Search Engines Get a Human Touch
When we type a phrase or question into Google's search engine, we expect to get fast and relevant results. Google has become so useful to so many people that the word “google” is now a verb in our everyday vocabulary.
And yet, Google is not perfect. As Scott Austin said in CNN Money today:
Lately I'm not as googly-eyed about Google's algorithmic-powered engine. Yes, in 0.17 seconds Google can give me 1.7 million Web pages that mention "cat" and "neuter," but isn't that just showing off? Worse, it's laborious to sift through the results that aren't very organized. I rarely venture past the first ten results, and many of those listings are often stories from five years ago or links to sites that are placeholders for advertisements. I suspect I'm not alone.
Scott goes on to profile a new breed of search services, like Mahalo and ChaCha, that use human editors and feedback from users to supplement computer generated search results. It seems humans are pretty good at detecting spam that is not obvious to computer algorithms.
So what does it mean for online businesses when human editors take over search?
Not much really. Afterall, the point of search engine optimization has always been to attract human visitors, not robots.
With that in mind, here are a few quick tips for building a website that appeals to humans (search engine editors or otherwise):
- Write scannable content. Effective web copy uses short paragraphs, plenty of lists, and bolded section headers. The easier it is to scan your Web page for information, the more likely the visitor will stick around and do it.
- Write useful content. A key tactic of search engine marketing is to write content that lots of other websites link to. Blogs, forums and other webmasters will link to content that helps solve a problem or answer a question. If your content is helpful, others will market it for you.
- Keep it simple and to the point. If 90 percent of every page on your website is non-content material (eg., navigation, advertising, widgets), both human- and computer-powered search engines will be confused and probably dismiss your Web page. Keeping it simple is one key to building an easy-to-use Web site. Learn more about Web Usability.