ux + seo: let's be friends by michael king
TRANSCRIPT
UX + SEOLet’s Be Friends
Michael KingSEO Manager
@ipullrankPublicis Modem
Download these slides bit.ly/seoplusux
Building a user experience without SEO in mind is like building a car with no engine.
RANT
I don’t believe in bad user experience for the sake of SEO.
Stop making ugly sites and blaming it on the need for SEO
RANT
Make compelling experiences with utility
RANTDo Less of this Do More of this
Any Creative that thinks SEO will limit their abilities to deliver a quality product isn't very (ahem) creative.
Yeah, it’s an orphan. What you gonna do
about it?!
SEO is a springboard not an anchor
RANT
User Experience is only compromised by SEO when it is retrofitted to the design process
Inject SEO into the design process as early as possible
RANT
SEO absolutely MUST be an active consideration and ideally the driver of every step of a site build
SEO = DNA
RANT
UX is very important to SEO because there is evidence that Googlebot and Bingbot may be headless web browsers.
Google also just revealed that they can crawl AJAX
RANT
See: http://ipullrank.com/googlebot-is-chrome and http://bit.ly/sT0Vvj
Most importantly SEO is about helping people find what they want and presenting it to them in a way that they expect.
The old keyword classes are dead; identify need states
RANT
NavigationalInformationalTransactional
Need StatesBusiness GoalsNavigationalInformationalTransactional
I’m done ranting, let’s talk about the mistakes that I’ve learned from
</RANT>
MISTAKE
Never leave your Creative or Tech team to their own devices
Your development and Creative teams will just do what works. To them building for Search is utterly unnatural. Don‘t let them build anything before you see it.
Cheech & Chong’s Magic Brownie Adventure was an awesome campaign developed by my team but the site was built with no
SEO considerations at all. Not even a page title.
MISTAKE
Faceted navigation is an option when handled properly
LG’s site is a nightmare for a variety of reasons but one of my favorite is the 1997 frames-inspired navigation that features over 200 links and is impossible to mouse over properly.
Some battles you cannot win.
MISTAKE
Sometimes your team or the client will be so far off the mark that there is nothing you can do but wait for the redesign.
Giant flash videos are cool, right?
What do you mean navigation should be text?
The Expandable DIV is your best friend.
SUCCESS
Use expandable DIVs to keep large blocks of text from being obtrusive to design
Keyword-relevant information architecture MUST come from SEO
SUCCESS
Drive the Content Strategy by preparing an SEO Copy Brief that thoroughly outlines the information architecture with regard to target keywords and identify the objectives and target audience.
Apply pressure during the Wireframe phase to ensure success.
SUCCESS
Adding considerations at the wireframe stage allows everyone to be on the same page about how and why SEO is to be accomplished.
Get involved throughout the lifecycle from strategy to measurement
SUCCESSRECIPE
Social Listening/ Need State
Determination/ Keyword Research
Keyword Mapping /
Information Architecture
Creative / Copy / Tech Development
Push Live / Conversion Rate Optimization / Measurement
SEO DefinesInfo Architecture
SEO Validates User Experience
SEO Drives Measurement
Mine the conversation in social media for personas and keywords
SOCIAL LISTENING
Scout Labs
Social Mention
Alterian SM2
Here comes a case study!
Show your Work.
