Effective SEO Strategy: Usability is Jack

Effective SEO: Usability

Other than contents, backlinks, Google also considers usability for an effective SEO. In this article, we are going to discuss the usability of web pages when “Usability is Jack”. How is “Jack” playing important roles in SEO besides the King and the Queen? Let’s learn more about the usability to understand how it works and if you’re wondering who’s the King and the Queen in SEO, please check out the previous King and Queen’s blog!

Usability of Web Pages

whats usability

I believe everyone of us surf the Internet, and we are dealing with usability in daily life without realizing. 

 

“OMG this website loads super slow!”

 

“I don’t know how to use this website, it’s kinda messy.”

 

“Why this button cannot be clicked? I expect it to function!” 

Have you ever faced these situations? It’s all about the usability. In fact, when ranking results, Google also evaluates whether the web pages are easy to use. In consequence, all the top pages are better and people are more likely to click on them rather than websites on the other pages.

 

Thanks to Google. It filters the best for the public and ranks it number 1 when we search. Therefore, we get the hints on how to do an effective SEO. Usability is one of them. Google wishes all the website owners to improve their websites for better user experiences, so it sets the algorithms to determine the usability.

 

Let’s see how Google defines usability together!

4 Elements of Usability Listed by Google

Google has explained how the Search Algorithms work and the guidelines for usability of web pages are further discussed below.

#1 Appears correctly in different browsers

Which browser do you use? There’s a lot such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari etc. Everyone is free to choose their own browsers, and that’s fine. However, for web developers, they have to make sure the web pages appear all correctly even in different browsers. Let’s try to imagine: My friend and I are going to watch a 9pm movie. I bought my ticket through the website using Mozilla Firefox successfully yet he cannot find the same movie time in another browser. It could be a real mess!

 

Google would not let this happen, not to mention rank the website on top pages! As a result, it’s critical to ensure that your web pages function properly across all varieties of browsers.

#2 Mobile-friendly

Have you tried to search some web pages using mobile but it came out messy and unreadable? Yes, unfortunately some websites work well on a laptop screen but not on mobile. A website has to be well constructed in all types of screen sizes to ease the users’ operations. It also boosts your sales and conversion unconsciously because most of us are using phones/iPads more frequently. I believe we would not be in the “mood” to browse, purchase, or even scroll the page if we see a cluttered website. Hence, having a mobile-friendly website is a must for users to interact smoothly across several devices.

#3 Fast loading

Here’s a question: Would you wait for 5 minutes to load a website? 

 

Not even a minute I would wait. We’re all living in a fast paced life: Fast food, fast services, fast shopping through online websites. We need everything to be done fast, so-called “effective”. From 3G to 5G, and the Wi-Fi is updating trying to load everything faster. So do the websites, it should load fast but not a laggy one. Page optimization is important for a fast loading website, so please optimize the website often. For instance, optimizing image size, removing scripts that slow down the performance, and always checking the hosting performance. 

#4 Secure

Security. It is important to provide a safer place for your visitors. 

First of all, malware free. The website must have no virus or malware which can threaten the visitor’s PC. Malware, as known as malicious software is designed for wicked purposes including to cause disruption, steal data, get unauthorized access, leak information etc. 

 

Next, SSL to protect users’ data when they are engaging with your website. It scrambles data in transit using encryption methods, preventing hackers from accessing it as it travels over the network. For further SSL details, read here.

Lastly, Captcha! What’s captcha? I think we all know this well! We see it quite often when we’re trying to sign up, log in, or doing some website operations. For example, the website would request us to retype the alphabets shown, or choose some pictures containing traffic lights or other elements. That’s it. Captcha is used to distinguish humans from machine input, protecting the website owner from being spammed and avoiding automated data extraction.

Other Elements That Zoewebs Appreciates

The four elements mentioned above are officially listed by Google to standardize usability. However, other than these main elements, there are still many aspects to improve the overall website usability. These initiatives are appreciated and they are likely to improve SEO as well.

#1 Easy to navigate

User friendly! We must put ourselves in users’ shoes. Make sure everything is smooth and easy to use to ensure they use the website effortlessly. Website structure must be clear, and breadcrumb is recommended. Breadcrumb aids the navigation by showing the user’s current location/page in a website. Some websites which are huge and have a lot of categories are advisable to have breadcrumbs. Designs of the website are crucial to enhance user experience e.g. spaces between clickable buttons and all the UI/UX elements. 

#2 No broken link

Broken links are the links that cannot be used / found / accessed by the users. Web page optimization has to be done often for an updated website. Updated website is important to avoid  broken links because they might indicate that the website is neglected. Then, broken links would also bring bad reputation to users and lower the search engine ranking.

#3 No pop up

Isn’t it true that pop-ups are annoying? Especially when you reach a website and what you see are not the contents but the advertisements popping out frequently. However, there are many types of pop outs, some are beneficial, some are not. We must use the appropriate pop outs to improve usability instead of ignoring the advertisement pop outs. Hence, some browsers introduced blocking pop ups functions such as Google Chrome.

#4 Design consistency

Consistency and uniform ease user experience, it also makes the websites look professional. What comes to your mind right away after I mentioned McDonald’s? It’s the burgers with the yellow logo. The branding is consistent, that’s why the users can relate easily. Same goes to a website design, the design of user interfaces must be consistent to create a sense of control, familiarity, and reliability of a user.

In conclusion, usability is an essential strategy in doing effective SEO. We must imply usability on our websites to ensure satisfaction in user experience and also for a better ranking!

 

Overall, Usability is Jack! 

Contact Us Now

Do you wish to know more ideas/tips about usability? Feel free to contact us, Zoewebs where we could provide MORE with detailed, organized, and professional advice. Let’s discuss how we can work together to reach your goals!

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