User Experience Supports Findabilty and Usability
I’m always asked how to explain web site usability and why a site owner should bother investing in user experience design. What would make an impact on users? Understanding, in-depth, who web site visitors are is a good place to start. When we use the Web, we agree to an Internet, computer based experience. We may spend so much time with the journey itself that we never reach our destination. User experience design aids and supports findabilty and usability. Consider what happened when...
Read MoreCre8pc Article Nominated for a SEMMY
I keep forgetting to mention, that despite interrogating the founder of the SEMMYS, they somehow managed to nominate one of my articles. While the SEMMY awards are targeted to the search marketing industry, there is a Design and Usability category. It is there that an article I wrote for Website Magazine, called Everyday Usability – 14-Point Checklist for Success has been nominated for inclusion. Tomorrow, judges decide category finalists. Those finalists will be announced on January...
Read MoreWeb Site Beauty is only Skin
I used to have a quote taped to my bathroom that read, “Beauty is only skin.” I knew that no matter what I did or said, I would first be judged by my skin. So are web sites. Position, color, font, style, and length of important elements on pages within a site benefit from standardization because each page then “looks familiar” and adds to the effects of mere exposure. The site visitor’s comfort that “I’ve been here before” has empirical value...
Read MoreUser Experience is Everything
I loved reading “Ten Rules for Web Startups”….and not just because of this part: #5: Be User-Centric User experience is everything. It always has been, but it’s still undervalued and under-invested in. If you don’t know user-centered design, study it. Hire people who know it. Obsess over it. Live and breathe it. Get your whole company on board. Better to iterate a hundred times to get the right feature right than to add a hundred more. The point of Ajax is that it...
Read MoreInformation Architecture for SEO and Usability Slides
This is a bit longer than the version I delivered (I cut some slides). Slides are from my talk at SES Chicago 2009, Successful Site Architecture session. Information Architecture for SEO and UX View more presentations from Kim Krause...
Read More2009 Writings on SEO and UX by Kim Krause Berg
A look at the past year… I have likely forgotten something and if so, please let me know. Web Site Requirements Include Search Engine Marketing, page 43 of SES Magazine, Chicago Edition or on Clickz, Web Site Requirements: What to Include WebSite Magazine Moms in Business and Everyday Usability Everyday Usability – 14 Point Checklist for Success Constant attention must be given to how users and search engines interact with your site to ensure that you not only attract visitors, but...
Read MoreA Quiet Historical Step for SES Chicago 2009
As I head into my 15 year (February 1995) of working in the web design, marketing and usability space, it has been this year that has been the most unique. What finally happened, after years and years of writing on the friendly relationship between SEO and Usability, is that the message is understood and gaining acceptance. I’ve been partnered with a select minority of forward thinking SEO’s for 6 or so years. It’s taken that long for the rest of the industry to catch on to...
Read MoreCre8pc Blog: Tank Not Empty Yet (Just Busy)
When I started the Cre8pc blog, in 2002, blogging was nowhere as popular as it is today. Back then, blogging was still related to diaries and journals and often of a personal nature. Mine has evolved as trends change. Today, it’s the leading communication device that allows me to stay in touch with readers and friends. I used to post here every day and then a few days a week and now, if I’m lucky, a few times a month. In some ways, I’ve just run out of things to write...
Read MoreLearning From Conference User Feedback
I spend most of my days in my office with 2 cats and 2 dogs as my office-mates, dual monitors and a laptop. For me, “talking” to people is all done virtually. When I tap into what’s happening in the industries I work in, the feedback is limited and based on my “friends” and “followers” living in the land of the Internet. This is one reason why I enjoy industry conferences. They get me out of the house and office. They’re far more exciting than...
Read MoreSearch Marketing and Social Media Camp This Weekend for $21
This weekend a special event takes place in Philadelphia for those who want to learn more about search engine marketing, web site usability and social media. It’s called Search Camp and Social Media Camp. For a small attendance fee of $21 (no catch. That’s all it is!), you get a weekend at Temple University with a small group of like-minded folks and experienced speakers. There are 5 time slots, beginning at 10am, with 4 choices of sessions to pick from. The last one ends at...
Read MoreMy Talk For SMX East
I am scheduled to speak at SMX East in New York City, October 5, in the Analytics & Conversion, “Increasing Conversions Through Better Usability” afternoon session. There are several questions I’m commonly asked by web site owners, friends or prospective clients. One of them is, “Can you prove that usability improvements increase conversions?” Yes. In nearly every case that comes to me for help, they don’t have a site plan. Most of the money and time...
Read MoreLet’s Talk About [Insert Your Brand Here]
In this week’s Search Engine Land “Just Behave” column, you’ll find an article I wrote called Of Conversations And Conversions. Using real life examples, I hope to illustrate the power of conversation as it relates to conversions. Funnily enough, at least several times a week, someone will ask me to “prove” usability counts. They only want to pay for search engine marketing and put up Facebook. They don’t want to hear about ease of use,...
Read MoreSEO is Not “Voodoo”
A guest post by an anonymous writer appeared in TechCrunch, called The Time Has Come To Regulate Search Engine Marketing And SEO. Anytime I hear about regulating search engine marketing, I go to see the street brawl. The article focused on how evil Google, as the lKing of search engines, is. The writer makes valid points about how the search engine works and how ill advised it is to worship the Google god, because it can grant you a kingdom one day, and destroy your business just as swiftly...
Read MoreSearch Usability and Social Networking Reads and Discussions
I have a meeting to get to but wanted to share my latest article for Search Engine Land, called The Impact Of The Internet On Human Behavior. Are we worn out with social media? Do we really suffer from Internet fatigue? I think the answers depend on several factors, such as your age, where you live, personality, income, work life and personal values. To be sure, Internet marketers are having a blast and can’t quite figure out what all the fuss is about. And yet, in private, some of them admit...
Read MoreGet Clear on Usability and SEO Requirements
I like to keep things simple. I’ve found that when it comes to search engine marketing, usability, accessibility and user experience web design, the fear of doing something wrong can paralyze project momentum. I was asked, What new technologies adversely affect usability today? I replied, Any technique or technology that interferes with a user task is not recommended. Simple, right? Not so fast. In a perfect world (and with any smart business), putting a business online requires thought...
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