« Just a Second - Was That an Ad? | Main | Wasted Time »
User Vs. Search Engine Vs. Perception?
June 15, 2006
We have a client that has developed a beautiful interface. What I enjoy most about it is that it seems so different from other directory structures. You can tell that it was created absolutely with the user in mind. I won’t mention the site because this sounds way too much like a commercial already. Stay tuned because there is a story here, I promise.
We had the typical battle: molding this site into something search engines could crawl and credit properly without detracting from its user-centric interface. When this battle was reasonably conquered, we began searching for external links. The Link Building campaign has received a quite favorable response – until this morning that is.
A free, minor (but respected) directory rejected the site on the grounds that it was “full of hidden spam.� After some shock and some correspondence, we were able to clear up the misunderstanding - mouseover text spawned by JavaScript was assumed to be "stuffing" - but how common is the misunderstanding? We have received very few rejections and even fewer explanations for rejection. How many sites incorrectly categorized our client as a spammer and deleted our request/submission?
A site’s need for external acceptance has increased our dilemma to a 3-pronged battle. In addition to finding the balance between user and search engine, a site must also appease perception. So a site must be geared towards the user, easily digested by the search engines, and accepted by the user who is ignoring usage and attempting to view the site as a search engine.
As SEOs, we understand and abide by webmaster guidelines, but as link builders, we are further subject to that which might be perceived as an infraction of those guidelines. When link candidates are searching for reasons not to link in a matter of seconds, the only thing that matters is perception. If we know the stimulus of their false perception and judge it as reasonable, we must consider making a change even though we know better as best practices SEOs.
Is that what you had in mind, Mr. Page?
All posts by Tom Lustina
posted by Tom Lustina at June 15, 2006 12:44 PM
Intrapromote: [ Case studies | SEO services | Bios ]
Trackback Pings
To TrackBack this entry, use the following URL:
http://seoblog.intrapromote.com/mt-tb.cgi/235