Warmest Greetings,

:: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 ::

When you receive a tacky email from Nigera asking for money >>> PUBLIC AWARENESS ADVISORY REGARDING "4-1-9" OR "ADVANCE FEE FRAUD" SCHEMES . There's some interesting stuff on this FBI site.

"Several reasons have been submitted why Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud has undergone a dramatic increase in recent years. The explanations are as diverse as the types of schemes. The Nigerian Government blames the growing problem on mass unemployment, extended family systems, a get rich quick syndrome, and, especially, the greed of foreigners.

Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate. In all likelihood, there are victims who do not report their losses to authorities due to either fear or embarrassment."

I'm mad as hell and won't take it anymore. IMPORTANT - Google Needs Your Opinion

"I believe that the display of PageRank on the Google Toolbar is not serving a useful purpose. Even more, it is creating very unnatural distortions in the growth and evolution of the web page population on the Internet."

Oddly enough, people aren't interested in usability evaluations these days. It appears as though a few things are happening.

Nobody on the planet who has a website has any money.
Nobody on the planet with a website cares if that website works or not.
Nobody on the planet with a website had a plan that included user testing.

Instead, they designed it for themselves.

Nobody on the planet with a website thinks usability matters because if they pay for the number 1 spot in search engines, people will come. I swear they completely forget that getting there is only part of the equation. What happens when the number #2 spot has a better website? Competition is a click away, click away, click away...

Webmasters ignore examples such as this:

Not long ago I filled out a form. Apparently I did something wrong, but there was no error message or user instructions to warn me until AFTER I hit the submit button, at which point the form told me I screwed up. There was no way back other than the "back" button, but when I went to correct my mistakes, guess what? The form had erased every single field I'd filled out!!! Of course I wasn't about to waste another half hour putting everything back in, so I clicked off.

Don't webmasters test their own forms?

You'd be amazed how many ecommerce websites have forms and shopping cart processes that lose customers because of this very scenerio. Even worse, they don't place any user feedback forms on their website to report defects or for customer service comments.

Someone suggested I publically expose websites I find that fail usability standards. I think it would be better to hire me instead and we'll tackle your trouble spots privately. Unless, of course, you WANT the attention.

It's never enough to make a website optimized for search engines. Those spiders aren't going to make you rich. People who like your website, recommend it to others, don't get lost using it, and purchase from it, might. Usability and user testing are often smarter investments than advertising. Smart SEO's, like Jill Whalen of HighRankings.com, offer my usability services as part of their overall SEO package. Feel free to ask her why sometime. Compare the help she offers with those SEO's that don't offer website usability evaluations.

See who gives you more bang for your buck.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 10/21/2003 11:24:13 AM

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

Feed Bin

Learn how to make RSS Feed Buttons

Highly Recommended!
(Read review)
Search Engine Marketing Kit, by Dan Thies

• 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 Articles
• Me Again (My Fave Blog Posts)
• August 2005 : Expanding on Usability - An Interview with Kim Krause Berg
• Kim's Wish List

Recent Posts

Picture day! First, we get into the Halloween/F...

Guess what she did? Poll: Should I take tomorrow o...

Killer question of the day. Punishment. - "On one...

For those trying to access Cre8asiteForums, you're...

I've spent some time playing with the samples of r...

Another one of those declarations has been made - ...

Just launched! The Cre8pc Usability Testing Ce...

If you put up a webpage, is it considered "publish...

There's no nail in Yahoo's coffin or a memorial se...

Today's fun-filled walk around the Internet brough...

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.