SEO and Usability

SEO - Search Engine Optimisation


"Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page insearch engines' "natural," or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic"), search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search,academic search, news search and industry-specificvertical search engines."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization


"Search Engine Optimisation : SEO is about ensuring that a website is structured and has content that will be found and ranked highly by the web search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. It is a technique that covers the tye and amount of content on a site, how easy it is to navigate, how well indexed images, etc are."


http://www.tesan.co.uk/jargon.php


SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the way of getting a website or a web page seen in search engines. SEO makes sure that a website has the right content that will be high up when searched for on a search engine.


Usability


When I come to make my website, I need to make sure the design and content is suitable to the project and will ensure a good user experience. The overall design needs to make sure that it is easy to use, has a good design and will appeal to the intended target audience. The break down of the design consists of content, font, imagery, layout, navigation, colour and SEO.
To guarantee the content for the website is right and suitable for each page, I will be asking him what he wants for the pages, which means most if not all of the content will be supplied by him and all I need to do is include on the right pages. If I get sent a lot of content which would then result in the pages being too text heavy, there would be a chance where I would select certain bit to include or summarise some of the points that are being made. Again the same would apply for images, I would ask my client for the images he would like to be included and what sorts of things I need to search for in order to retrieve the right imagery for his project. 
After establishing the content for the website, I then need to move on to think about the types of font that it will be displayed in. I need to make sure that it looks clean, professional and easy to read and at the same time try and have it look creative and appealing to look at. I would consider having a simple font for the main body text, this would make it clearer and easier for people reading. On the other hand I would consider having a little more styling to the headings and title, this would help to break down the content and make it look that more visually appealing. Lastly I would stick to two fonts for the whole website, one for the body text and one for headings.
The layout for my website is going to be one of the key things that is going to appeal to people. I don't want to over complicate the layout and I think having a simple one will be just as effective. The layout will be broken down into four sections; the title, the navigation, the main content and the footer. I don't want to clutter the page up and make it daunting to look at, so I need to carefully think about how the content should be laid out on the page. I need to ask questions such as; do I need to make the text bigger? Should some of the images be on an angle? Would it look ok if the content was on the left hand side and the imagery on the right?
The colour is another key thing that would ensure the website appeals to people. I will be finding out from my client as what colours/ colour scheme he has in mind for this website.
Finally making sure the navigation is simple will help ensure a positive user experience. I need to make sure that my navigation is clearly labelled and easy to follow.