Put The User First Not The Search Engine
When it comes to SEO - Put the user first not the search engine
When it comes to SEO it is very easy to get so carried away with trying to keep Google’s bots happy and forget about the real live people visiting your site. People who will decide whether to read your content, act on your calls to action and engage with your company. Unlike Google, your visitors will be able to determine if the site appeals to them visually and speaks to them in a way they want to engage with.
The user will decide
It is the user who will decide whether they think you are a trustworthy organisation and whether the information you provide is relevant to them. Users are the customers you have not had the chance to meet (yet!) So treat them with the attitude and tone you would if they walked into your place of work. There is a much overused phrase people use about meeting someone for the first time… it goes ‘You never have a second chance to make a first impression’ The phrase has been attributed to Oscar Wilde and to Will Rogers but to our knowledge there is no evidence that either of them actually said it! Anyway – the point is that the user on your website is who you need to give a good impression to. Google Bots will appreciate things that your user can’t see and the user will appreciate things that Google can’t see. But the important thing to remember is that what your user does and how they react/interact with your website will effect the way that Google sees your site.
Think about user experience
Put your user first – make your site easy to use on any device, easy to navigate, fast to load and give ideas and suggestions for more information or content around key topics. Your user will thank you and Google will reward you!
Remember that different audiences will respond to different elements of design and usability. Fonts will communicate ‘different subconscious messages to people…the type of font design you pick says a lot about you, your business, and what your website is all about. (source https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/designing-websites/pick-best-font-style-for-website/)
Images/visuals are considered to be a faster way of communicating and whilst it is important not to overdo images, infographics and video clips they do allow the time short user to get a quicker understanding of what it is you are trying to communicate.
Use content to; Answer questions, resolve issues, help users understand more about a topic. Don’t fill your content with keywords or ranking terms that the content can’t satisfy as this will result in dissatisfied users who ‘pogo’ their way out of your page. Google will be reluctant to continue to encourage users to your page if the content on the page does not live up to it’s promise
This feature is one of a series of 42 that we are putting together based on our 42 DIY SEO Takeaways.
To find out more about how Build14me can help you with your SEO – why not get in touch.
