Like Search Engine Optimization, website usability is something that is based on steps the help you reach a certain goal. This post is to give the SEO/Web usability novice some pointers in making their site more user-friendly.
A step that seems a little obvious to some but not all, is the effectiveness of your website. Usability is about accomplishing tasks and objectives. So when usability pro wants to test if your site is effective for your customers they would take these steps:
- Can a prospective customer accomplish their goal and finish certain responsibilities through your website or mainstream search engines?
- Can my prospective customers get what they were looking for on the website, like your basic business info, location, etc.?
- Sometimes your site can’t provide everything for your potential customers. See what was in the way of letting them reach that information and see if there is something you can do to knock down those walls.
When usability pro sees that a goal’s completion is likely, they will want to check how prospective customers were able to achieve their search results. This is finding a sites efficiency. Steps to see this can be:
- How long does it take a prospective customer to perform a certain chore/task on your business’ site?
- How many acts does it take for that customer to do basic search tasks?
- What aspects of your site stopped prospective customers from accomplishing their search goals?
The learnability of your site is key, this is how fast and effortless it takes prospective customers to use your site their initial trip to it. The sites navigation is a big part because it lays out how easy it is to go through your site. The placement, labeling and formatting of your information is what contributes to your learnability. The content descriptions and labels have to be specific for your web pages.
With these steps a website usability novice will have a better understanding of how make their site a better experience for potential customers. And not to mention this approach would only help your Google ranking, by having a users’ point of view on your website.
– George Freeman
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