Optimize to be Remembered, Design for Effortless Ease of Use
If you could have had a crystal ball in 2004, would you have known that the power of online marketing is hiding within conversations? Did you consider that the content you put on your homepage holds little salt with readers unless it can be backed up with outside information? People still want the same thing today as they did five years ago: trusted people-tested results and recommendations. Were you aware back then that search engine technology has undergone several scientific studies to...
Read MoreDoes the Social Web Impact Human Behavior?
CNN’s online news site recently posted a poll that asked, “Are you tired of social networking?” When I had checked their results, it showed that 74% chose “YES.” Yet according to Inside Twitter by Alex Cheng, Mark Evans and Harshdeep Singh, after analyzing information disclosed on 11.5 million Twitters accounts, 72.5% of all users joined during the first five months of 2009. 85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update per day. Twitter is not the sole means of social...
Read MoreIgnore Usability Testing at Your Own Risk
While more web site development companies understand why human factors web design contributes to long term business and brand success, there are still those not investing and taking risks. In my latest column for Search Engine Land, I describe the risks of not performing site testing during the developmental stages of web site design. The testing I recommend is not just on functional or server performance. I would like to see every department, from search engine marketing, to software...
Read MoreTo Underline or Not Underline Links
As visually entertaining the latest trends in web design may be, there are a few usability walls we run into while reading. One is the appearance of a hyperlink. Should you underline a text link? These days it’s not the only way to signal a place to click. Other clues may be a different text color, font size or hover color. Your best choice is to pick one style and be consistent through out your web pages. Does underlining words that don’t link anywhere matter? On the Web, yes....
Read MoreHow Does Your Web Site Make Visitors Feel?
I’ve been exploring and researching the relationship between computers and people. More specifically, I’m fascinated by web sites and how, or if, they affect us emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. As a web site designer, what special power do you hold in your artistic hands? As a blogger, what kind of reaction are you seeking from readers? As a well branded company, are there in-house human instabilities that can be sensed by your online consumers? A change in...
Read MoreSave Money on Your Search Engine Strategies Conference New York Trip
I’m thrilled to tell you that as Founder and Owner of Cre8asiteforums, I can offer Cre8asiteforums members 20% off your registration fee for the next Search Engine Strategies Conference to be held in New York City in March. Visit Cre8asiteforums to sign up as a new member and register for the conference using your 20% off code. The New York Search Engine Strategies conference is one of the largest of their global events. This year’s keynote speaker is a true genius! This is your...
Read MoreNo Guidance, No Interaction, No Sale: Improving Internet Shopping Usability
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 manufacturer...
Read MoreCommon Web Site Usability Mistakes
When you built your first web site, didn’t you just want to promote it everywhere with big bold letters saying, “HEY EVERYONE! COME HERE AND LOOK AT MY WEBSITE! ISN’T IT GREAT?” Or, when you submit your web site to forums for web site reviews, what do you typically ask for? You may write, “Tell me what you think of my web site” or “Which color do you like better, blue or red?” or “Did I optimize for search engines properly?” The worst mistake you will make as a web site...
Read MorePeople Paid to Post Misleading Information on the Internet Is a Global Practice
The practice of marketing companies paying armies of people to post misleading, false information on blogs, forums and social sites is expanding globally. While the practice can be used to post fake positive reviews for pay, for example, more often these paid posts are intended to destroy competition. I’ve been getting unsolicited calls from companies looking to hire people to do “SEO work” where the work consists of signing up for fake accounts and posting fake testimonials...
Read MoreDoes Technology or the Internet Make People LESS Connected?
I was recently witness to a debate at a local gathering that began when one man angrily claimed that people who live on their cell phones and laptops are “selfish” and “not connected with people”. His statement turned into a long discussion with people as young as a woman in her early 20′s to a gentleman in his 70′s speaking their opinions. Interestingly, the youngest one in the bunch was the most reasonable. She agreed that many behaviors are impolite. She...
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