Here are 10 Most Commonly Overused Website Techniques - Bad For SEO Point of View- Know why they are bad for users, SEO, and conversions.
1. Infinite Scroll
2. Sticky Nav
3. Auto-Sliders
4. Auto-Play Anything
5. Banner Ads
6. Pop-Up Anything
7. Websites as Apps
8. Copy For Copy Sake
9. Keyword Tagging
10.Vertical & Horizontal Scroll
The above website feature is overly used these days, So It results less website Engagement with the user.
Lets discuss each point:-
1. Infinite Scroll
Infinite scroll is great for sites like Facebook where you have linear information that is best delivered in a never-ending story, but is this true for all sites or site pages? Definitely not!
Before you start laying out your page into long-form scrolling bottomless wells, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have a story to tell?
Does the scroll make you want to keep going or do you feel tired?
Does your information naturally lend itself to a listed format?
Homepages are used to direct users to information inside the site. Endless scrolling defeats this purpose. They are bad for SEO.
2. Sticky Nav
A sticky nav is one that doesn't move with the page. This can be a top nav, a footer or even a side nav.
FRAMES, Maybe you're too young to remember when frames where cool (not) and why they went away. Sticky navs are no different, just a different way of implementing what used to be called frames.
Sure, there are certain types of sites and implementations where it makes sense to take up 125-200 pixels of your top nav screen at all times with a navigation element that never disappears (Don’t make it disappear and reappear – just don’t).
However, a really good site search might be an even better method for quick site access. If ecommerce is your site goal, do you really want to lose that much real estate to a nav bar? In the case of the sticky navs, annoyance factors will be dependent on use case and audience. However, always allow your users the option to disable the feature.
3. Auto-Sliders
Usability expert Jakob Neilsen just came out with a report on this technique for carousels and accordions. His advice. Just don’t. Well unless annoying your users is your goal, then please do!
4. Auto-Play Anything
Please never auto-play audio, video, or animation when users click on your site. It will only attract the wrong kind of attention from your visitors.
What about animation? Well maybe yours is audioless, so you’re thinking you are cool. Nope! Just don’t.
5. Banner Ads
Unless you're one of the lucky few who are making real revenues from these third-party traffic detours, best to leave them off your site or if you must have them replace them with internal ads to your own pages. This way you keep your visitors on your site and focused on your content.
Remember, for every cent you make for a click, you’re also taking users off your site. Is this really helping you make money in the end?
6. Pop-Up Anything
If it pops up, kill it.
Seriously, with pop-up blockers almost no one is seeing it and with mobile devices you are just impeding the users ability to access your content. Now this is not referring to lightbox implementation or other styles of layered div techniques, just the actual popover or even pop-under.
7. Websites as Apps
your website is not an app, stop treating it like Application.
Website users are a multivariate group with varying user intents, whereas the app user is looking for the app to take them quickly to definitive and finite goals. Don't confuse the two purposes.
Your website should offer all the same content on mobile and tablet that it does on the main desktop site, and your app should have 2-4 main user goals that your site data indicates are desired and needed.
8. Copy For Copy Sake
Yes, copy is all the rage these days. Non-SEO people discovered copy is good for SEO and suddenly LAST FEW YEAR was the year of content marketing and content development and content everything. New? No, but new to some.
Always Keep your content clear, consistent, and contextual.
9. Keyword Tagging
KEYWORD TAGGING SHOULD HELP FIND CONTENT, NOT DRIVE SEO TERMS AND UNLIMITED TOPIC PAGE CREATION.
Keyword tagging originally started as a way to group content into sets of pre-defined keywords so users could find all articles under one topic. Now authors make up tags on the fly, are given unlimited tagging capability, and create multiple one off pages acting as topics giving the site duplicate content issues.
Your content tagging should be keyword appropriate, but limited, fixed and finite. Don't allow your authors to just make these up as you go along and don't have infinite topic creation.
10. Vertical Scroll Sites
This site actually does it right. As does this one. These sites eliminate the perception of the page and allow their users to engage with the information at whatever point the page lands. These sites integrate the changes between top and bottom as a seamless flow without the need to stop at exact points.
This one is less successful. I have to try to stop it at the right stop points. This is more annoying than interesting and begins to equate to a negative user experience.
This one is a failed experience. Unless I'm on a tablet where I can easily control the stop points with my fingers or hand the movement of my fingers on my laptop pad or mouse move me past the stop point to awkward “dead spaces”.
