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SEO and User Experience (UX): A Vision of Collaboration

Sep 15, 2014

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It’s not enough just to rank highly and drive keyword traffic these days (if you can even do that after Google’s Panda algorithm update). You also need to win over the customer by providing breakthrough experiences that anticipate their needs while providing real, tangible value. The new generation of SEOs understands this, which is why they’re also focused on information architecture and user experience.

In this session, you’ll see world-class examples of how you can bring these disciplines together in your companies and organizations in order to delight your users, plug holes in your conversion rate, and drive more qualified traffic. No “best practices” or baseless theories here – just real-life tactics that solved problems and drove conversion. SEOs and IA/UX pros don’t need to butt heads (or headbutt!) when they can collaborate together to improve the cross-channel experience.

Are you having trouble meeting the needs of your users while growing your traffic? This is the panel for you.

Originally presented by Jonathon Colman, John Goad, Mike Pantoliano, Michael King, and Ben Lloyd at the first-ever Seattle Interactive Conference (SIC 2011) in Seattle, Washington.

You can learn more about Jonathon Colman at http://www.jonathoncolman.org/
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Page 1: SEO and User Experience (UX): A Vision of Collaboration
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SEO + UXA Brief Introduction

Jonathon ColmanIn-house SEO at REI

about.me/jcolmanTwitter @jcolman

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Converge

UXSEO

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Converge

Designfor people

Accountfor robots

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Humans design robots.

So there’s part of usinside them.

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Speakers John Goad [AddThree]

@JohnGoad

Mike Pantoliano [Distilled]@MikeCP

Michael King [Publicis Modem]@iPullRank

Ben Lloyd [Amplify Interactive]@Blizzle

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Speakers John Goad [AddThree]

@JohnGoad Mike Pantoliano [Distilled]

@MikeCP

Michael King [Publicis Modem]@iPullRank

Ben Lloyd [Amplify Interactive]@Blizzle

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SEO is UX for Robots

John GoadSEO

@johngoadAddThree.com

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Users

5000 Searches MonthlyConversion Rate 5%

5000 Searches MonthlyConversion Rate 5%

Billions of Monthly Searches *Conversion Rate Varies

*it depends

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HumansHumans leverage robots everyday looming for your content.

Publisher to Computer to Computer to Human.

Know how your humans are using computers and language to find content discovered by robots….

Good

We’re #1

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RobotsRobots have limitations.

Robots don’t read.

Robots don’t see.

But they have tons of friends and they love to make high quality introductions.

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Balance

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How

Think like a bot …. Some of the same “human” rules apply* on a high level.

Be the robot …

Humans first… then robots.

* not all

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Client

Well established internet based insurance provider (that does not want me to use their name).

I am in insurance … I need credibility but have fallen

off of page 1 to page 6.

Last SEO’s IA and content recommendations lost 75% of my

organic traffic.

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Problem

At first meeting client stated…. “I have a team in India buying links for me is that bad?”

UH OH…..

Real ProblemClient created over 20,000 pages of 3rd party veterinarian listings that watered down the main site content.

Lost Authotity

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Solution

Re-FocusWith Robot.txt file we excluded the directory that contained the veterinarian listings.

This increased the strength of the main content.

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Results

Client bounced back with better than original visibility.

• Credibility restored …. back on page 1.• Organic traffic back up to pre engagement

levels.

75% Total increase in Organic referrals.

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WinRobots help you…Make new friends and influencepeople.

People find you.

People link to you.

People talk about #you.

Help them help you.

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Thanks

John GoadDirector of Free [email protected]

@johngoad

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Speakers John Goad [AddThree]

@JohnGoad

Mike Pantoliano [Distilled]@MikeCP

Michael King [Publicis Modem]@iPullRank

Ben Lloyd [Amplify Interactive]@Blizzle

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Not Just More Traffic,Better Traffic

Smart IA and Site Navigation

Mike Pantoliano@MikeCPDistilled

This presentation is available here: http://dis.tl/sic-seo

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In An Ideal World

• Clean Slate• Map out sitemap for UX/SEO

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IA / SEO

Sure, this is nice, but large sites can really struggle

Competitiveness

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Faceted Navigation

TrendToGo.com Amazon.com BestBuy.com

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Our Example

• Large eComm site• 100,000+ High End Stationary Products• Faceted Navigation• Great User Experience• Awful for SEO

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The Big Problem

AJAX does not create new pages!

