Mobile-first indexing: Everything you need to know
Stay ahead with insights to enhance mobile performance, achieve content parity, and create a seamless user experience.
Topic: Web usability
Everything you need to know about page experience in 2025
Dive into the history, metrics and best practices behind Google’s page experience update and its implications for SEO in 2025.
The SEO impact of interstitials, before and after
What type of impact do interstitials or pop-ups have on search? Dive into this case study to see their effect on organic traffic value.
5 ways content helps create a better user experience
If you give users a good content experience, they will stay longer – and come back when they’re ready to buy.
Top SEOs on Google’s Page Experience update and what you need to know
SEOs discuss the new page experience signals and AMP's fate when it's no longer required for Top Stories.
UX, Content and other secrets to Overstock’s SEO turnaround
How Overstock weathered some really bad times in SEO and came out ahead in the long run.
Google Officially Launches “Mobile-Friendly” Labels In Mobile Search Results
After months and months of testing, Google has just officially launched the mobile-friendly label in the mobile search results. In an effort to help mobile searchers know which sites they may click on are mobile-friendly versus which ones are not, Google has added a text label under the URL in the snippet that reads “Mobile-friendly” […]
Google Mobile’s Flash Warnings Now Rolling Out To More Languages
In July, Google began labeling the mobile search results that had results from Flash enabled sites with mobile warnings. The warning cautioned mobile users from clicking to the site, by showing a notice that reads: “Uses Flash. May not work on your device. Try anyway | Learn more.” That warning is rolling out to more […]
How Does Color Usage Affect SEO & Conversions?
Many search engine optimization professionals have different interpretations of the term search-engine friendly website design. Learn how color affects your SEO efforts and conversions.
A Simple Guide To Understanding The Searcher Experience
When search engine optimization (SEO) professionals talk about the searcher experience, they often cast their personal mental models onto the minds of searchers. What is your role in understanding and delivering a successful searcher experience?
The Hideous Site: An Allegory For Oddities In Local Search Results
The small, local businesses in a particular industry on this island all vied for top slot in Google’s rankings, since the top dog could command a substantially higher yearly profit as a result. The competitors’ products weren’t all that different, and their potential customers didn’t have the expertise to tell the difference, either. Their relative […]
The Ties Between Emotional Design & SEO
Shari, are you crazy? Search engines don’t have emotions! What does emotional design have to do with SEO? A lot more than you might think.
QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge Of Searcher Behavior
Think you know the web searcher goals and behaviors that are important for long term search engine visibility? Take this quiz and find out.
Search Engine Friendly Web Design
Search Engine Friendly Web Design [flv:https://searchengineland.com/video_assets/bootcamp/se-friendly-design.flv 364 264] “I’m not designing my site for search engines,” is a common designer objection to SEO suggestions. But when search engines collectively have more users than either Internet Explorer or Firefox, how can you afford to ignore how they interact with your site? Search engines are like the […]
Spreading SEO Awareness & Knowledge
Taking that first step to genuine SEO awareness can be difficult for SEO professionals as well as information architects and usability professionals. How can we make crossing that bridge easier?
Website Usability 101 For SEO Professionals
Want to be better at search engine optimization? What all SEO professionals should know about website usability.
Does This Website Usability Fairy Tale Have A Happy Ending?
Whenever I’m asked what usability is, I get tongue tied. “It’s about humans and computers,” I may say, but they’ll picture robots and talking cars. “I help make web sites that work,” is closer, but vague because technically, if it’s on the Internet, it’s working. Then I’ll hear myself try to make it clearer by […]
How To Use Effective Navigation Labels for Search Engine Optimization
Is your website’s URL structure based on the perceived logic of your boss’ teenage son? Or even worse, a software engineer? Search-engine friendly labeling systems are critical for long-term search engine visibility.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 1, 2011
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Acquisition Marketers And The SEO ROI Dilemma After over 12 years practicing the art of SEO, and selling SEO services to clients, I thought the industry had reached a stage of […]
Usability & Internet Search Marketing: A More Unified Approach
For years there were two camps – website usability and search engine optimization. Rarely did they acknowledge each other, let alone work as a team. Each side argued they knew best how to make web pages findable in search engines. They’re both right. The website usability house is focused on human behavior. They follow along […]
Findability, SEO, And The Searcher Experience
Do you know the key components of a positive searcher experience? Usability and findability are crucial...but there are other critical elements.
