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Today, I had a small epiphany related to SEO/SEM/Internet Marketing. Whatever you call it (I’ll call it SEO from here-on in), I mean in terms of getting as high as possible in the SERP's. The theory is a little offbeat but please bear with me. I’m sure many SEO purists will flame this, but hey, it’s only a theory.

The Theory

OK, here goes. When going about your next SEO campaign do something radical. Imagine, if you will, that Search Engines don’t exist. Just think of your Users’ experiences. Bizarre and suicidal are words which may be in your mind at this moment. Take the following statements into account, though.

• The Search Engine’s primary function is to serve useful and relevant results to the user. The results that deliver satisfaction.
• The website in question has a similar primary function: To give the User the information they are seeking. To satisfy the user.
  

These two statements are very similar, showing that the Search Engine and the User have similar goals. In essence, the Search engine is trying to deliver usable websites to the User. Anything else is simply wasted space. So wouldn’t it be interesting if Search Engines jiggled their algorithm and highly weighted usability/satisfaction.

Doesn’t SEO Cloud This?

So, back to SEO. With a highly demanding SEO campaign it is very easy to slip into the mentality of tailoring the website for Search Engines. Biasing the website a lot towards Search Engines will essentially mean that you are driving a wedge between the two statements above. All the hard work you think you are doing could be putting a strain on the User’s satisfaction. A loss of site satisfaction and who knows, a loss in SERPs placements.

But Search Engines don’t really detect usability at the moment

OK, this is up for debate. But I believe that Search Engines place most of their efforts into ranking websites based upon statistics - essentially their algorithm. I cannot see a way (besides mass user testing and feedback - costly) that the Search Engine giants can measure Usability and Satisfaction at this time. (Any ideas on this are more than welcome.)

So you could say that at this time, the theory doesn’t lend any solutions to the SEO company.

So how could we use this theory today then?

Using similar principles to the above and a fresh mentality, one could use the following questions to improve SEO and usability at the same time.

1. Is the new feature/code/idea beneficial for the user?
2. Will it help my SEO campaign?

If the answer to (1) is No, then go onto something else. If it’s Yes for (1) and (2), get it going!

Think of the effects

OK, not all SEO companies think solely about a website in terms of SEO. It would be farcical to claim this. The good companies focus on SEO but take into account the fact that websites cannot be over-optimized and the experience cannot be made poorer to accommodate SEO.

But imagine if all websites were made using the theory of usable sites encourage SEO instead of Let’s SEO it with regards to nothing else. Websites, and the Internet as a whole, would fast become a more enjoyable, satisfying experience regardless of whether it helped in the SERPs. Only good can come out of it.

And over to you

I’d really love to hear your thoughts on the above. Do you agree with the ideas put forward? Is this merely a hypothetical world?

Yes, the title may look like this post should be on an amateur blog and that it will be full of references to clip art and animated gifs, but this is serious. I’ve compiled a list of what I think are 25 ways to improve your website in as little time as possible. All can be done in a matter of minutes. Now, a website is hard work and usually there are no quick fixes but this list should provide you with a few pointers to make some updates today. If you like, it can also be used as a basis for a quality check document.

Usability/Accessibility

Because it matters. If people can’t use your site, they won’t stay.

1. Navigation: Ensure that your navigation is easy to use and consistent. You may be able to use it, but could a newcomer find the information they desire?
2. Search: If you don’t have a search box, then why not? Sometimes navigation isn’t enough. It may not be a 5 minute job to add a custom search facility, but it is extremely quick to add a third party search like Google's.
   
3. Click here: Why? Change this phrase everywhere on your site. It doesn’t make sense out of context. The user has to read the whole paragraph (which they probably won't) understand why they should click there. Consider phrases like “Download the profit/loss graph” or “Listen to the podcast entitled food for thought.”
4. Title & Alt Attributes: Use them how they are supposed to be used. If you haven’t used any at all, then a quick fix will be to start adding them to navigation and other elements on every page.
5. General: If you’ve got any code snippets that could annoy the user, like resizing browser windows or opening new pages in a new window, then remove them. Just because you like something a particular way, your users may not. Don’t take over their desktop.