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The Big Problem

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Result

Missing out on tons of longer-tail traffic!

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Other Problems

JavaScript isn’t the only potential culprit

• Poor IA leading to weak indexation• iFrames• Dropdown Sorting

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Solution

Fall back to static HTML pages when no JS detected

How to preserve UX but allow crawlability?

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Results

Organic traffic increased 72%SEO

Conversions up 76%UX

Sales up 136%

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Take Away

Export your navigation into ExcelGet search volume from GKT

Brainstorm/mine for new keywords

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Take Away

Are you missing out on organic landing page opportunities?

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Thanks!

Mike Pantoliano@MikeCPDistilled

http://dis.tl/excelninjahttp://dis.tl/xenu-excelhttp://dis.tl/faceted-nav

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Speakers John Goad [AddThree]

@JohnGoad

Mike Pantoliano [Distilled]@MikeCP

Michael King [Publicis Modem]@iPullRank

Ben Lloyd [Amplify Interactive]@Blizzle

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UX + SEOLet’s Be Friends

Michael KingSEO Manager

@ipullrankPublicis Modem

Download these slides http://slidesha.re/uxplusseo

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Building a user experience without SEO in mind is like building a car with no engine.

RANT

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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

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Make compelling experiences with utility

RANTDo Less of this Do More of this

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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

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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

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SEO absolutely MUST be an active consideration and ideally the driver of every step of a site build

SEO = DNA

RANT

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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

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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

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I’m done ranting, let’s talk about the mistakes that I’ve learned from

</RANT>

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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.

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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.

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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?

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The Expandable DIV is your best friend.

SUCCESS

Use expandable DIVs to keep large blocks of text from being obtrusive to design

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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.

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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.

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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

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Mine the conversation in social media for personas and keywords

SOCIAL LISTENING

Scout Labs

Social Mention

Alterian SM2

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Here comes a case study!

Show your Work.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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Turns out we’re pretty good at this.

CASE STUDY

Bookings

Organic Traffic

We improved rankings and conversions dramatically by marrying these concepts.

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So what else can we do?

The NextLevel

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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.

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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.

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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

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OBLIGATORYCAT PICTURE

UX SEO

UX and SEO are good buddies now and they are going places!

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THANKS!

@iPullRank

[email protected]

www.ipullrank.com

Michael KingSEO Manager

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Speakers John Goad [AddThree]

@JohnGoad

Mike Pantoliano [Distilled]@MikeCP

Michael King [Publicis Modem]@iPullRank

Ben Lloyd [Amplify Interactive]@Blizzle

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Navigation, Links & SEOHow Much is Too Much?

SEO & User Experience

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Quotes

“I like having a selection, I just don't like making a choice”

-Carrie Renee Mathews

Jam Study:“The presence of choice might be appealing in theory… in reality, people might find more & more choice debilitating”

-Professor Sheena Iyengar, Columbia University

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ChoicesEver try to pick a paint color? Did you know there were THAT MANY shades of white?

How about order from a restaurant menu that’s 5 pages long?

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Links•SEO Says: “Too many on-page links”

- SEO Benefit: Improved spidering = more pages available for search

- Design & U/X Benefit: Contextual navigation = improved usability

- Site Benefit: more visitors, better usability = ROI

•Designer should hear: “The Navigation is Overwhelming”•Site Owner/Client freaks out about cutting down user options

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Case Study

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Internal Links

1. Major duplicate content issue resolved2. Nav change to news3. Nav change to events4. Nav change to posts5. Minor duplicate content issue resolved

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TemplateChanges

Example:Simple Template Changes Sidebar links Number of posts

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DirectoryChanges

Example:Simple Template Changes Cut down on columns Sidebar links are

contextual

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PostChanges

Example:Post-Level Changes Keep the links contextual

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Organic Search

Q3 2010 Q4 2010 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011

URLs Receiving Entrances from Search

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Organic Search

1. Major duplicate content issue resolved2. Nav change to news3. Nav change to events4. Nav change to posts5. Minor duplicate content issue resolved

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SEO & UX?

BOOM!