We used social listening to identify need states and build personas
CASE STUDY
Research Decision-making Booking Pre-flight Travel Post-travelMotivation
to travel
Need States
Examples of W
hat’s happening
Occasion:-Season/Holiday-NY’ eve -Valentine’s D-Honeymoon-Birthday gift-Anniversary-Stag do-Reunion-Accomplishment-Time off
Experience: -Broaden horizon-Hobby/skill-Well-being/R&R-Adventure-Landscape (sea, mountain, plant)-Weather (sun, snow, wind)
Get Ideas:From friends, family,colleagues, extended social media network, bloggers, TV personalities, movies, activity groups & forums
Search for:Occasion or experience sought on google, publications, forums, social media groups,etc
Search for:Activity and experience options at different destinations
Compare:Destination options based on timings, costs, and ease of getting there
Search for:-Cheapest flight options based on timings - Cheapest flight options based on destination (look for promos and time suggestions)
Compare:Time options vs. budget across key providers
Commit:To a scenario
Locate:Key trip info: -Luggage rules-Check in time-Terminal to go to-Currency exchange -Ways to and from airport-Travel tips
Book: -Car hire-Accommodation-Airport bus
Manage:Info updates, efficient and easy task completion
Connect:-With local info -With resources (guides, gurus)-Activity ideas
Record:-Experiences-Memories-New ideas, contacts, knowledge
Organize:-Memories/events -Evidence you’ve been there/ Memorabilia-New ideas
Package:Trip takeouts so as to extend the benefits gained from the trip
Share: To build on and showcase who you are
I want to collect new experience, add to my
personal story, and create special memories
What is out there that would be fun and
interesting to do alone and/or with the people I
care about?
Of the options available, what is feasible given
time & budget constraints?
Who’s going to help me fine tune and make the
plan possible?
What do I need to do to activate my trip so that it’s as easy as possible?
Who can I rely on to help me make the most of my
trip?
How do I crystallize my travels so that they are
easy to share, and provide inspiration to
me and others evermore?
Inspiration Research Commitment Experience
1. 2. 3. 4 5. 6. 7.
Discoveries in social listening must dictate the SEO, content strategy and UX
Map need states to core semantic groups to develop site maps
CASE STUDY
Occasion Activity Destination Offering Simplify Connect Remember
Flights
Logistics
City/Airport
Cheap Flights
Timing
Country/Region
Core Semantic Groups We identified the need state matched the client’s business goals and mapped them to semantic groups to dictate the information architecture.
Research Decision-making Booking Pre-flight Travel Post-travelMotivation
to travel
1. 2. 3. 4 5. 6. 7.
We mapped those to our keyword research and developed content
CASE STUDY
Identify what people want and present it in a way that matches their expectations using the language they expect in order to provide the best user experience to your target audience and improve conversion.
We built a user experience indicative of these considerations
CASE STUDY
Navigation and sub-navigation reflect need
states
UX and content developed with the
concerns of our personas
Turns out we’re pretty good at this.
CASE STUDY
Bookings
Organic Traffic
We improved rankings and conversions dramatically by marrying these concepts.
So what else can we do?
The NextLevel
KLD Source Code: http://ipullrank.com/code/keyword-demographics/
SOCIALDESIGN
FB:Admin Search Referrers
Keyword-LevelDemographics
Placing a site on Facebook’s OpenGraph and having a user opt-in allows you to get their FB data whenever they come to your site. Matching that with search referrers gives you demographics at a keyword-level.
For more applications of KLD see: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/keyword-level-demographics
KEYWORDOWNERSHIP
Curious George Gamer Film Purist Tech Geek
• 18-32• Male• Loves indie rock• Wishes he had a beard
• 18-32• Male• Loves all music• Wishes he could move out
his mom’s basement
• 22-40• Male• Loves film soundtracks• Wishes he could live in the
movie Avatar
• 22-40• Male• Loves Techno• Wishes you would stop
invading his online privacy
OWNER
• 5000 Searches Monthly• Conversion Rate 5%
• 600 Searches Monthly• Conversion Rate 2%
• 1000 Searches Monthly• Conversion Rate 0.5%
• 100 Searches Monthly• Conversion Rate 0.2%
This data allows you to determine which of your target personas dominates traffic and conversions for a given keyword.
Use social data to improve the user experience and conversion
RESPONSIVEDESIGN
Using the FB data user experiences can be tailored dynamically to reflect properties of the persona when they visit.
Curious George
• 18-32• Male• Loves indie rock• Wishes he had a beard
What Normal Users See What Curious George Sees
OBLIGATORYCAT PICTURE
UX SEO
UX and SEO are good buddies now and they are going places!
