| I read an article just now in a webmaster newsletter | | | | totally different perspective. |
| I subscribe to. The author was introducing, at least to | | | | 1. Search engines and web developers seek the |
| me, a web design concept he called "Sensory and | | | | same results (ideally). Search engines are on an |
| Experience Design" or SenEx. Basically he's saying | | | | unending quest to improve relevancy and a good |
| that incorporating audio and video will improve visitor | | | | web developer/optimizer's sole purpose is to express |
| engagement, thus website performance. Now I don't | | | | his client's offerings to the most relevant audience. |
| dispute the concept, in fact I wrote an article earlier | | | | 2. The way a search engine "scores" a website is, in |
| this year about the use of Flash to improve website | | | | general terms, the way human beings view a |
| ROI. The problem I have is with his insistence that | | | | website: headlines, bullet points, text and images. First |
| those of us who believe in Search Engine | | | | we scan for relevance, then we read, look at images, |
| Optimization are responsible for unfriendly, unengaging | | | | watch video, etc. I have always taught my clients |
| and poor performing websites. | | | | that SEO makes the site both more user friendly and |
| While the SEO universe has it's share of black hat | | | | search engine friendly. |
| charlatans and just plain lazy, incompetent | | | | 3. Web performance is, or should be, measured in |
| practitioners, I believe that the beauty of what we | | | | terms of ROI. Long gone are the days when we |
| do (done correctly) is that it improves both the | | | | cared about overall site traffic, other than trend |
| visitor's experience with the website and with the | | | | issues. In 1996 people were mesmerized by "hits." |
| search engine. | | | | Now the word never comes up. My clients want to |
| The author of the SenEx article lists 7 questions that | | | | know how many sales or how many leads they got |
| website owners should ask themselves about the | | | | last month. |
| impact of SEO on their websites. | | | | 4. Website content was and is king. Fads, like |
| 1. Do the search engine tactics employed on your site | | | | reciprocal links, come and go but responsible |
| degrade, obscure, or in some way diminish the ability | | | | developers continue to stress unique and timely |
| of your website visitors to quickly find the | | | | content. This is so in part because search engines will |
| information they want? | | | | always try to find ways to evaluate and rank that |
| 2. Do these search engine tactics impede your ability | | | | content. Remember, visitors want relevant content |
| to effectively deliver your marketing message in a | | | | and search engines want visitor loyalty. |
| way that attracts attention, triggers relevant sensory | | | | 5. New forms of content have become relevant to |
| experience, and embeds your message in your | | | | the medium thanks to broadband adoption rates. |
| visitors' memories? | | | | While I'm still a little dubious about stand alone audio |
| 3. Do tactics like outbound reciprocal links and inline | | | | for most commercial websites, there is no doubt |
| body-text links send people away from your site | | | | video has come of age. It's a great way to |
| when you want them to stick around and hear what | | | | personalize the site the way a good salesman |
| you have to say? | | | | personalizes the pitch. |
| 4. Do you have excessive repetitive copy-text on | | | | 6. Finally, a significant responsibility of a good web |
| your site aimed at being indexed by search engines | | | | developer or SEO professional is to help the client to |
| rather than read by people for clear concise | | | | distill his complex message into a series of bullet-like |
| understanding? | | | | points. On the web people are in a hurry. They'll scan |
| 5. Have you reduced your complex message or | | | | that first page to determine its relevancy to their |
| instructions to a series of bulleted points that confuse | | | | quest. If you can't get your message across simply |
| rather than clarify? | | | | and quickly they're gone. Who am I and why should |
| 6. Do your search engine tactics concentrate on the | | | | you care? That's what marketing is all about. |
| volume of traffic rather than the quality? | | | | In my mind, SEO, knowledgeably practiced, is a key |
| 7. Is the traffic you're attracting leaving your site as | | | | to web success and those who ignore the practical |
| fast as it's arriving? | | | | realities and limitations of the web's infrastructure are |
| As someone who has been developing and optimizing | | | | doomed to have pretty websites but few |
| websites for 10 years, I guess I've developed a | | | | customers. |