Much is being said about Findability strategies for brands and websites. But what does it really mean to be findable? Findability could be defined, in its essence, by one straightforward phrase: The best way to find a user is to be found by him. In theory this can sound simple, but not in practice.
Morville (2005) point out that “Findability precedes usability. You can’t use what you can’t find”. Many marketers desire to have the ideal web design solution for their company, accompanied by an appropriate information architecture and usability structure. Of course this is important to be considered when having an online presence, but along with that, strategies to increase the users capability to find the websites they seek as well as being able to find relevant content within the pages must be put in practice.
There is a big difference between a customer’s behaviors when impacted by online media vs. mass media. For instance, when you are watching the television and a commercial break is on, the message that you receive turns to be totally invasive. In the web, things work in a different (although not opposite) way.
As much as a banner or pop-up ads can be invasive, the user usually accesses the url of the brand he/she is willing to see: they open a favorite browser and type the brand url or search for the brand name in a query box. That’s were we meet the concept of findability.
