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Howdy. I’m Reese Spykerman, a mere designer/developer swimming in a sea of SEO guest whores. Frankly, you people scare me just a bit with your use of acronyms like SERP and PR and SEM (there’s something blatantly dirty about that last one) and I can’t help but wonder what I’m doing here. I was grateful to read, however, that I wasn’t the only one losing sleep over what I’d blog.
About a year and a half ago, Rae found me and hired me for some blog work. After our first project together, I fired her. Stupid decision on my part. Stupid, stupid, stupid. (Excepting the tyranny I endure over the use of any font besides Arial). Fortunately, Rae ignored the firing, we drank a virtual margarita together, and here we are today. In that time, I figured something out. We need each other — designers and SEOs, that is. Here are 3 things I’ve learned from Rae, and 3 things about design that I want you to know.
3 lessons I’ve learned from Rae
1. Divas have no business being in business
Rae told me about other designers she’d worked with who didn’t want the ‘righteousness of their visions’ questioned, or got defensive about making design changes, or didn’t step up to the plate when she offered more money to get pushed up in their design queue. Whether you’re a designer or an accountant, reputation and customer service are everything, and are as important–if not MORE important–than your skills and execution. Keep your clients or customers happy, and save the drama for your momma. Sound simple? A lot of folks in business still don’t get it.
2. Designers need SEO to grow.
At some point, I realized that a great many of you SEO folks aren’t snake oil salesmen. From both blogs like SEOMoz and tips from Rae, I learned some SEO techniques, applied just a few of them, and watched my pageranks and positions grow, which lead to increased inquiries. Over time, I got better search engine results for clients, and this value-added service helped me raise my rates. I’m still have much to learn, but I’ve become a bit of an designer/SEO evangelist.
Too many designers ignore or misunderstand SEO. Many label themselves as SEO-based designers, but can’t write a title tag to save their lives and think that replacing table tags with div tags is an adequate enough step in an SEO direction.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell most of you that we live in a world where traditional means of marketing no longer resonate with consumers, but too many designers haven’t caught onto this yet. It hurts them, and it hurts their clients. Want to join me on a campaign to get designers on board with SEOs? In the least, maybe we’ll give Paris Hilton a run for her proverbial money.
3. I’m in the wrong industry.
You know, I thought I made a decent living, but then I learned what some of you make, and damn, I’m ready to toss in my Adobe software. I’ve begged Rae to take me on as a padawan–my retirement account needs it. Stay tuned for her decision, and put in a good word for me, will ya?
3 things about design that every SEO ought to know
1. Good design improves your business.
Let’s say you’ve got a site that’s performing well statistically speaking, but your conversion rates could be improved. A variety of things, (many of which I have no clue about) could help improve this, including design. If your site has usability issues, a poor navigation structure, no semblance of visible hierarchy or well-placed, well-written calls to action, a better design could boost your results. By “better” I don’t mean decoration — shinier objects, a hipper color scheme, or more photographs, but rather a re-examination of your end user’s experience on the site, and a design that guides them toward the action you want them to take. A good designer will ask you about your goals and problems as well as what message you need to communicate and create a design that solves those problems and improves your bottom line. It’s possible to make a lot of money, and gain a lot of leverage, through SEO alone, but combine that with an effective, usable design, and Papa’s got himself a brand-new bag.
2. Web 2.0 is not a brand.
Well, OK, you could probably argue the Web 2.0 movement is darn near a brand experience, but what I mean is, Web 2.0 shouldn’t be your brand.
A fair amount of clients come to me and state out of the gate “Make it look Web 2.0.” They’ll refer to some site with a bubbly logo or huge, kindergarten-themed typography and tell me that’s what they want. There are two problems with this design approach:
A) It’ll look dated in a year or two. And then the client will need to pay me or another designer more money to ‘re-trendify’ it and re-align their brand.
B) It lacks a unique, remarkable and memorable brand experience. I don’t care if you’re selling $5 shoes or a $250 e-course, I believe the more unique and memorable you can make the branding and design of your product or service, the better position you’re going to have in the marketplace.
3. Find a designer who will passionately co-collaborate with you.
It’s both tempting and economically pragmatic to find the cheapest person for the job, but this may not pay the best dividends for your SEO business. When you find a designer who’s willing to work the long haul with you, wants to learn more about your business, and is clearly interested in your long-term growth and success, keep that designer in your pocket.
You deserve a designer who’s eager to learn from you, willing to adapt to your needs, and who has the cajones to tell you when they think you’re headed in the wrong direction design or branding wise. If you find yourself stuck with a prima donna like the ones mentioned in my first point, be relentless about finding a better replacement. Don’t just get yourself a decorator–a designer who simply makes things pretty. Instead, look for the designer who clearly is a critical thinker, and a business strategist. Their work can help separate your business and sites from the thousands of other SEOs and would-be SEOs that exist.
So there you have it. If you think I’m full of hot air with all this design fluff, I’d love to hear why–my right foot is looking pretty tasty. And why not also share some things that you wish designers would realize/know about SEO(s)?
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The value of a good design is definitely something not to be underestimated. You can instantly transfer the feeling of trust, respect and authority to the end user with a good design. So even though you rank it doesn’t mean someone is going to trust you enough to enter a credit card number.
Wow, a guestwhore writes an informative post?
Aren’t you just supposed to complain, make a video game, wear a wig, bitch about driving or publish your IM transcripts or something?
Great post.
Great post Reece. It’s a shame more web designers don’t get it.
Sounds like you and Rae have an awesome relationship. I hear what you’re saying about “i know best” designers - have run into my fair share. Good post.
Thanks everyone. I was a bit nervous guest posting :). It’s nice to get your feedback
@feedthebot I had an idea in mind for a silly post, but then could not find some of the ‘drawings’ Rae sends me for site design, so that went out the door. Then, in retrospect, I thought I could have done a mother’s day post on why Rae is a kick-ass non-soccer mom.
Nice, I am glad you couldn’t find those drawings cause I like the post you posted :)
this is great, Reese.
#1 of ‘three things about design…’ is my favourite. I guess a good way of putting it is “design is not about how your page looks, but about how the way it looks makes people use it”?
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