SEO Should Follow Contingency Design

I recently finished reading Defensive Design for the Web, by 37signals. The guys at 37 signals are great user interface designers and application builders. While reading the book I thought of a few connections between the worlds of contingency design and SEO, and how contingency design can help every SEO be both user oriented and search engine friendly.

Contingency design is always user oriented, and SEO tends to be very bot oriented, so the two might seem disconnected. Look a little closer though and you’ll see where they meet. Search engine robots are designed to provide searchers with the most relevant and useful results possible. Contingency design is also similarly user oriented, making it easier for users to decipher websites and helping them take the right path when they veer off course. Writing a website shouldn’t be uniquely focused on attracting search bots. Using tactics like incessant bolding of words and keyword stuffing within site content won’t do much for a user looking to get actual information out of your website. Getting the user to your site is important, but what you deliver for the user once he or she arrives is so much more important.

The bottom line is that no matter how much search traffic you attract, not delivering with well crafted, pertinent content will just lose your site credibility with users. Write a site for people, and search engine optimization will happen naturally.

Optimization and Analytics Learnin’ Goin’ On

I took the first step toward doing a lot more reading by getting my cable turned off today. Ok, so it’s not really turned off . . . yet. The cable will be gone in October, to be replaced by something to download and store video. The thing that really excites me about letting go of the boob tube is the reading I’m going to get done now that I’m losing a distraction. I’ve got about 6 books in the cue at the moment that I wanted to share. All of them are geared toward optimization or analytics.

• Web Analytics An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik
  I’m already peeking into this one, and I’m sure the insights will be really great. I follow the Occam’s Razor blog (as you can see in the blogroll) that Avinash publishes. He’s a wise fellow when it comes to the analytics, so I’m expecting plenty of insight.
• Advanced Web Metrics With Google Analytics by Brian Clifton
  I’m not as familiar with Brian’s work, but I’ll be paying more attention now that I’m reading this book. I use Google Analytics quite a bit, so this should be some great info.
• Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions by Tim Ash
  I’ve been working on my landing page optimization skill and really trying to stay in tune with the latest on the subject. Hopefully, this book just improves my base of knowledge and prepares me for any new developments.
• Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets by Andrew B. King
  I’m really curious about the secrets. Seriously though, I’m just hoping to get some knowledge and a different perspective on things.

I’d love to know if anyone has a book they’ve read that they really likes, please let me know. Now, I’m off to get in some mindless entertainment from my cable before it goes away.

Tags: analytics, books, optimization

Search Optimization Blogroll

On the heels of my last post on some great SEO resources, I’ve updated the blogroll to your right. I’ll be adding to the mix as time goes on.

For now, check out those other great info sources for search optimization information, news and tips.

Great SEO Resources

At the moment, there aren’t any degrees in search engine optimization. That makes learning the SEO trade a pretty scattered enterprise, with a variety of resources and books by many a purveyor of “expertise.” As I’ve picked up the trade, there are several great search optimization resources I can rely on for up-to-date info and great advice on techniques and tactics.

Google Webmaster’s Central – The best place to get the information is straight from the horse’s mouth. If you’ve got a question about how Google operates, and some of the best ways to make your site searchable, this is the place to get the info.

Yahoo! Search Blog – The other horse. Especially now that Yahoo! and Bing are making nice, it’s important to know what the big dog’s main competitor deems important as well.

Matt Cutts’ Personal Blog – Matt started out as a software developer at Google and now heads their webspam team. Good guy to have on your side.

Occam’s Razor – Avinash Kaushik delves into the world of analytics. How to improve measurement, and make the most of your numbers.

Online Marketing Blog – More than just search optimization, Online Marketing Blog by TopRank gives advice on everything from social media optimization to traffic conversion techniques.

Search Engine Journal – Gives great advice on search optimization techniques, best practices and key resources. This one is my personal favorite.

Search Engine Land News – The latest in goings on with the world of search, this site is just a great way to stay in touch with the business side of search, and get great tips on search techniques. They also throw in some sweet advice on obscure, lesser-known search engines.

SEOMoz – Great resource with a variety of tools and advice on search optimization.

These are just a few of the great sites I’ve come across. The more I read, the more I realize that in the world of SEO, there’s information to be found in all of the tiny crevices of the internet. If you’ve got any suggestions, sound off in the comments.

*image courtesy of Technologygear.net