Why suffer the charlatans

I'd argue not much, but there are some things that SEO can teach us that we might otherwise ignore. For one, SEO takes a lot of care to include all of the relevant keywords in site copy. Good copy writing tells us to vary our vocabulary, but SEO tells us which variations are going to be most attractive to indexers. SEO also likes links embedded in-line and in context, something that modern UX seems to avoid. In addition to potentially improving your page rank, inline links can give a feeling of serendipity as a user moves around a site. I don't think SEO is a good enough reason to make decisions about your vocabulary or how you link to items on your site, but it is an important consideration as you explore alternatives.

SEO also reminds us to look at our site's position in the greater virtual community that surrounds it. This includes everything from social media presences to a Wikipedia page about your site or organization. If you want a prime spot in the search results it's really important that other site link to you. The best possible external links are from reputable sources like .gov, .edu sites or major news organizations. Getting these folks to take notice might not be in the UX job description, but a great experience is going to do more to convince others to link to you than anything short of a scandal.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

View the original article here