By re-imagining the classic "I’m a Mac... and I’m a PC" commercials, Jonathon Colman and Erin Hawk from REI help attendees learn how two individual disciplines -- User Experience design (UX) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) -- can work together to help customers succeed in their goals and, in so doing, redevelop their relationship while growing their business. Using real-world examples, lots of humor, and group collaboration with the audience, this presentation will “Make It Better” by helping these two disciplines re-focus their strengths, approaches, and goals to support not only one another, but the customer as well. Would you like to know more about the intersections of SEO and UX design? Check out additional resources at http://www.delicious.com/seo_ux You can learn more about Jonathon Colman at http://www.jonathoncolman.org/

1. Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh

2. I’m a UX Designer – and I’m an SEO:
Working Together to Heal the Rift
Between Customers and the
Marketers Who Love Them
Erin Hawk (Team UX at REI): @erinhawk
Jonathon Colman (Team SEO at REI): @jcolman
Slideshow available for download:
http://slidesha.re/ux-seo

4. Let’s learn about you
with a quick survey…
Photo © Flickr user omarhabayeb, flickr.com/photos/omarhabayeb

5. Our question: Can UX and
SEO be like chocolate and
peanut butter?
Photo © Flickr user jamieanne, flickr.com/photos/jamieanne

6. Top 5 UX design myths
about SEO
Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh

7. Myth: SEO is SPAM.
Photo © Flickr user OCReactive, flickr.com/photos/ocreactive

9. Reality: SEO is
relevancy marketing.
Photo © Flickr user jmsvuk, flickr.com/photos/jmsvuk

10. Yep, it’s this one.
It’s just one tool
in your belt.
Photo © Flickr user herzogbr, flickr.com/photos/herzogbr

11. High search rank correlates with
high traffic and conversion.
Source: The Atlas Rank Report: How Search Engine Rank Impacts Traffic

12. Myth: Design is for
people, not robots.
Photo © Flickr user mringseis, flickr.com/photos/mringseis

13. Reality: Search engines are
consumers of your content, too.
Photo © Flickr user H Brown, flickr.com/photos/heathercbrown

14. …and people rely on robots
as wayfinding agents.
Tip: We prefer City O’ City
coffee at 206 E. 13th Ave.
Photo © Flickr user ebatty, flickr.com/photos/ebatty

15. Myth: SEO seems
filled with secrets
and mysteries.
Photo © Flickr user JK Mallory, flickr.com/photos/41499497@N06

16. Reality: So is any discipline…
when seen from the outside.
Photo © Flickr user Alegrya, flickr.com/photos/alegrya

17. SEOs are not gurus; they’re
just practitioners. Like you!
Photo © Flickr user mrbenjamin, flickr.com/photos/25199042@N06

18. …and SEO works best when
it’s built-in to the experience.
Photo © Flickr user Jonesemyr, flickr.com/photos/47557199@N03

19. Myth: SEO is about
text, not design or IA.
Photo © Flickr user jcolman, flickr.com/photos/jcolman

20. Let’s look at a
product page…

21. Text is clearly an
important part of
the experience
for humans and
search engines.

22. …but how did they
find that product?
Design and architecture affect
humans and search engines.

23. Reality: SEO is all about IA, taxonomy, ops,
analytics, infrastructure, relationships… UX!
Photo © Flickr user temposmodernos, flickr.com/photos/50806803@N08

24. Myth: I can rely on
advertising for traffic.
Photo © Flickr user s.urich, flickr.com/photos/urichsj

25. Reality: Paid Search CPC
increases ≈30% each year.
Does your ad budget?

26. Reality: If SEO isn’t at least 50%
of your traffic, it’s still growing.

27. Top 5 SEO myths
about UX design
Photo © Flickr user LVCHEN, flickr.com/photos/yungyeh

28. Myth: You can’t truly
measure “experience”.
Photo © Flickr user undoneclothing, flickr.com/photos/undoneclothing

29. Reality: UX has many
tools for measurement.
Photo © Flickr user Winter Bicycles, flickr.com/photos/22538785@N05

30. Myth: You can’t
tie UX to profits.
Photo © Flickr user mickwatson, flickr.com/photos/mickwatson

31. Reality: Oh yes you can!
40
(Roughly $76,000/month!)
Image by Dr. Susan Weinschenk © Human Factors International, Inc., http://www.humanfactors.com/ROIposter.asp
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O94kYyzqvTc

32. Myth: Search solves all
your navigation issues.
Photo © Flickr user refmo, flickr.com/photos/refmo

33. Reality: Users often don’t
know what they don’t know.
And that’s OK!
Photo © Flickr user zert.sonstige_2008, flickr.com/photos/32552054@N04

34. …which is why we
…because learning and refining need to support
both browsing
is part of their experience. and searching.
Marcia J. Bates: The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface
http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html

35. Myth: I already
know our customers!
Photo © Flickr user coblat, flickr.com/photos/coblat

36. OK, so which
one am I?
Reality: You don’t know Jack.
Or Jill! Until you talk to Jill. And
other Jills who are like her.
Photo © Flickr user MeFind, flickr.com/photos/mefind

37. Myth: The user’s
feelings don’t matter.
Photo © Flickr user wishardofoz, flickr.com/photos/wishardofoz

38. Which one of these
people will come back?
Or recommend you?
Reality: Satisfied customers
are loyal, long-term
shoppers and referrers.
Photo © Flickr user lunaciel, flickr.com/photos/lunaciel

39. Actually, the user
doesn’t matter.
Photo © Flickr user yubyungman, flickr.com/photos/yubyungman

40. Reality: Search engines can’t
buy anything from you.
Photo © Flickr user largeprime, flickr.com/photos/largeprimenumber

41. Group exercise:
Can UX and SEO
work together?
Photo © Flickr user usnavynvns, flickr.com/photos/usnavynvns

42. Scenario: This is a product users
like. REI ranks well for its name.
And it drives traffic.

43. When customers click
on the search result,
they get a “Product
Unavailable” page.

44. Guess what? We have a newer
version of this product in stock!
But it’s located at a different URL
that does not rank well in search.

45. What would YOU do?
Split into two teams…
Team UX: Team SEO:
What would you do to reduce What would you do to
bounce rate on the old jacket improve findability and drive
and improve conversion for traffic to the new version of
the new version? the jacket?
Photo © Flickr user Colin_K, flickr.com/photos/colinkinner

46. Nice work!
This stormtrooper
demands that you
hug it out.
Photo © Flickr user balkov, flickr.com/photos/balakov

47. So... Can we make UX and SEO be
like chocolate and peanut butter?
Photo © Flickr user jamieanne, flickr.com/photos/jamieanne

48. Photo © Flickr user let5ch, flickr.com/photos/letscher

49. Photo © Flickr user Rajiv Patel, flickr.com/photos/23679420@N00

50. Want more SEO/UX tools?
Get 90+ hand-curated articles and resources at:
_
www.delicious.com/seo_ux
Photo © Flickr user Noel C. Hankamer, flickr.com/photos/nhankamer

51. Erin Hawk:
UX @ REI
Twitter @erinhawk
Jonathon Colman:
SEO @ REI
Twitter @jcolman
Graphic © Flickr user Jesse Fletcher, flickr.com/photos/jaxsilver