gmiller - 6:08 pm on Dec 30, 2000 (gmt 0)

Yep, I've often found that it pays off much more to find a new way to simplify my layout, reduce my file sizes, or make the navigation more similar to other sites than it is to optimize a bit more for search engines. Users are just more predictable and faster-reacting than SEs :)

The third one was a real surprise. I knew familiar layouts would be easier to use, but I didn't realize until a round of layout changes just how much it mattered. My neato layout that allowed you to find exactly what you wanted in a hurry was less useful than a layout everyone already understood, even if it took an extra click or two to get where they wanted to be.