I happen to agree with the author in particular article. The primary point I come away with here is that agencies have much more of an image focus rather than a focus on results. As a marketer, I do believe there is a happy medium. User experience is key and giving the user what the want in a few clicks as possible almost always yields the best results. Sites can have a very graphically pleasing site while still generating great ROI from their marketing efforts.
Search Engine Friendly or Search Friendly?:
"Search-friendly design doesn't only make Google, Yahoo, MSN Search and Teoma happy. Search-friendly design focuses on user experience. That's a win-win situation. Create a site where visitors can easily find what they're searching for before they arrive via the spider-based search engines. And create a site where they can easily find information after they arrive. All on the same site."