Aarron Walter
Building Findable Websites Book Cover

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ISBN-13: 978-0321-52628-1
ISBN-10: 0-321-52628-7

Web Standards, SEO, and Beyond

Table of Contents

  1. Introducing Findability

    • What is Findability?
    • The Development Side of Findability
    • The Deepest Desires of Search Engines
    • Beyond Search Engine Optimization
    • Get your Team on Board from the Start
    • Using Your Moral Compass to Guide Your Way

  2. Markup Strategies

    • A Web Standards Primer
    • Web Standards and Findability sitting in a Tree …
    • Accessible Content is Findable Content
    • The Findability Benefits of Microformats

  3. Server-Side Strategies

    • Files and Folders: The Power of a Name
    • Choosing and Managing Domain Names
    • Building Search Engine Friendly URLs
    • Moving Pages and Domains with 301 Redirects
    • Getting Users Back on Track with Custom 404 Pages
    • Optimizing Performance for Efficient Indexing
    • Controlling Search Engine Indexing with Robots.txt

  4. Creating Content that Drives Traffic

    • Content that Sucks (Users In)
    • Content Karma
    • The Mark of Quality Content
    • All Roads Lead to Content
    • Content of Many Flavors
    • Targeting Keywords in Your Content
    • Placing Keywords in Your Content
    • Content Development Strategies

  5. Building a Findable Blog

    • Blogging Best Practices to Improve Findability
    • Working with WordPress
    • Making Your WordPress Blog More Findable

  6. Adding Search to Your Site

    • Using Free Search Systems
    • Purchasing Search Systems
    • Building Your Own Simple Product Search System
    • Adding OpenSearch to Your Site

  7. Preventing Findability Roadblocks

    • Avoiding JavaScript Pitfalls
    • Progressive Enhancement
    • Findable Flash
    • Findable Audio and Video

  8. Bring Traffic Back With a Mailing List

    • Encouraging Subscriptions
    • Using a Mailing List Management System
    • Building an Ajax-Powered Subscription System

  9. Putting Findability Into Practice

    • A Prioritized Approach
    • Discovering Problems on Your Site
    • When Will You See Results?
    • Final Notes: The Day Findability Saved the World

About the Author

Aarron Walter

Aarron Walter is a design and technology leader, and co-host of the Webby-nominated Design Better Podcast. He founded the user experience practice at Mailchimp, helping the company grow from a few thousand users to tens of millions. At InVision, he led research into the inner workings of top design teams at companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Google to uncover what drives their success.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Aarron joined former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden at Resolve to Save Lives, applying design and technology to support emergency response efforts at the WHO, Africa CDC, and U.S. public health departments.

He’s the author of several books, including the second edition of Designing for Emotion, and has advised the White House, the U.S. Department of State, and dozens of leading companies, startups, and venture capital firms.

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