CSS2 and SEO

I just wanted to point out the relationship between CSS2 and SEO. Its based on a discussion that took place at a department team meeting.

Below are examples of how CSS2 will improve search effectiveness (thanks Klaus !..my manager for his expertise and input)

There are several factors that come into play:

1. Structure markup: The CSS templates tend to have more reasonable markup structure and highlight important elements structurally, for example h1 for a heading instead of a nested table of tables, a single anchor element for a link instead of a table with separate elements for the link icon and the actual link.
2. Page weight: CSS based templates have a better content-to-markup ratio, so search engines find relevant content higher up in the document (and generally index the site faster because smaller documents take less time to retrieve and analyze).
3. Content ordering: Content can be ordered in a logical way, with important information first and related links etc. last. Text flows more naturally since fewer tags are required to control presentation, which helps with keyword placement based ranking algorithms.
4. Fewer graphics: Decorative graphical elements such as link icons, backgrounds etc. no longer appear in the HTML code, increasing the percentage of relevant content in the document (see the examples in Will's presentations).

One word of caution: there are blackhat CSS SEO techniques also which we obviously should not use, similar to using invisible text with font tags and link colors CSS allows developers to create invisible elements, and this may be desirable for some elements such as accessibility information which is hidden from a visual browser, but in most cases those techniques are not applicable.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and SEO -- http://www.stonetemple.com/articles/css-and-seo.shtml has a pretty good overview of how CSS helps with SEO.

New Report On Scrolling

Due to the advent of Web 2.0 it appears that more users are scrolling to the end of the page. Clicktale now reports the following in a survey from the end of last year. See the full report at http://blog.clicktale.com/2006/12/23/unfolding-the-fold/

Global Statistics
91% of the page-views had a scroll-bar.
76% of the page-views with a scroll-bar, were scrolled to some extent.
22% of the page-views with a scroll-bar, were scrolled all the way to the bottom.

Here are additional statistics from the same study:

According to ClickTale, total page length is not a strong factor in terms of how many people will scroll below the fold or reach the bottom of page.

Statistics further refined:

The average location for the fold is between 430 and 860 pixels down on the page.
76% of people will scroll below the fold.
15-22% of people will reach the bottom of the page.
64-68% of people will reach the halfway point of a page.
91% of pages are long enough to require scrolling.

I only wish that they provided more demographics on the users that comprised the study. They conclude that long pages fair no worse than short pages and that visitors are likely to scan the entire page no matter what the size.

Here are there recommendations for designing pages and my comments in green.

Recommendations:

1. Don’t try to squeeze your web page and make it more compact. There is little benefit in “squeezing” your pages since many visitors will scroll down below the fold to see your entire page. I still believe that your main call to action still needs to be above the fold. It would be nice to see some A/B testing on different placement locations.
2. Since visitors will scroll all the way to the bottom of your web page, make life easier for them and divide your layout into sections for easy scanning.
3. Minimize your written text and maximize images, visitors usually don’t read text - they scan web pages. Here I feel it depends on the page. Learn or informational pages need more text. They need to further refine their analysis by the different pages in the web conversion cycle (learn > shop > buy > use)
4. Encourage your visitors to scroll down by using a “cut-off” layout. I agree that if scrolling is necessary then the page layout must foster it. Just remember that users expect not to scroll on hompages.
5. Signup for the ClickTale beta program to gain insights about your website’s usability including visitor scrolling behavior. A little self promotion but don't we all do that?

What do you think about the survey and how it relates to your industry?

"Target" Should Be Targeting the Blind and SEO Too !

I just read an interesting article on grokdotcom.com regarding Target and a precedent setting class action suit.

A precedent-setting U.S. Federal class action lawsuit ruling has been filed against Target will require the click-and-mortar retailer to make its website accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Online enforcement of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) could mean that e-tailers nationwide would have to ensure their sites are accessible to blind visitors, or they'll leave the door open for another good ol' American class action suit.
Target had 10 months since the beginning of the court case, and, so far, has refused to make minor changes to their site. The main complaints with Target’s site are as follows:

• No alt tags on its images for screen readers to tell what an image contains
• Visitors cannot complete their checkout process without the use of a mouse
• Lack of descriptive headings to mark separations in a page
• No explanations for visual maps on the site.

These are simple changes that are fundamentals to web design. In fact, a list of guidelines for creating blind-accessible pages makes recommendations that are very similar to what we at Future Now advocate to increase conversion for all visitors — visually-impaired or not.

What amazes me about Target not wanting to make such minor changes is the fact that some of these changes would also improve SEO and hence their rankings in general. Why would a company of that size not want to be found in organic search??? Why would they want to cut out a portion of their customers? Its not all about sales. Its also about reputation management, branding, community building etc...

Start paying attention Target ! Many social media sites will pick up articles like this and it will damage your reputation. Begin the damage control now. Its time. Comply with the feds and everyone benefits, especially you.

Lets highlight in green below what also benefits SEO.

• Use descriptive alt tags
• Speak in the active voice
• Be clear and concise
• Write copy at a 5th grade reading level
• Avoid jargon
• Use bulleted lists to break apart key points
• Use white space effectively
• Use clear and accurate links that tell the visitor where she is going
• Use descriptive titles, headings, and headlines
• Make one key point per page
• Use the simplest words you can to get your point across"

I think that all sites should be forced to be compliant with accessibility standards. As grokdotcom.com implies, its not that hard to be compliant. Check your site with their checklist below:

1. Can you enlarge the text on your site and still read it? (press ctrl +)
2. Can you change the color scheme of your browser and still read everything clearly? (This is for people who are dyslexic or colorblind.)
3. Test your web copy for readability (i.e., grade level), as well as the percentage of active-voice sentences.
4. Is it possible to navigate your site without a mouse? If so, can you successfully complete all necessary tasks?
5. Do you have descriptive titles, headings, and headlines?
6. Does your site rely heavily on vague links, like "click here".
7. Do you describe any image maps (define)?
8. Do you use descriptive alt tags?
9. If you have PDF files, do you have a link to Adobe Access? Most screen readers cannot read PDF files.
10. If you have pages that rely on Flash, Java, or other plug-ins, are there alternate links to plain HTML pages?
11. Run your pages through this tool: webxact.watchfire.com

Comment and let me know if your site passes muster.