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Jonathon Colman, profile picture
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SEO and UX Working Together Are Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

By re-imagining the classic "I’m a Mac... and I’m a PC" commercials, Jonathon Colman and Erin Hawk from REI help attendees learn how two individual disciplines -- User Experience design (UX) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) -- can work together to help customers succeed in their goals and, in so doing, redevelop their relationship while growing their business. Using real-world examples, lots of humor, and group collaboration with the audience, this presentation will “Make It Better” by helping these two disciplines re-focus their strengths, approaches, and goals to support not only one another, but the customer as well. Would you like to know more about the intersections of SEO and UX design? Check out additional resources at http://www.delicious.com/seo_ux You can learn more about Jonathon Colman at http://www.jonathoncolman.org/

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Search Engine Optimization• Content Strategy•
Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh
I’m a UX Designer – and I’m an SEO: Working Together to Heal the Rift Between Customers and the Marketers Who Love Them Erin Hawk (Team UX at REI): @erinhawk Jonathon Colman (Team SEO at REI): @jcolman Slideshow available for download: http://slidesha.re/ux-seo
Let’s learn about you with a quick survey… Photo © Flickr user omarhabayeb, flickr.com/photos/omarhabayeb
Our question: Can UX and SEO be like chocolate and peanut butter? Photo © Flickr user jamieanne, flickr.com/photos/jamieanne
Top 5 UX design myths about SEO Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh
Myth: SEO is SPAM. Photo © Flickr user OCReactive, flickr.com/photos/ocreactive
Reality: SEO is relevancy marketing. Photo © Flickr user jmsvuk, flickr.com/photos/jmsvuk
Yep, it’s this one. It’s just one tool in your belt. Photo © Flickr user herzogbr, flickr.com/photos/herzogbr
High search rank correlates with high traffic and conversion. Source: The Atlas Rank Report: How Search Engine Rank Impacts Traffic
Myth: Design is for people, not robots. Photo © Flickr user mringseis, flickr.com/photos/mringseis
Reality: Search engines are consumers of your content, too. Photo © Flickr user H Brown, flickr.com/photos/heathercbrown
…and people rely on robots as wayfinding agents. Tip: We prefer City O’ City coffee at 206 E. 13th Ave. Photo © Flickr user ebatty, flickr.com/photos/ebatty
Myth: SEO seems filled with secrets and mysteries. Photo © Flickr user JK Mallory, flickr.com/photos/41499497@N06
Reality: So is any discipline… when seen from the outside. Photo © Flickr user Alegrya, flickr.com/photos/alegrya
SEOs are not gurus; they’re just practitioners. Like you! Photo © Flickr user mrbenjamin, flickr.com/photos/25199042@N06
…and SEO works best when it’s built-in to the experience. Photo © Flickr user Jonesemyr, flickr.com/photos/47557199@N03
Myth: SEO is about text, not design or IA. Photo © Flickr user jcolman, flickr.com/photos/jcolman
Let’s look at a product page…
Text is clearly an important part of the experience for humans and search engines.
…but how did they find that product? Design and architecture affect humans and search engines.
Reality: SEO is all about IA, taxonomy, ops, analytics, infrastructure, relationships… UX! Photo © Flickr user temposmodernos, flickr.com/photos/50806803@N08
Myth: I can rely on advertising for traffic. Photo © Flickr user s.urich, flickr.com/photos/urichsj
Reality: Paid Search CPC increases ≈30% each year. Does your ad budget?
Reality: If SEO isn’t at least 50% of your traffic, it’s still growing.
Top 5 SEO myths about UX design Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh
Myth: You can’t truly measure “experience”. Photo © Flickr user undoneclothing, flickr.com/photos/undoneclothing
Reality: UX has many tools for measurement. Photo © Flickr user Winter Bicycles, flickr.com/photos/22538785@N05
Myth: You can’t tie UX to profits. Photo © Flickr user mickwatson, flickr.com/photos/mickwatson
Reality: Oh yes you can! 40 (Roughly $76,000/month!) Image by Dr. Susan Weinschenk © Human Factors International, Inc., http://www.humanfactors.com/ROIposter.asp Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O94kYyzqvTc
Myth: Search solves all your navigation issues. Photo © Flickr user refmo, flickr.com/photos/refmo
Reality: Users often don’t know what they don’t know. And that’s OK! Photo © Flickr user zert.sonstige_2008, flickr.com/photos/32552054@N04
…which is why we …because learning and refining need to support both browsing is part of their experience. and searching. Marcia J. Bates: The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html
Myth: I already know our customers! Photo © Flickr user coblat, flickr.com/photos/coblat
OK, so which one am I? Reality: You don’t know Jack. Or Jill! Until you talk to Jill. And other Jills who are like her. Photo © Flickr user MeFind, flickr.com/photos/mefind
Myth: The user’s feelings don’t matter. Photo © Flickr user wishardofoz, flickr.com/photos/wishardofoz
Which one of these people will come back? Or recommend you? Reality: Satisfied customers are loyal, long-term shoppers and referrers. Photo © Flickr user lunaciel, flickr.com/photos/lunaciel
Actually, the user doesn’t matter. Photo © Flickr user yubyungman, flickr.com/photos/yubyungman
Reality: Search engines can’t buy anything from you. Photo © Flickr user largeprime, flickr.com/photos/largeprimenumber
Group exercise: Can UX and SEO work together? Photo © Flickr user usnavynvns, flickr.com/photos/usnavynvns
Scenario: This is a product users like. REI ranks well for its name. And it drives traffic.
When customers click on the search result, they get a “Product Unavailable” page.
Guess what? We have a newer version of this product in stock! But it’s located at a different URL that does not rank well in search.
What would YOU do? Split into two teams… Team UX: Team SEO: What would you do to reduce What would you do to bounce rate on the old jacket improve findability and drive and improve conversion for traffic to the new version of the new version? the jacket? Photo © Flickr user Colin_K, flickr.com/photos/colinkinner
Nice work! This stormtrooper demands that you hug it out. Photo © Flickr user balkov, flickr.com/photos/balakov
So... Can we make UX and SEO be like chocolate and peanut butter? Photo © Flickr user jamieanne, flickr.com/photos/jamieanne
Photo © Flickr user let5ch, flickr.com/photos/letscher
Photo © Flickr user Rajiv Patel, flickr.com/photos/23679420@N00
Want more SEO/UX tools? Get 90+ hand-curated articles and resources at: _ www.delicious.com/seo_ux Photo © Flickr user Noel C. Hankamer, flickr.com/photos/nhankamer
Erin Hawk: UX @ REI Twitter @erinhawk Jonathon Colman: SEO @ REI Twitter @jcolman Graphic © Flickr user Jesse Fletcher, flickr.com/photos/jaxsilver