Warmest Greetings,

:: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 ::

We're All Doing It

(Someone wrote): "Hypocrits' because *all* attempts to influence the search results can justifiably be called spam, and everyone who is engaged in search engine optimisation is engaged in attempts to influence the search results."

I guess we're all hyocrits then, eh? Everyday humans do countless things to try and influence something - a mate, potential lover, boss, teacher, and I'm not afraid to admit that in my 20's and 30's, before settling down to my present life as a boring person, (!), I did my damdest to make sure I looked HOT before going out with friends, to influence those "search results" at the bars or dance clubs. You know what I'm saying? We all optimize, my friend. (wink)
......................................................................

Copy This Down

I don't consider good copy writing to be SPAM. Several SEO "gurus" rave about SEO copywriting. It takes certain skills, but less of the nonsense that was formerly drilled into our heads (and which I always ignored because I was never that desperate), such as keyword density per page counts. I've never done this for my site or a client. Never needed to. Good copy written on a single topic works just fine. It'll be found. People will link to it because it's useful and informative and makes sense - not because it had 15.2 keywords on it.
......................................................................

You built it. They came. Then what happened?


You don't need access to your server logs to get some great pointers from this article from DigitalWeb (http://www.digital-web.com/tutorials/tutorial_2002-07.shtml)

"... but two things are often missed. First, how the link to your site is presented in the results is critical. Next, what are visitors experiencing once they select that link? Many sites spend significant resources ensuring high placement in search engines, but usually little effort is spent on designing how those results are displayed and whether the pages they point to will help the visitor achieve their goal."

As I've mentioned here and on Cre8pc.com many people think the job is done when the site is designed, launched and being promoted. But what often happens afterwards, especially in situations where the site's goal is to generate sales leads or sell products, is poor traffic, site abandonment, no leads and no sales.

This article touches on usability issues that occur after the site is found in search engines, as well as how your site is linked and made searchable.

-- Kim

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 7/24/2002 08:18:47 PM

:: Today's Post Permalink | Back to the BLOG Home
:: Website Evaluations
:: Email this Post  
:.................................

Feed Bin

• User Centered Design
• Usability Industry Research
• Increase Website Conversions
• Starter Ecommerce Checklist

• Web Design & The Usability Effect
• Usability and SEO Humor

Crooked sunglasses

My artistic friends love this picture.

• About Kim Krause Berg
• My resume (PDF)
• July 2004 : Interview with Kim
• My Partners
• My Articles
• Not About Me
• Me Again (My Fave Blog Posts)
• August 2005 : Expanding on Usability - An Interview with Kim Krause Berg
• Kim's Wish List

Recent Posts

[7/23/2002 7:40:33 PM | Kimberly Krause] She's an...

Monthly Archives

It's That Book Again

Conversions Topic is New York Times Best Seller (Seriously)

Kim is a Member of the Usability Professionals Association

"This report exceeded my expectations. After reading it a few times, I went through and highlighted those parts of your actionable advice that I want to implement right away... I ended up highlighting most of the report. Stellar job. I won't hesitate to recommend you to one of my own clients." -- Andy Hagans of AndyHagans.com

"I have implemented the most obvious changes and I suppose the fact that we've seen an immediate increase in sales/conversions is no coincidence. I'd highly recommend your service to anyone running a serious web based business." -- Steve Clay, Plumeriabay.com

"As soon as we get our hands on one of her usability studies, my clients and I have a better understanding of what needs to be done with their sites to make them the best they can be from their site visitors' perspective."
-- Jill Whalen, HighRankings.com

"This is an exemplary piece of work." -- Rand Fishkin, SEOMoz.org

View more Testimonials | Clients
Learn about Website improvement services.