Displaying measurements and SEO

Quote marks and other symbols vs. Abbreviations

In short, use an abbreviation that is regularly used and makes sense. (Eg. 1inch or 2mm)

How I've come to this conclusion

I had an epiphany today while working on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for a site for one of my clients. We deal with measurements in American Standard, Imperial, US, NPS (nominal pipe size), and DN (diametre nominel) all the time. The measurements are all over the place depending on the age of the documents, the sizes and classifications are everywhere between really tiny .125in and massive 120in because of the range of products. It’s not easy to appease all of the people all of the time when they’re trying to find the right information because they all use the language that they were taught. Some people look for one measurement, while others (possibly in a metric-only shop) might look for something altogether different. The field and communicating in the field is challenging to say the least.

The main problem is when we’re displaying the content we use [inherited] copy that works for our American locations, but doesn’t translate well overseas. I mention this because some countries use an entirely different set of marks for quotation.  An example might be a range for the measurements 1"-3". My word processor (as I’m writing this) changed the typewriter double quote marks (double ditto marks) used for inches to “smart” [curly] quotes (right [side] double quotes). Quote marks and apostrophes are used in context in body copy and in the HTML code as well. So when you place a quote mark on the page, the search engine has to determine whether the quotation mark is in context as a quote, as a prime, as ditto marks, or closing (or opening) coded statement, then if it is used in context they have to determine whether you’re using it as a quote mark or as an indicator for a measurement, in this case inches.

 The search engine has to decipher the meaning of all apostrophes, double quotes, primes, and ditto marks on the coded page to decipher meaning. When someone writes 1' 2.75" they’re really saying one foot, two and three quarter inches. Since it’s not as easy to spell that all out and have people glance at a table in context, we need to write 1ft 2.75in (for consistency) so the search engines can tell what we’re talking about. Likewise, the range I mentioned before should be written as 1in-3in. 

To gain a different perspective, this document contains a variety of abbreviations and symbols for US including measurements (and they don't show quote marks and primes). You can see how using abbreviations inconsistently can lead to chaos (or in my case minute loss of page rank).

Now if we could only teach the search engines how to calculate ranges and relate to content for said ranges, as well as do calculations on the fly in context that would be awesome.

Search Engine Optimization is The Devil's fruit.

I do a lot of work on different websites and people are always impressed by how high we are in the search rankings. I tell people that I don't do anything special in order to achieve the proper ranking for my sites' content, but I understand how the search engines work and design accordingly. Because of this I'm rewarded for presenting all of my information in a way that the search engine can read, understand, and process; and for writing my content to gain the interest of the intended target market. When the visitors respond and stay on the site, it affirms to the search engine that they have provided a good result.

According to Dictionary.com, Search Engine Optimization or SEO is

"the methods used to boost the ranking or frequency of a Web site in results returned by a search engine, in an effort to maximize user traffic to the site: The first step in search-engine optimization is to generate keywords that are relevant to your site's content. Abbreviation: SEO" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/search-engine+optimization)

In short we're tricking the search engine to rank a page if we're not doing things the right way. There are companies that provide "SEO" services for websites that result in having a lot of clients downranked or unlisted.

What the search engine wants

This industry standard practice isn't always in the Search Engine's best interest. As described by Larry Page, the co-founder and CEO of Google, the “perfect search engine” is something that “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.” This would have to happen almost intuitively.

The bigger picture

In various languages there are different meanings for the same word. Out of context, the search engine has to determine what your intended search result was based on these various meanings, your dialect based on your region, and deliver the websites for the same keywords that show the appropriate level of stickiness (duration on page).

This is a huge undertaking on the part of the search engine, because not only are they trying to get the correct results for the search on the whole for their entire audience, but now they have to get the results right for individuals... people like me who look up a lot of stuff. So their approach is to follow habits through tools like Google Analytics, Google Search, Android Phones, various web browsers, Gmail accounts, online social network accounts, and blogs to get a better idea of who a person is... a profile if you will. When someone searches they can use previous search history to get the results they were looking for (You can opt out), based on search phrases from before. It's almost dynamic.

Because they're trying too hard (or maybe they're cutting corners), I've experienced searches where I'm looking for something, an exact phrase even, that I know exists and I never get the results I'm looking for. They're close, but hours daily have been wasted trying to find the correct results. If you're researching anything technical online you know what I mean.

The mistaken case for SEO

There is no perfect solution from a design standpoint for "Search Engine Optimization" because people are involved, everyone uses different phrasing, people change their minds, the definitions of words change, things lose popularity, and people alter their speech patterns over time. When a regular website isn’t designed properly (to present the information appropriately), as a last resort we have to perform SEO by definition to trick the search engine into displaying our site in the search results (or pay). When the search engine finds out we’ve tricked them or that we’re not in the best interest for the search engine for the keywords their users are searching on, we are down-ranked in the results for the term. They have a blog about this.

So when someone pays for SEO-only services, they're really paying for a temporary fix to a major problem. Many companies have shorted themselves in terms of a web design and development budget, hired people who don't know the correct answers to the problem (or that the problem even exists), and don't want to pay people to write the information they need on the website to make sure they're providing valuable information to the search engines for their results and the end users. In essence they've crippled their growth.

The Solution

In the long run, because Google has a lot more money to throw at this problem than most companies, the companies will lose out by trying to trick the search engines over and over, whereas it's simply much more cost effective to do it right the first time and hire the proper talent. This will make the Internet a much better place.

1. Write interesting content for the visitors that will keep them on the site and informed.
2. Provide clues in the interface to the search engines that will help them to target your audience.
3. Provide methods for your audience to share information about your site.
4. Analyze your statistical traffic data and adjust accordingly.

A nibble of a little bit of knowledge from the old tree might lead one to be kicked out of the garden.