Improving usability 'can boost SEO'

22/07/2008

Focusing on website usability can go a long way towards integrating search engine optimisation principles, it has been claimed.

According to Mark Jackson of Search Engine Watch, starting out by focusing on the user experience through providing highly relevant content and making information easily accessible can automatically lead to better SEO.

He gave the example of providing relevant links on each page to avoid vital information that may be of interest to a website visitor being lost.

This can offer the opportunity to make use of keyword-based anchor text links, Mr Jackson noted.

"If we focus only on the user experience, it will go a long way towards optimising our websites," he remarked.

Galen DeYoung of Search Engine Land said last month that improving the website search process for users can vastly improve usability and help to keep visitors on a site for significantly longer.