Search and Design Does Design Influence Placement?

I have been seeing advertisements for web site developers who create some very nice sites. They have lots of pretty designs, lots of bells and whistles, splash and flash, the trouble is, you can’t find them in an Internet search with any search engine unless you type the name of the website into the browser. Even then, they may not be listed first for their own name. That’s just sad.

Most of this problem is not related to design, although some of it is. Most of the problem is that a lot of attention was paid to the look of the design, and very little to how the design interacts with the world it exists in, and the people who would potentially use it, if it could be found in the first place.

If the website can’t be found, it won’t be used. If the website is found, it needs to be usable. Search engines seem to prefer sites that are people friendly, and use that usability as a means of determining search position.

Some design options slow down load time with lots of gimmicks. This does not help the user, and most searchers will click on the next link on the list if the first link they click is slow to load. Even if the promoters have manipulated enough links to get some decent search positions, they will lose the user before they even have a chance to view the site.

Need confirmation of this fact, well, you are reading this page, not theirs!