Website Development Versus Algo Chasing

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There are two basic approaches anyone can take when it comes to running websites. You can concentrate on long-term success, or you can attempt to gain as much free search traffic as you can muster. There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach.

Developing your website with your users being the main consideration is a noble goal, but it can also be risky. If you don’t even consider the implications of search engine friendliness, you end up missing out on a lot of free traffic that can really help grow your revenues. But if you overly obsess on free search engine traffic, your website can clearly suffer from usability issues, and this will prevent people from finding your website to be a resource.

I think the best course of action is the middle ground. You need to consider your users and you need to consider the needs of search engines. Search engines need enough text to make it clear what your website is about, and really, so do human visitors. The two goals aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, you can build usability and search engine friendliness into any website design, and you’ll actually end up enhancing both functions.

All of this points to the tired argument of making “quality content”, but that really isn’t enough anymore. The truly successful websites that get millions of visitors almost all end up engaging their users. It’s not always easy to accomplish the same thing in a niche, but it’s worth shooting for.

The way Google has been experimenting with algos lately, you get the distinct advantage that it’s always getting tougher to try and decipher exactly what’s going on. If you build for the users, it also has the added search engine benefit of making your website look “natural”, because it is.

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