1. Writing for the Web Strategies and Tips for Web Content and Usability Present by Patrick Bieser Sr., President Northwoods Software

2. About Me Journalism and Psychology Major 33 Years Computer Industry 15 Years Building Websites Created 25+ High Traffic Websites Books Studied, Observed, Analyzed User (just like you)

3. Summary of Today’s Presentation Part 1: Principles of Usability Part 2: Content For Users Part 3: Content For Search Engines How they work together Lots of Examples Live Looks

4. Part 1 – Principles of Usability

5. 98% of Websites Try To…. Generate Traffic Keep Visitors Engaged Drive Conversions –Signup for an Event (Non-profits) –Download a Paper (Service Industry) –Close a Sale (Manufacturing, Financial) –Try the Demo (Northwoods) –Call for an Appointment (Medical Industry) –Deliver a Targeted Ad (Facebook, MySpace, Google) –Subscribe (News) This Seminar is not aimed at the 2% –Branding/PR Websites (Most Ad Agencies, McDonalds, etc.)

13. Amazon’s Focus on Usability 1.Powerful Search 2.Exhaustive Information 3.One Page for all Goal Information 4.Clean and Simple Layout 5.Simple Conversion

14. Web users scan. They don’t read! Today’s word is…. Scan

15. 232 users. Three websites Source: Jakob Nielsen Alertbox, April 17, 2006 www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

16. Why Scan? Web visitors are content gatherers Reading online is more physically taxing on your eyes Web visitors are in a hurry Web sites are active. “Click Something”

17. Task: Buy baby girl gift

18. Eyes jump to Main Navigation Ignore big images, ads, sales pitches Home Page Findings

19. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

22. Low home page entrance Large Trailing Tail

23. First 5 Seconds Use Search / Key Application (50%) Scan the home page and click (30%) Mixed strategies (site map, etc.) (20%)

30. Web Page Tips No marketing lingo or brands in navigation No “happy talk” or instructions

31. Home Page - I Don’t make content look like an Ad Skip “Welcome!” messages Magic 7 for Main Navigation Group Corporate stuff and Utilities –about us, stock price, contact us, etc. –search, site map, login, etc.

32. Home Page - II Use conventions of popular sites –search –site map –breadcrumbs –logo click takes you to Home Page

38. Marketing vs. Selling The purpose marketing Grab eyeballs Create an impression Build brand awareness Drive traffic The purpose of a website Offer intuitive and useful information, without annoying or confusing your visitor, so they will reach a goal page and convert.

39. Web Designers Executives IT Professionals Marketing Professionals

40. Stereotypes of Key Influencers Web Designers Are not normal They are power users Don’t think / behave like our audiences Went to school to learn: visual design, branding and marketing for print, TV, radio. Hire to be creative and clever, not to follow conventions Not taught about usability, designing for the web, writing for the web

41. Stereotypes of Key Influencers Directors / Executives Have a skewed list of favorite web sites Want more “Sizzle” and “Wow” Listen to well meaning people they trust (who also have a skewed list of favorite web sites) Need to be patiently educated by credible sources

42. Stereotypes of Key Influencers IT Professionals Web is a technology Branding? Usability? Whatever…. Tools, certifications, platforms, and integration needs Need to have their web sensitivity patiently increased by credible sources

43. Stereotypes of Key Influencers Marketing Types Put too much emphasis on look and feel See the web as an extension of their branding initiatives Assume print and web are mostly the same Need to read ‘Don’t Make Me Think’

44. Solutions Do usability testing of initial designs Form a cross department team Invite Northwoods to do this seminar for the group Provide research to backup design decisions and stratagies

45. Group Usability Study Can you find…

46. October 16, 2006

47. Usability Testing Informal Low cost and effective As few as 3-5 users

48. Usability Methods Paper Prototype: –What would you click on? Card Sorting: –Group top and second navigation –Name them Current Site: –Ten tasks –Talk out loud –Tape it

49. Part 2 - Content For Users

50. Critical Seconds… First 2 Seconds: Credibility –Emotion, Impression, Brand Next 3 Seconds: Relevance –Content Next 2 Seconds: Decision –Stay or Go?

51. Offline vs. Online Content

53. Visual Organization Bulleted Lists Headers that are meaningful Bold Text White Space Short Paragraphs

54. Voice and Style

55. Five Web Sites Task Time Errors Memory Time to Draw the Site Map Subjective Satisfaction

56. Typical Promotional Text Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 1996, some of the most popular places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446). Scanability Score: 0 (Assumed) *Source: NNGroup.com

57. Objective Language Nebraska has several attractions. In 1996, some of the most- visited places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446). Scanability Score: 27% *Source: NNGroup.com

58. More Scanable Layout Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 1996, some of the most popular places were: Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors) Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166) Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000) Carhenge (86,598)Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002) Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446). Scanability Score: 47% *Source: NNGroup.com

59. Made More Concise In 1996, six of the best-attended attractions in Nebraska were Fort Robinson State Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum, Carhenge, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park. Carhenge Scanability Score: 58% *Source: NNGroup.com

60. All of the Above In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park Scanability Score: 124% *Source: NNGroup.com

61. Assume That Users Will… Ignore anything that looks, reads or smells like marketing or ads. Why? Promotional language imposes a cognitive burden. Web users are busy: They want the facts. Credibility suffers when users sense that the site exaggerates.

62. Scanability Tips Tables and Charts

63. Scanability Tips Thoughtful graphic accents / icons

64. Scanability Tips Never Center or Right Justify Text Bold Selectively Never Underline unless it’s a link Always remember to Lead with Keywords -as in- Keywords should Lead Be Consistent with Layouts, Fonts, Colors, etc. Attend to Details on Alignment and Spacing

65. How Would You Fix….

69. Writing Tips Lead Paragraphs with Summary –Get the facts across in 50 words or less. Sentences between 15-20 words

72. How Would You Fix….

73. Meaningless Headline (Cute Marketing) No Tagline Meaningless First Sentence. Hard to Scan Text. No Keywords. Too much text No Clues in Navigation. Non-Standard What?

75. Flytrap Your Content

76. Fly Trapping Navigation Embedded in Text Google LOVES Links Don’t Over Flytrap

77. Demo of Mercola.Com http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/15/cod-liver-oil-cuts-the-need-for-arthritis-drugs.aspx

78. Part 3 - Content for Search Engines

79. Why Content Matters to Search Engines Search Engine Spiders Don’t Care About: –Sizzle, Emotion, Credibility, Brand or Flash Search Engine Spiders Care About –Page Content Keywords –Content Position –Title Tags –H1, H2, H3, etc. –Links –Meta Keywords, Meta Descriptions Google “Spider Simulator”

83. Google Webmaster Tools https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview

86. Search Engine Content Clearly Identify your Products or Services in Headlines (H1, H2) –Eight words or less –Include important keywords and phrases –Remove as many stop words as possible (and, the, a, of) –Be simple, direct, and precise –Avoid being clever Create Google Sitemap

90. Home Page

92. Summary Content with Keywords Audience Identification Great Titles and Headlines News Imagery

93. Aggregation Page

95. Content Is Navigation Less Imagery Great Titles and Headlines Summary Information with Flytraps Consistent Global Navigation

96. Destination Page

98. Navigation In Content Great H1 Headlines Scanable Content Long Pages are OK Call to Action!!? Flytrap!

99. Department Page

101. Nav on Right or Left Summary Info in Chunks Flytraps Related Topics Readable Font Scanable Content

106. Live Looks

107. “It’s not the number of clicks... it’s how hard each click is!” - Steve Krug