SEO note*** These types of sites are really bad for SEO, so if you need to be found in the search engines, don’t. Use this on a landing page or mini-site.
1. Infinite Scroll
2. Sticky Nav
3. Auto-Sliders
4. Auto-Play Anything
5. Banner Ads
6. Pop-Up Anything
7. Websites as Apps
8. Copy For Copy Sake
9. Keyword Tagging
10.Vertical & Horizontal Scroll
The above website feature is overly used these days, So It results less website Engagement with the user.
Lets discuss each point:-
1. Infinite Scroll
Infinite scroll is great for sites like Facebook where you have linear information that is best delivered in a never-ending story, but is this true for all sites or site pages? Definitely not!
Before you start laying out your page into long-form scrolling bottomless wells, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have a story to tell?
Does the scroll make you want to keep going or do you feel tired?
Does your information naturally lend itself to a listed format?
Homepages are used to direct users to information inside the site. Endless scrolling defeats this purpose. They are bad for SEO.
2. Sticky Nav
A sticky nav is one that doesn't move with the page. This can be a top nav, a footer or even a side nav.
FRAMES, Maybe you're too young to remember when frames where cool (not) and why they went away. Sticky navs are no different, just a different way of implementing what used to be called frames.
Sure, there are certain types of sites and implementations where it makes sense to take up 125-200 pixels of your top nav screen at all times with a navigation element that never disappears (Don’t make it disappear and reappear – just don’t).
However, a really good site search might be an even better method for quick site access. If ecommerce is your site goal, do you really want to lose that much real estate to a nav bar? In the case of the sticky navs, annoyance factors will be dependent on use case and audience. However, always allow your users the option to disable the feature.
3. Auto-Sliders
Usability expert Jakob Neilsen just came out with a report on this technique for carousels and accordions. His advice. Just don’t. Well unless annoying your users is your goal, then please do!
4. Auto-Play Anything
Please never auto-play audio, video, or animation when users click on your site. It will only attract the wrong kind of attention from your visitors.
What about animation? Well maybe yours is audioless, so you’re thinking you are cool. Nope! Just don’t.
5. Banner Ads
Unless you're one of the lucky few who are making real revenues from these third-party traffic detours, best to leave them off your site or if you must have them replace them with internal ads to your own pages. This way you keep your visitors on your site and focused on your content.
Remember, for every cent you make for a click, you’re also taking users off your site. Is this really helping you make money in the end?
6. Pop-Up Anything
If it pops up, kill it.
Seriously, with pop-up blockers almost no one is seeing it and with mobile devices you are just impeding the users ability to access your content. Now this is not referring to lightbox implementation or other styles of layered div techniques, just the actual popover or even pop-under.
7. Websites as Apps
your website is not an app, stop treating it like Application.
Website users are a multivariate group with varying user intents, whereas the app user is looking for the app to take them quickly to definitive and finite goals. Don't confuse the two purposes.
Your website should offer all the same content on mobile and tablet that it does on the main desktop site, and your app should have 2-4 main user goals that your site data indicates are desired and needed.
8. Copy For Copy Sake
Yes, copy is all the rage these days. Non-SEO people discovered copy is good for SEO and suddenly LAST FEW YEAR was the year of content marketing and content development and content everything. New? No, but new to some.
Always Keep your content clear, consistent, and contextual.
9. Keyword Tagging
KEYWORD TAGGING SHOULD HELP FIND CONTENT, NOT DRIVE SEO TERMS AND UNLIMITED TOPIC PAGE CREATION.
Keyword tagging originally started as a way to group content into sets of pre-defined keywords so users could find all articles under one topic. Now authors make up tags on the fly, are given unlimited tagging capability, and create multiple one off pages acting as topics giving the site duplicate content issues.
Your content tagging should be keyword appropriate, but limited, fixed and finite. Don't allow your authors to just make these up as you go along and don't have infinite topic creation.
10. Vertical Scroll Sites
This site actually does it right. As does this one. These sites eliminate the perception of the page and allow their users to engage with the information at whatever point the page lands. These sites integrate the changes between top and bottom as a seamless flow without the need to stop at exact points.
This one is less successful. I have to try to stop it at the right stop points. This is more annoying than interesting and begins to equate to a negative user experience.
This one is a failed experience. Unless I'm on a tablet where I can easily control the stop points with my fingers or hand the movement of my fingers on my laptop pad or mouse move me past the stop point to awkward “dead spaces”.
SEO note*** These types of sites are really bad for SEO, so if you need to be found in the search engines, don’t. Use this on a landing page or mini-site.
