Website Usability Equals Better SEO
Today’s SEO tip is very short but it is a really good reminder for us, SEOs, that website success is not primarily about search bots - make it for people in the first place.
The SEO tip is provided by Scott of Usable.co.nz
Make your website as easy-to-use as possible for humans.
For example:
- use a simple navigation menu located in a conventional position (e.g. top left);
- avoid jargon except when you know your audience will understand it;
- be concise!
- provide an RSS feed by reader *and* email subscription; some humans dislike readers;
- note that the optimal unordered list size is 5 items before the average brain leaks memory.
Any more quick tips to improve site usabiluty (+SEO)? Please share them in the comments!
Have an SEO tip to share and get recoginition? Submit your SEO tip!
28 Responses to “Website Usability Equals Better SEO”
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RT@BWelford RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO << you should
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RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO
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RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO
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RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO << you certainly should.
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RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO - couldn’t agree more
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RT @seosmarty: Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO
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Do you care about usability when doing SEO: http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh Usability Equals Better SEO
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RT @briancray: RT @igrafix RT @the_gman: Reading: “Website Usability Equals Better SEO | Daily SEO Tip” ( http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh )
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RT @igrafix RT @the_gman: Reading: “Website Usability Equals Better SEO | Daily SEO Tip” ( http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh )
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RT @the_gman: Reading: “Website Usability Equals Better SEO | Daily SEO Tip” ( http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh )
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Reading: “Website Usability Equals Better SEO | Daily SEO Tip” ( http://tinyurl.com/c4wlmh )
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Just a curiosity - where is this statement cited by a credible source, “note that the optimal unordered list size is 5 items before the average brain leaks memory.”?
,Michael Martin
Google And Blog
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usability consultant Reply:
February 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Michael
Good question. “7 items plus or minus 2” is a general rule of thumb for information design; based upon several psychological studies that have shown our brain’s capacity to store and recall individuals items is in this range from 5 to 9 items. We go with the low figure of 5 items because, well, simple is better. And 5 items is simpler than 9; especially these days when people love sound bites and twitter-like chunks of data. Who really has time to read a long list?
usability consultant’s last incredible blog post..Business process modeling has evolved - big time!
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iCan't Internet Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Ok, this is new to me, but indeed,true…
And, as you say, besides the memory issue, there is also to time/boring issue, who wants to read a list with 223 bullets?
So, thank you for this great info!
iCan’t Internet’s last incredible blog post..Google in 2012?
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usability consultant Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
A great article around the 7+/-2 rule: Does your navigation pass the test?
usability consultant’s last incredible blog post..Website usability evaluation package
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Certainly important to maintain usability! After all conversions is really what its all about!
Mike Belasco’s last incredible blog post..Post-Post-Holiday Party - Presentations & Contest Winners!
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I entirely agree. Usability is very important, even if it’s got nothing to do with SEO.
Joel Drapper’s last incredible blog post..How Do You Come Up With Post Ideas?
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A simple tip but one so frequently forgotten.
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I think five items in a list is the absolute maximum if you want to have most visitors keep going through the list. Myself I prefer only three items in a list. People might even remember those after moving elsewhere, which may help conversions.
Barry Welford’s last incredible blog post..Predatory Credit Card Practices
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I couldn’t agree more! It doesn’t matter how highly a site ranks in SERPs if once visitors get there the site is a disaster. Many aspects of on-site SEO, like properly optimized text navigation links, are equally important to SEO and to usability.
Alysson’s last incredible blog post..7 Things That Will Happen At IM Spring Break
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iCan't Internet Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Very true, what’s the use of having 500 visitors a day if 497 of them leave because your website s*cks bigtime.
And most probably, the 3 other visitors are your parents and your wife/hubby
iCan’t Internet’s last incredible blog post..Google in 2012?
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This is one aspect of SEO I’m really putting to use as I launch my first e-com site, hopefully this year.
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Keep up the great work
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One of the best ways to see how your web site looks to a search engine is to see how it looks in Lynx browser. You can use one free at http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
D. A. Shaver’s last incredible blog post..Seven Basic Things Necessary To Be On The First Page Of A Google Search
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iCan't Internet Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Lynx should be standard on every windowspc instead of that bl***y IE
iCan’t Internet’s last incredible blog post..Google in 2012?
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Hey! Remember this tip is for humans, not for bots!
But it’s true, let’s take down IE.
I never heard of that “5 item list” before too - great tip!
Frank Marcel’s last incredible blog post..Carnaval ou Oscar? Qual o mais buscado?
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Whenever I design a website I always make it easy to navigate and make sure the navigation is easy and clear to stand out. As always, these are great tips.
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This is one aspect of SEO I’m really putting to use as I launch my first e-com site, hopefully this year.
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