In his latest Alertbox, usability expert Jakob Nielson focuses on what he calls “one of the oldest principles of human-computer interaction,” namely, that users treat things grouped close together on the screen as related. The converse is also true: they treat things left far apart as unrelated, and can therefore easily miss a button or a check box they need to complete an action.
I know this has happened to me more times than I can count. I’m trying to buy something online or merely fill out a form, and I get stopped because I’ve missed a “Terms and Conditions” box way down the page, or failed to see that I needed to fill in a Captcha code. That’s a problem because, as we’ve mentioned in the past, anything more than a one-second delay can interrupt a user’s train of thought and lead him or her to go surf somewhere else. Some delays are unavoidable, but of course those that can be avoided, should be.
Nielsen takes his own example from Apple’s iTunes software for upgrading iPhone apps. There is a button for updating all apps at once, but it’s located all the way at the bottom right-hand corner of a mostly empty screen of app icons, where it can be overlooked. The result, says Nielsen, is that “Several months after getting an iPhone, I still thought users had to manually check each application icon one at a time.”
He suspects that the problem might have been overlooked because in testing, Apple might have used a screen filled up with app icons, which would have put the relevant button much closer to the last of them. To him, this “shows the importance of including a range of realistic configurations and sample data, both during user testing and in design reviews.”
Nielsen probably assumes an even more basic recommendation goes without saying: to do significant user testing before releasing a new web interface in the first place. It is safe to assume that Apple, because they’re Apple, did. But many small businesses, in particular, don’t. They don’t feel they have the budget or the time. And they certainly don’t have the budget to do the same kind of testing as Apple. But that doesn’t mean they can afford to do nothing. Even a small business can cajole colleagues into surfing around a new website to test out its features before it goes live.
Add a Resource List to Your Site
Abridged with the author’s permission from a post on Wiep.net Link Building Blog.
I have created resource lists (lists with a few links to other high quality, relevant web pages) for multiple websites in the past, and it’s been effective in every single one of these occasions. Resource lists not only add direct value to your website, but they can also help you to attract links and traffic.
Resource lists for a better user experience
For all of you who are still afraid of their website ‘leaking PageRank’, here’s an update: Linking out is not a bad thing! Especially in informational sections of your website, links to other websites can be great additions.
Believe it or not, in most cases your website is not your visitor’s end station. And when you can give the 97.3% of visitors that do not buy something on your website a new place to go, you have made their user experience a little bit better than if you hadn’t provided those links.
Linking out also shows that you are not afraid of directing visitors to other interesting websites, and that you know your way around online, both of which can increase your brand perception, especially in niches where people aren’t used to it, but appreciate the added value.
Resource links for content ideas
Forcing yourself to create one or more resource lists also is excellent for coming up with new content ideas.
When you are visiting dozens of websites, trying to find good content, you will learn what you like, and more importantly, why. This can definitely give you more insight in why people will or will not link to specific content.
You will also find out what your industry is still missing in terms of good content. The same goes for good ideas that have been executed badly; improving those ideas is something that you owe to The Internet.
Resource lists for new links
Creating resource lists can also be a good link building tactic. First of all, it’s a great way to get noticed or to network. Linking out to someone, and perhaps sending him or her some traffic, may put yourself on that person’s radar. Especially when he or she is a blogger, as most bloggers are incurable stats junkies. Use this connection as an opening to get in touch with bloggers or webmasters you have always wanted to get links from.
You can also try to push it a little bit more. Simply letting the people you are linking to know where your resource list is can be enough sometimes.
My personal experience is that you can get an average email-to-link conversion rate of ~25% without even asking for a link. Just explain where and why you have linked to the person you’re contacting, and some will link back to your page almost instantly. Others may send you (positive) feedback, or mention that “If they ever can do something for you…”
What makes a good resource list?
I am not suggesting that you should instantly download a php directory script, or that adding 20+ resource pages with dozens of links to other websites to your site might be a good idea. After all, linking out to irrelevant, too many, bad or mediocre websites can harm your brand or reputation.
A good resource page offers extra value to your visitors, because the links on it are highly relevant to your website, and support the content of the page.
In fact, a resource list doesn’t even have to be a separate resource page. For example, you could add links to existing pages, develop an image directory, or you could try to create a dynamic blog sidebar—nearly anything is possible.
Wiep Knol is a creative link builder who lives in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.