B2B Website Usability Should Influence Organic Ranking
As a member of the Search Marketing community, I am always eager to see what great announcements those search engine powerhouses have in store for us. This year, my hope is that the search engines will realize that usability should be a primary ranking factor over some current metrics that are so often manipulated such […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 3, 2010
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google News Dropping Sites, Reviewing Inclusion Standards Google News has recently dropped “a number” of websites that it says were not meeting the company’s quality guidelines. At the same time, the […]
Clickability & Search Engine Friendly Web Design
Clickability, or perceived visual affordance, is a key element of search-engine friendly website design. How do searchers and search engines perceive clickable and unclickable elements?
Web Site Usability For Improving Online Forms
You’ve heard it said a hundred times. Search engine marketing leads to a dead end if the web site isn’t designed to deliver what it promises. Many an anchor text, meta description and advertisement text have sent users into a house of horror because the landing page is a complete disconnect from what was marketed. […]
More SEO Myths About Website Usability
When you optimize your website for search engine visibility, who are you targeting? The statistically average web searcher? Someone who is new to web searching? Or a highly experienced web searcher?
SEO Has Killed The My Internet
Hi. My name is Tom and I have a problem. Actually I have a lot of problems, but none are more pressing or more relevant to you than how SEO has affected my perception of the internet. More specifically, SEO has ruined how I use the internet so I hope that sharing my story will […]
Key Information Architecture Concepts Every SEO Should Know
SEO professionals often confuse information architecture (IA) with website development. Here are fundamental IA skills every SEO should know, and how SEOs can in turn contribute their knowledge to a successful site architecture.
SEO Implications Of Google’s “Reasonable Surfer” Patent
On May 11, 2010, Google was granted a new patent that basically states that all links on a page do not have to carry (or pass) the same weight. The concept is that the value a link should pass to a target page will be largely based on the probability that a user would click […]
Defining Download Time: Web Searchers Vs. Search Engines
“Download time” and “speed” are terms that often confuse SEO professionals, web designers/developers, information architects and usability professionals alike because of various interpretations. A number of items influence download time, including but not limited to:
Deadly Sins Against SEO: Part 1
Are you getting bad or conflicting SEO advice from landing page and conversion specialists? Keep your ears open for these deadly SEO sins.
A Principal Goal Of SEO Should Be Customer Loyalty
How search engine optimization (SEO) professionals can measure customer loyalty as a part of a successful search experience.
Ecommerce Usability Showdown: Affiliate VS. Merchants
According to Google, affiliates provide such a road-rage-awful experience that they deserved to be kicked out of AdWords en masse. My experience shopping for a new laptop for my dad during Boxing Week more than proved that status as an affiliate site hardly determines usability, and that merchants sin liberally against the commandments of user […]
Latinos Online: How Changing Demographics Of Those Online Impacts Search
The PEW Internet and American Life Project just released new information about use of the internet by Latino adults in the United States. How does this relate to search engine optimization? Understanding who’s online and how they search is core to success in search acquisition beyond simply ranking well. Over a billion people are now […]
Understanding Orienting Search Behaviors For SEO & Conversions
Website owners and search professionals alike often overlook finding behaviors after a searcher clicks on a link to a website from a search engine results page (SERP). One of those finding behaviors is called orientation or orienting. Orientation is a search behavior that no SEO professional, search engine advertiser, or website owner should dismiss. Quick-and-easy orientation contributes to a positive brand experience, increases conversions and sales, and makes content easier to find.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 18, 2009
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook’s Focus Is Friend Search; Bing ‘Sort Of’ Adds Value When it comes to search, Facebook’s focus was, is, and apparently always will be on the idea of “friend search.” That’s […]
Wikipedia As A Website Usability Role Model
For all its faults, Wikipedia has a lot to teach us about usability. Here are three things that Wikipedia does right that I think websites should emulate to better engage users, boost time on site, and hopefully lead to more conversions. Summary sections Wikipedia offers summaries at the top of its feature-length articles. While I […]
Tell Me Why I Should Click & Link
I’ve noticed something interesting on Twitter: the #followfriday craze has spawned loads of users saying “that’s great, but tell me WHY I should follow this person.” In the interest of cramming in those precious 140 characters, many people choose to just fill the space with people to follow, rather than explaining the reasoning behind saying […]
Are You An SEO Hybrid?
During search engine optimization (SEO) consultations, have you heard any of the following statements: “I didn’t hire you for website usability. I hired you for SEO.” These statements, and the sentiments associated with them, come in many variations, such as: “I didn’t hire you to redesign my site. I hired you to get my site […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 31, 2008
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.