The Search Is On: Why Labels Matter

Part 4: User Experience Webinar Series~ presented by Kristiana Burk

Laying a Foundation…

today > Search Optimization & Labeling

Digging Deeper: Upcoming WebinarsWeb 2.0 and Beyond

Layered Content Make Learning Fun

Thematic Approach to Organizing Resources

Focus on User in User Experience…

They are the reason your job exists!There would be no service to provide if they weren’t using itEverything you do should be focused on their needs

Why spend time on Search?

- 2nd most popular online activity for your users- where most users start their info-seeking process online- users have certain expectations and realizations about search now- with features in LibGuides – you have an open door to Google!

Higher rankings = more traffic

whether we like it or not users usually begin with Google

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)…

- trying to increase the ranking of your content in a search engine- finding ways to remove barriers- improving quality of results in search engine list- preparing your content for internal search and ‘findability’

Tools of SEO…

- metad / metak- descriptions - labeling- consistency

let’s take a look at some examples…

What Shows Up in Google…

pulls from your LibGuide title

combination of your LibGuide description and tab labelscrawled

frequently

uses the URL you specify

What Shows Up in Google…

combination of your LibGuide description and tab labels

title used URL specified

Label It Correctly…

- target unique terms (quilting patterns vs. quilting)- do your homework (what are users looking for?)- apply consistency- remember that leveraging user terminology (what they would type in) is key- don’t forget URL labeling as well

http://hsw.libguides.com/animals-guide

http://hsw.libguides.com/content.php?pid=17959&sid=133451

vs.

A Description for Everything…

On-Page Descriptions (HSW Site Example)

Source Code – metad / metak (HSW Site Example)

Metak (5-10 targeted words)

Metad (description with targeted words)

Find Extra Lift With…

- keyword repetition- in-bound links and referrals- “quality” of content- authority / source (.edu, .gov, .org vs. .com)- relevancy

Yahoo SiteExplorer - https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/mysites

GoogleRankings - http://www.googlerankings.com/ultimate_seo_tool.php

HitWise - http://www.hitwise.com

Word of Caution…

- easy to take to the extreme (white-hat vs. black-hat)- always balance with overall user experience- remember the browser and value of taxonomies- keep your user in mind

Next webinar learn how to take it to the next level with Web 2.0 tools

Thank you!

Kristiana BurkChannel Director

404.760.4311 kburk@howstuffworks.com