A lot of folks in the comments are under the impression

[zihadhasan012]

Redirection: Without engines, we can use whatever method is convenient - javascript, meta refresh, 302 - it makes little difference to the user. Rel="Nofollow": Internally or externally, it becomes a pointless attribute. I think the problem with the classic "build for users" advice is that it sounds so compelling and, on a surface level, makes a lot of sense. Maybe this is a good warning not to adhere to any advice just because it seems logical on its face - knowledge and expertise may not make for simple messaging, but, outside of politics, accuracy is far more valuable than fitting into a sound byte.


UPDATE: that I'm recommending against buildin turkey mobile phone numbers database for users - nothing could be further from the truth. Websites are made for people, and users should absolutely be the focus of your efforts. My argument in this post centers specifically around the practice of search engine optimization and the idea that tactics which are engine-focused (like XML sitemaps, anchor text, link architecture, webmaster tools usage, etc.) can be ignored because they're not "for the user.


The charts and points above are intended to illustrate that if you only focus on "user-targeted SEO" you're missing a huge chunk of the potential SEO opportunity pie. So you may have noticed that Adobe are looking to buy Omniture for $1.8-million. Ridiculously interesting news for creatives! Hugely exciting for web analysts! For SEOs? Not the most mindblowing thing ever to happen... BUT - that's not what this post is about. It IS about Adobe though, and more specifically it is a quick case study in missed SEO opportunities (commonly known as 'FAIL!').