search Engine Land’s newly renamed “Search and Usability” column and delivered it way past my deadline. Turns out, it was a hit. I’d been pondering lately how hard it can be to describe what online marketers and web site designers and developers do for a living. Ask 10 of us what we do and you’ll get...

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Ads Rile Google? Bah. What about we Humans?

Posted by on Nov 10, 2011 in Google, Search Engine Marketing, User Centered Design, Writing | 3 comments

This caught my attention. Google May Penalize Your Site for Having Too Many Ads published in SearchEngineWatch states Google is looking at penalizing ad heavy sites that make it difficult for people to find good content on web pages, Matt Cutts, head of Google’s web spam team, said yesterday at PubCon during his keynote session. The key point Google appears to want to make is that anything that prevents people from reading content concerns them. The article goes on to say, Google has...

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10 Reminders for Usability Web Design To Make Site Visitors Adore You

Posted by on Oct 31, 2011 in Articles, User Centered Design |

No matter how hard you try, there is always something wrong with your website. There is always a critic. You don’t want to be caught with your pants down when trying to present a professional site. Since my work permits me to see a great deal of websites and Internet applications, I can note common problems.  This list is not about the common ones. This list is for repetitive web design practices that drive site visitors crazy because we keep driving them crazy. Here’s what we do: 1....

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Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Homepage

Posted by on Oct 27, 2011 in Articles, User Centered Design | 2 comments

It’s easy to overlook important information that your website visitors may need when they first arrive to your homepage. While landing pages are helpful in guiding searchers to your site, eventually even these folks will find themselves on your homepage. Everyone has the same basic questions. These questions revolve around Who, Where, What, When, Why and How. Answering them is fun, and not as obvious as you might believe. Using them as guides for credibility, trust, persuasiveness and...

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Treat Yourself to the Affordable Online Media Boot Camp

Posted by on Oct 3, 2011 in Cre8pc, Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Usability, User Centered Design |

Nothing beats affordable training with reputable teachers and that’s just what’s coming up on November 3, 2011 at the Online Media Boot Camp. Held in the historical Valley Forge area outside Philadelphia, in King of Prussia, PA, you’ll be treated to a day of sessions offered by three lively ladies who love to teach. Liana Evans, Kim Krause Berg and Sarah Doheny are ready to help you learn new skills or update your present knowledge on: Search engine optimization Conversions...

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Webcast: How User Centered Web Design Techniques Enhance Online Marketing

Posted by on Jun 30, 2011 in Cre8pc, News & Hot Finds, Search Engine Marketing, User Centered Design |

The recorded version of How User Centered Web Design Techniques Enhance Online Marketing is live and available to listen to anytime for free. Presenter: Kim Krause Berg, UX Manager, LiBeck Integrated Marketing Slideshare version or Listen to original recorded...

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