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This has been my second Brighton SEO and I loved the online pass as much as I did last year, being able to make notes from the comfort of home. I also liked the ability to pause and rewind talks, not to mention bathroom breaks without queues!
What did I learn from Brighton SEO?
After taking the weekend to rewatch my favourite talks and sum up what the half-hour time slots cover, I noticed a few ongoing themes and ideas across many of the talks in the event.
As we arrive into the post-pandemic world, the last year has taught us a lot about what people want from an online experience, store, or website and this is what I believe influenced a lot of the themes of the event.
Below, I outline five of these ideas, which I think are important for you to keep in mind when building or rebuilding your website.
1) It’s all about user intent
User intent is simply what a customer wants to find when they type in a query. For example, Brian searches for “recipes with potatoes”. Brian doesn't want to know the history of the potato or where potatoes come from, Brian wants to know what he can make with potatoes.
So keep it simple, and when you write your content think about the intent you want a user to have when they arrive on your page.
Plan this out as early as possible in your keyword research. Check out which results are coming up when you search for something and find the keywords that will best match what the user wants to know.
2) An online experience should mirror the real world
When you go into Asda for your weekly food shop are you worried about being bombarded with ads, pop-ups or forms? Are you expecting to talk to someone who immediately asks for your contact information?
Or do you expect to be able to walk around the shop, find what you want, and go home?
For most of us, it’ll be the second option. So why aren’t we making websites like this? When you are building your website try to imagine it’s a real place people can visit and make the interactions somebody has as real and natural as possible.
3) User experience is KEY
👏 MAKE 👏 YOUR 👏 USERS 👏 HAPPY 👏
When somebody comes to visit your website they are probably looking for something, so let them find it in an easy and fast way. I cannot cover every single way you can make your website more user friendly here but if you want to learn it in more detail, check out our blogs on website building 👉 here 👈
In short, don’t make your website spammy annoying, or difficult to use. It’s really as easy as that.
4) Customer feedback is great!
You’re trying to do all of the above and things look like they’re going well, but why not see what your audience actually thinks?
After all, they're the ones using it they will know if there is any part of your site they like, dislike or find absolutely insufferable because people are less likely to notice a site that’s good; it’s far easier to notice a site that is bad and annoying to use.
The best time to ask for feedback is at the end of a journey. It's less intrusive, doesn’t slow down the process, and catches users when they’re feeling their best. Find out what would have made a better experience and how you can improve.
5) Answer what your customers want to know
When a customer visits your website they expect to find what they are looking for and to have their questions answered. This links to point one, user intent, but what if you could answer your users’ questions before they even ask.
Using FAQs and internal links is including additional information that somebody can choose to check out. Let’s imagine Brian finds a good recipe for his potatoes but has a few questions about the meal. Why would you want him to leave your site and look elsewhere? By including an FAQ section and using internal links, you will keep Brian with you for longer and give him an easier time finding what he needs.
La Fin
So, what are the most important ideas I collected this year?
1) The importance of user intent.
2) An online experience should be as natural as possible.
3) Create a great user experience for your audience.
4) Listen to what your users have to say and improve.
5) Tell your audience what they want to know.
Brighton SEO is an amazing event and I cannot wait to listen to more speakers and learn more when the next event rolls around.
If you want to learn more about SEO or how to make a better website, use the learning resources on our website or follow the #finallyengineroom on LinkedIn to get the latest marketing insights from the team at FINALLY.
