MightyMerchant eCommerce Blog

If you build an easily navigable site, chances are you’ve also built an SEO friendly site. But what are the keys to usability?

Here is insider information from one of the sessions at Search Engine Strategies San Jose, an SEO conference held from August 20, 23, 2007. Shari Thurow is Founder of Omni Marketing Interactive, a search engine optimization, web design, and usability firm. Here is Shari’s advice:

Keep the underline for clickable links. People are accustomed to it.
Keep it blue. Links should be blue, non-links should not be blue.
Vertical and horizontal links. This is all about cross-linking. She calls vertical links “breadcrumb links” in that that are “sense of place” cues. These links remind people of where they are and what they are searching for when when they are on a website. It’s the links through common content that communicate visited and unvisited pages. Horizontal cross links are embedded text links, related links, or links through an alphabet.
Provide contact information. You have four opportunities to provide this, in the Header, Footer, About Us page, and the Contact page. Use ‘em.
Keyword your website. Title tags, headings, contextual link and cross-links, product descriptions, and images with alt text all need your keyword love.
Have a glossary. Use some form of alphabetical navigation for this, either by dividing your glossary into a page for each letter or breaking up the alphabet into thirds.
Have a sitemap. However, relying on your sitemap to help visitors find their way around is a fatal flaw.
Use simple URLs. People will only remember you if you are short and snappy

This seems so, so, so . . . simple, but you would be surprised at the number of sites who don’t follow these practices. Would you like your site held up as an example of bad usability at the next SES San Jose? Nah, didn’t think so.

Source: http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/014610.html

Posted on August 24th, 2007 by Vanessa
Filed under: Web Design and Usability