Recommended Affiliate Programs
Another
Look at SEO
By - Chance Hogan
I think it's reasonably
safe to assume that most people have used search engines at some time to
research products and services. Whether you're looking for a wedding planner or
to find the nearest pizza restaurant, the answer is online, all you have to do
is ask. Conversely, if you have a commercial website, achieving multiple first
page search engine rankings can drive thousands of qualified visitors to your
site every day.
Advertising or Information
TV, Radio and Printed
advertising is intrusive; it attempts to interrupt the viewer, listener or
reader long enough to take notice of a marketing message. This type of marketing
is known as Push marketing. Here the marketing message along with where and when
it's delivered, are pretty much controlled by the advertiser.
The internet reverses this
process, internet users turn search engines in order to receive the information
they want at a time and place that suits them. Think about this, before there
were search engines printed directories like Yellow Pages were the only way that
you could locate a service. In the same way that someone using Yellow Pages to
locate a wedding planner is likely to be looking for someone to help plan a
wedding, someone using a search engine to research and locate your products or
services is probably in the market for what you offer. This is called pull
marketing.
I am not suggesting that
traditional marketing no longer works, rather I am pointing out that someone who
arrives at your site via a search engine is proactively seeking information. The
chances are they have already decided to buy and are looking to locate a
product. They are not looking for advertising or hype, they want information,
they want it to be easily accessible, and they want the site to be user
friendly.
What has Usability and
Accessibility to do with SEO
Failing to consider
accessibility or usability is failing to consider your visitors. At the end of
the day SEO is rather more than simply obtaining search engine positions, it
must in some way produce a return on investment. More sales, more leads or more
opt-ins is what SEO is really about. Sure, search engine visibility plays a big
part but remember this, no one ever buys from a search engine!
Accessibility
The fact is, many
accessibility techniques could be considered SEO and vice versa. For example:
·
Using CSS to separating style from content.
·
Minimizing on-page JavaScript.
·
Using valid, standards compliant code.
These simple steps will
allow search engines to spider, index, categorize and rank web pages much
easier. Furthermore, pages will download faster, be accessible to a wider range
of browsers, older technologies and assistive devices such as screen readers.
Note that each of Google's guidelines actually correlates with a W3C Web Content
Accessibility Guideline.
One should not forget the
legal responsibility to provide accessible web pages. Over recent years there
have been some high profile court cases where companies have been successfully
sued for failing to provide websites that are accessible to all.
Usability
Good usability enhances
the visitor experience and encourages visitors to stay on your site longer. A
great visitor experience rarely happens by chance, rather, it stems from an
intimate understanding of your visitors and their immediate and long term goals.
·
Identifying the different personas or groups of people who visit your
website
·
Evaluating the range of goals they have
·
Structuring information into logical paths
·
Help them achieve their goals in the minimum number of clicks.
The paths should initially
address your visitors immediate needs by answering their questions and concerns
then steer them towards completing the goal or call to action you have set out
for them.
In Summary
SEO in the purest sense is about gaining search engine positions. If you know
enough about SEO you will realize that just about any page will rank if you
point enough links at it. But what will happen when a visitor lands on one of
your pages, is the navigation intuitive, does the website think like them, do
your pages render quickly in their browser of choice, does it project trust,
will it make a sale?
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About The Author:
This article was written by Chance Hogan who writes for SEO Scotland a company that specializes in marketing Scottish business online.
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