Looking at a website through the eyes of a “petrol head”

Not all of us SEOers are computer geeks; some of us have other passions in life too. As a self confessed petrol head I like to, or tend to compare everything to cars. So here is how I would describe a website from a car viewpoint.

From the outside

The car engine is the equivalent of the technology that runs the site e.g. Flash or HTML (Straight 6 or V6).

Body work of the car, is the same as the design of a website. A smooth flowing bodyline is the same as having an easy to navigate and pleasant looking site.

The doors of a car are the entry points of a site, there may be more than one way to enter the car, and the same applies to a site. The main entry point to a car is through the driver’s door however other points of entry are available, as with a site the main entry point is the home page but landing pages can also be used. The doors can also be seen as links to a site inviting people to come in.

Once your inside

The interior of a car is a resemblance of a site once the user has come through the entry point. A cosy interior, with all the right gadgets to make the journey more pleasant is similar to providing users with useful information and functionality to make their visit worthwhile.

A dirty and dull car interior will make the occupants uncomfortable and want them to leave as soon as possible. The same principle is applied to a website, a site without content, poor navigation and unworthy design will make the visitor click the back button immediately.

The instrument panel

A car instrument panel keeps the driver aware of what is happening with the car, fuel gauge, speedometer and warning lights. All of these can be interpreted to a sites analytics and statistics, how many visitors per day, how may back links, search engine positions and user numbers.

In a nutshell

In order for a car to run well you need to ensure the engine is running correctly, in order for a site to function you have to ensure the technology running the site is doing its job properly.

To keep a cars bodywork looking immaculate you have to wash, wax and polish regularly, with a site you have to update content and keep the design up to date. To feel comfortable in a car you have to keep it clean and make sure all the gadgets are working, just as in a site to make visitors feel comfortable you have to keep out spam and ensure all facilities are functioning.

The instrument panel information helps the up-keep of a car, knowing when a service is due and when you need to fill up with fuel. The same principle applies to a site, statistics and analytics help you maintain the site with fresh content and update things when needed.