A website is created for your audience. It contains text, images, videos, funky
java scripts, flash etc only to enhance the user experience. Thus, the prime
motto of a website designer is to make the website more user friendly. If we
talk from an Seo point of view, then it becomes more than important to make a
website that is likeable by users so that they spend more and more time on the
website. So, are they a set of rules which one should follow or are they any
secrets to that? This post would answer all your queries related to how to make
your website more search engine user friendly?
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| User Friendly Website (Image source:- Userfriendlycc) |
Question 1
Think about who would visit your website?
Every website is created for a specific set of audiences; hence the website
design and functionality differ based on the user behavior and industry
standards. Hence, the first question you should ask yourself is to who would
probably visit your website? Based on that data, you should create a user
friendly website.
Question 2
How do people recognize you? (Company Name or Brand
Name)
Name)
Do people recognize you via your brand name or your
product name? A good example is of Maggi Noodles. The company behind it is
Nestle, but people recognize it with its brand name. If the people recognize
you by your product name then it is better to highlight your product name on
the website. Else, you may highlight your brand name. Highlighting a brand name
or a product name gives satisfaction on the mind of users and they feel relax
and continue looking for more information. On the other hand, if your website
lacks proper highlighting of important areas then people lose focus and
ultimately leave the website.
product name? A good example is of Maggi Noodles. The company behind it is
Nestle, but people recognize it with its brand name. If the people recognize
you by your product name then it is better to highlight your product name on
the website. Else, you may highlight your brand name. Highlighting a brand name
or a product name gives satisfaction on the mind of users and they feel relax
and continue looking for more information. On the other hand, if your website
lacks proper highlighting of important areas then people lose focus and
ultimately leave the website.
Question 3
Why would people visit your website?
This is one of the most important questions and
often the webmasters forget to answer this question. Find out why would people
visit your site? Whether for finding specific information on any topic, to book
tickets, to play games, to listen to music, to view videos, to view your brand
information etc. It is better to find out the reason first then prepare your
website accordingly. Remember content plays a very important role in making
your website more user friendly.
often the webmasters forget to answer this question. Find out why would people
visit your site? Whether for finding specific information on any topic, to book
tickets, to play games, to listen to music, to view videos, to view your brand
information etc. It is better to find out the reason first then prepare your
website accordingly. Remember content plays a very important role in making
your website more user friendly.
To learn more about content, visit- What is good content?.
Rule 1
Make your website Easy to Navigate
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| Easy to navigate (Image source:- Ibrandstudio) |
Imagine you are visiting a new place and you are
lost in the middle of the road. There are no signals, road maps, signs etc.
What would you do or rather how would you feel? Feel frustrated isn’t it? In
the same manner user would also feel frustrated if he/she does not finds a
proper channel of navigation. The point to remember is that, the moment user
feel frustrated, he exits your website. Hence, the recommended design guidelines
is to use proper navigation by using breadcrumbs, text links, contextual links
etc to give your users several channels of easy navigation.
lost in the middle of the road. There are no signals, road maps, signs etc.
What would you do or rather how would you feel? Feel frustrated isn’t it? In
the same manner user would also feel frustrated if he/she does not finds a
proper channel of navigation. The point to remember is that, the moment user
feel frustrated, he exits your website. Hence, the recommended design guidelines
is to use proper navigation by using breadcrumbs, text links, contextual links
etc to give your users several channels of easy navigation.
Rule 2
Check your site speed
The speed of the website plays a vital role in the
user behavior. Not all user are having a good internet speed. You need to keep
that in mind while designing your website. Keep it simple (Read KISS approach in Seo) while adding various
elements in your website. Do not add extra images, extra videos, extra
functionality that may increase the speed of the site. Try to edit all the
unnecessary components and keep only the important ones. Use CSS to separate
the formatting from the main body. You can use various site speed checkers to
check the speed of your website.
user behavior. Not all user are having a good internet speed. You need to keep
that in mind while designing your website. Keep it simple (Read KISS approach in Seo) while adding various
elements in your website. Do not add extra images, extra videos, extra
functionality that may increase the speed of the site. Try to edit all the
unnecessary components and keep only the important ones. Use CSS to separate
the formatting from the main body. You can use various site speed checkers to
check the speed of your website.
Also read:- Performance benefit from Web Caching.
Rule 3
Check your links
Many webmasters forget to remove links pointing to
old pages on their site which they have removed. This leads to broken links and
the users are unable to find content on the website. The end result is that
they leave your website. Hence, they should be no broken links on your website.
You may use Xenu broken link checker or GWT to check the broken links present on your
site.
old pages on their site which they have removed. This leads to broken links and
the users are unable to find content on the website. The end result is that
they leave your website. Hence, they should be no broken links on your website.
You may use Xenu broken link checker or GWT to check the broken links present on your
site.
Secret 1
Measure the bounce rate
Google provides you with free utilities like
Webmaster Tools and Analytics. You may use both these tools for free and
measure how your website is performing with the audience. Bounce rate is an important
factor in reading the minds of the users. It serves as the direct measure on
how the users are reacting to your website. If they love your website, the
bounce rate would be less else it would be more. Study the different aspects
related to the bounce rate and keep it to a minimum.
Webmaster Tools and Analytics. You may use both these tools for free and
measure how your website is performing with the audience. Bounce rate is an important
factor in reading the minds of the users. It serves as the direct measure on
how the users are reacting to your website. If they love your website, the
bounce rate would be less else it would be more. Study the different aspects
related to the bounce rate and keep it to a minimum.
Secret 2
Measure the Clickthrough rate
Clickthrough rate (CTR) is a direct measure of how your
site is performing on the search engines. If the people find your site
enticing, they would be willing to click on it else they will ignore it. The
company name, the brand name, the title and Meta tags and the freshness of the
content all play an important role in the user behavior on the SERPS.
site is performing on the search engines. If the people find your site
enticing, they would be willing to click on it else they will ignore it. The
company name, the brand name, the title and Meta tags and the freshness of the
content all play an important role in the user behavior on the SERPS.
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