SerpentVenom

Google wields tremendous influence on the web. Their efforts to create the best search experience has propelled them to the top of the search engine ranks. Website stakeholders verge on panic when an adjustment to the Google search algorithm alters their site’s page rank. A drop in page rank tends to be bad for business, so stakeholders often react to algorithm adjustments with solutions intended to reverse the page rank drop. Many of these solutions don’t create much value for users and customers. Even worse, some solutions conceived to improve search engine optimization (SEO) make it more difficult for users and customers to successfully use a website. This cycle of action and reaction has led me to the realization that Google may be inadvertently encouraging bad user experiences.

This revelation came to me when I discovered new drop-down menus on the Greatschools main navigation menu. Drop-down menus aren’t new, but this new drop-down menu joined pre-existing drop-down menus associated with the sub-menu that is situated below the main navigation. So Greatschools implemented a second set of drop-downs from their main navigation to “assist” users in finding content that is deeper within the site. There’s only one problem; drop-down menus are not always that easy to use.

Most drop-down menus require precise control of the mouse in order to keep a menu on the screen, if the user ventures just a little off of the menu, the menu disappears and the user has to start over. In the Greatschools example, drifting off of the main navigation drop-down might trigger a drop-down from the secondary navigation right below it. I was told by a former colleague at Greatschools that the new drop-downs were added in response to a Google adjustment. The result was a success for SEO, but a less user-friendly page for the users.

Link fields are another mechanism used to improve SEO. Examples of these can be seen at that bottom of the LetsTalk and Wirefly sites. Both sites focus on selling wireless services and devices. Note the repeated use of the word phone in many if not all of the links. These links aren’t designed to entice users to click. They’re there for search engine indexers. If a user is looking for a new phone or service plan, chances are they’re going to click on the main navigation links labeled phones or plans. They’re certainly not going to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to click on links labeled “Verizon Wireless Cell Phones”. The end result is that the user is served content that has little value in helping them to complete the task of finding and buying a new phone or plan.

Greatschools also has link fields on the home page. In fact one is “hidden” from the user under a “tab”. But the links are there for the search indexer to find. These “hidden” links are of particular interest. Each link goes to a page that features a search form specific to the state clicked on, that provides the same search functionality as the find a school search forms at the top of the page and in the column on the right. Clicking one of these links doesn’t bring the user any closer to finding a school in their state. These links don’t improve the user experience.

The dark early days of SEO are also rife with bad user experiences including invisible text, link farms and irrelevant search results. The use of invisible text and link farms has dwindled since Google made changes that penalized sites that tried to game the system, but irrelevant search results still occur frequently because someone figured out a way to raise their page rank in response to Google’s algorithm.

I want to make it clear that I don’t think that SEO is the culprit here. Responsible SEO is a valuable component to a successful online business. But getting users to a site is only half the battle. If your site is not easy to use, users will go somewhere else to complete their tasks.

I also don’t blame Google. Google is merely adhering to their stated goal of providing the best and most relevant search results to their users. Google makes adjustments to their algorithm to support their goal, not to penalize the sites that occupied the top of the results list.

I blame the reactionary stakeholders who bulldoze through poorly conceived projects that take time and resources to deliver, but provide little value to the user experience and the overall success of a company. Websites that provide quality content and good user experiences rise to the top irrespective of what their competitors do to game the system. Providing quality content and experiences may not be as easy as adding a new drop-down menu or a link field to a site, but quality content and experiences do endure. The drop-downs and link fields are just an adjustment away from oblivion.

Posted under Caught in the Web on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 15:26

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