Search Engine Optimization - SEO

Because you want to be found. (On-page tips only here)

1. Titles: Add consistent, relevant but different titles (title tag) to every page in your site. If you already have titles, check that they are short and describe the content of the page.
2. Link around: Internal links to your pages (I’m thinking from the body copy here) are just as important as external links. Besides the usability gain, you have the unique opportunity of specifying your link and title text.
3. Strengthen keywords: Probably the quickest thing you can do. Highlight some keywords and phrases and add a strong tag (bold) around them. This shouldn’t be overused but can provide some positive results if used sparingly.
4. Headers: The correct use of headers (in a semantic, logical manner) can produce fantastic results. The H1 tag is the most important - try using some keywords in there.
5. Overkill: It seems whenever I speak to someone about SEO and give them some tips, they go way overboard. This can really ruin all the hard work you’ve done for the user. So remember, optimize with the user in mind. And stay away from dodgy SEO stuff - every time you use black-hat SEO, a kitten steps on broken glass.

Design/Development Process

Design is our passion. Let it show.

1. Images: By all means create beautiful images, but don’t forget to optimise them for the web. You may have a quick connection - not everybody does.
2. Design comes from scratch(pad): Don’t necessarily fire up your graphics editor before thinking about the design. It can only take 10 minutes to draw (you know - pencil and paper) various layouts and wireframe the design. Doing this will make you think more about placement of elements and less about the aesthetics.
3. Contrast/Text-size: Ensure that contrast levels and text sizes are ‘acceptable’ - There are no golden figures (although recommendations are available) to aim for but at least check with other people using different setups. Just because you have perfect 20:20 vision doesn’t mean that anyone can read your site.
4. Consistency: There’s nothing worse (OK - an exaggeration, yes) than a website that doesn’t function consistently. A user can find it hard enough to learn how a website is put together without having to remember all the little quirks and foibles on your site.
5. Testing: Check (or get others to check) the site under as many conditions as possible. Try to do this every time the site has a significant update. It’s worth it as it only takes a minute or two.

Content

That’s why people visit the site.

1. Text/Whitespace: There’s a big trap that often people fall into. Whitespace. How many times have you heard “we need to fill that space and cram the text in a bit more” ? More text in a single area isn’t a good thing. It can make it harder and less enjoyable to read the content. It you had a shop would you cram as many products in as possible? No. You’d let them have space so they get noticed. Do the same with your text.
2. Write for your audience: Can people understand your text? Think about your audience and reword those confusing sentences.
3. Corporate Boasting: Which is more useful ~ “We provide 200 megaunits of wobble-sprockets to our worldwide, global markets” ~ or ~ “We can provide a wobble-sprocket to you anywhere in the world.” Speak to the reader and engage them. Don’t waffle.
4. Use interest: If someone has read an article or item of content, then it is fair to assume that they were interested. Instead of leaving them high-and-dry after an article, point them somewhere related, whether it be another article or a product perhaps.
5. Objectives: When writing content, make a little mental note of what your goal is for the page (e.g. encourage registration) and try to guess what the users goal is (e.g. to get at information.) Match the two (e.g. “to find this information simply sign up”) and you’re golden.

Off-Site

Because it’s not all about you.

1. Hang out: For reasons surrounding traffic and respect. Go to forums, blogs and portals within your niche and hang out. Offer advice, link up with people and gain respect. Doing this for 10 minutes a day will improve your image and lead to quality, niche-lead traffic. A bonus. Oh, and don’t spam your community.
2. Learn: As well as handing out advice, listen. Whether it be listening to colleagues, competition or potential clients you are bound to learn an awful lot just by witnessing other people’s actions.
3. Encourage viral promotion: Not particularly in a gimmicky-email-newsletter fashion (that takes budget and time) but in a social fashion. Tell your friends and colleagues (and clients if relevant) something unique about you, your company or website and chances are they’ll pass it on. 5 minutes of blabbering could lead to heaps of traffic.
4. Be yourself: When interacting online, don’t conform to internet stereotypes - just be yourself. Doing this will mean that you are natural when interacting online and more likely to take a similar approach as you would offline. So, take your offline business ways online.
5. Spam: As in don’t spam. Every time you spam, you are adding disrespect to your own company/site. It’s the real-world equivalent of pushing a leaflet into a potential customer’s mouth.

And there we go. I hope this list is useful and has shown you how easy it is to improve various aspects of your website and its marketing. This isn’t exhaustive by any means - as I said earlier it takes effort and time to really get your site near-perfect. Evolution is the key: tweak, feedback, measure and repeat. Oh, and before you go looking, no, I don’t always practice what I preach!

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