Optimizing for Transactional Queries

Here are some general guidelines for optimizing your website to accommodate transactional queries:

• The primary call to action should be painfully obvious to both site owners and searchers. For example, if you want searchers to download a file, the word download should be part of the hyperlink, and that hyperlink should look clickable (Figures 5.6 and 5.7). The transactional scent of information should be maintained from a search results page to the landing page. Chapter 8, “Search Usability Is Everyone’s Job,” discusses calls to action in greater detail.

  Figure 5.6. In the search listing, the call to action is seen in the title tag, the description (which is the page’s meta-tag content in this instance), and the URL.

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  Figure 5.7. Notice that the call to action on Apple’s Safari page clearly shows searchers where they can click to download the browser software (1). The call to action is also clear in the web page’s title tag (2), the graphical heading (3), the textual heading (4), and the URL (5).

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• Include desired activity words in the title tag on key pages. For example, if you offer a specific search page on your site, then make sure you use the word search or find in the title, heading, URL, and description of the page. Likewise, if you have a login page on your site, such as an email login, make sure you use the word login in the title, heading, URL, and description of your page.

• Don’t assume searchers want to take an action without initiating it themselves. In other words, don’t start playing a video or sound file unless the searcher specifically indicates that he/she wishes to watch the video or listen to the sound file.

• Focus groups are not always the best source of information for feedback on interactivity and multimedia because the focus group leader, not the user, guides the interactivity. Furthermore, a focus group typically shows initial reactions to an interactive feature, not long-term effects.