As many other people have noticed, sometimes, SEO efforts can tend to become too focused on search engines. Though obviously, the search engines should be a prime consideration, we cannot totally discount the importance of the end users – human users. This is what user experience is all about.
In SEO parlance, user experience is also dubbed as UE or UX. To be honest, I only came across this term recently, thanks to Shari Thurow at Search Engine Land. In a post published yesterday, she shares her thoughts on UX:
Search engine optimization is all about the user experience, because the idea behind SEO is to get users to their desired information and destination(s) as quickly and easily as possible by using the users’ language (keywords). Searchers type in keywords at a commercial web search engine. Searchers’ expectations are validated in search results pages and, hopefully, after they click on links within those search results…a perfect, seamless user experience.
An important point that we should put under consideration is the difference between UX and the perceived UX, the former being what human users actually experience and the latter being what SEO experts may think their users want to experience. Though sometimes, these two factors jive, more often than not, there is a disparity. That is why it is important that when working on SEO, you have to bear in mind UX – the real deal. Do not be limited by your own perceptions, actually open your mind to reality and adjust your strategies accordingly.
3 Comments to "Do You Pay Attention To User Experience?"
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Ya know that is very interesting to be reminded that it is about the people that visit our sites and not just about the almighty Google. Thanks for the reminder.
Regards,
Darrin
I prefer an uncluttered, easy to follow design. Too much content looses me. We all have short attentions spans.
Speaking of user experience guys. I’ve checked dozens of sites with your valuate application, and your google backlinks and page rank still are not working????
No other site is having problems with google PR, so maybe google have blocked your site?