Design A Spider Friendly Site

To be successful in the search engines it's important to design your web site with the spiders in mind. Using the latest in web page design is not generally the best way to go. Spiders don't view web pages like humans do, they must read the HTML in the page to see what it's about. Below you will find tips on how to best design your web site with search engines in mind.

Do not use frames at all. Some search engines cannot spider web pages with frames at all. For the other search engines that can, they can have problems spidering it and sometimes they too can't index the web page. Do not only use image's to link out. You should always use text links to link out to important content on your web site. Spiders can follow image links, but like text links more though.

Use external JavaScript files instead of using Java Script code in the HTML document, using Java Script in the HTML document will make the page size much larger. Using an external Java Script file to do the job will reduce page size and make it easier for both spiders and browsers to download the page. Using Cascading Style Sheets can reduce page size and making the download time much faster in most cases. It will allow the spider to index your web page faster and can help your ranking.

Avoid using web page creators such as FrontPage, Dreamweaver or a WYSIWYG editor. Software such as that will often times add scripting code that is not needed, making the page larger than it needed to be and making it harder to crawl. It will also add code that can't be read by the search engines, causing the spider not to index the page or not index the whole web page. It is better to use standard HTML. Adding code that they can't read or have a hard time to read can lead to major problems with your ranking.

Try not to use Flash when possible. Flash cannot be read by the search engines to date and will cause download time to slow a bit. If you do decide to use Flash anyway, make sure you add text to the web page, so the search engines have something to read and find out what your web page is about. It will also allow your visitors to have something to read while the Flash file loads. Also don't use Flash as a way of navigation, as I said before spiders cannot read Flash.

It's important to add a site map to your web site. Not only will this make it easier for internet surfers to get around your web site, but it will also allow spiders to find your site's content easier and index your web page sooner. The site map should contain text links and not image links.

I highly suggest that you look at your web page with a Lynx browser because this is similar to how search engines will view your web page. There are other tools on the internet that will allow you to view your web page without a Lynx browser, but see a web page just like it, so you may want to check those out as well.

Matt Colyer is the owner of Superior Webmaster. He also is a php, CGI, and ASP developer.

---

How To Start An Internet Business ? Meta Tags and Keyword Density

Okay, you have a domain name, layout and content. Now... Read More

SEO Tips - Google Has Changed - Learn Why And What To Do

Google now checks the year your domain name was first... Read More

SEO Help: Dont Try to Fool the Search Engines

Writing articles is all the rage these days on the... Read More

Search Engine Optimization, Positioning: Is Chasing Google Algorithms Worth It?

Google is the undisputed heavyweight champion of search engines. Most... Read More

Website Promotion: 10 Search Engine Optimization Blunders to Avoid

If you want to develop a successful search engine optimization... Read More

Optimizing Your Website

Search Engine Optimization, optimizing your website for it to be... Read More

How to Get the Ranking You Always Wanted!

Is your web site well ranked (In the top ten... Read More

Search Engine Optimization and Web Site Usability

Build a Web site and the people will come.Ha! If... Read More

How To Select The Right Keywords

Keyword SelectionThe most important component of search engine optimization is... Read More

Reciprocal Linking Scams, What to Look for and How to Avoid Them

Reciprocal linking scams have increased immensely during the past year.... Read More

5 Things to Keep an Eye on in the SEO World in 2005...

After the latest PR update at Google and MSN's beta... Read More

How To Improve Your Search Engine Ranking

With search engines like Google currently indexing over 8 billion... Read More

Google Patent Application - SEO Highlights

The recent patent application filed by Google details numerous items... Read More

How to Verify and Monitor Your Search Engine Listing on Google?

Being listed in search engines and ranked high on searches... Read More

Increase Web Site Sales with a SEO Proposal - Part 1

You can easily get confused by all the search engine... Read More

Optimum SEO Keyword Density ? A Real-Life Case Study

So you've built your website, you know what keywords you... Read More

When to NOT Hire a SEO and Why

When you get an e-mail from SEO Company with content... Read More

Youve Got The Power, Why Arent You Promoting It?

Like all things, theft is theft, misery loves company, negative... Read More

Search Engines Are Going to Love You for This

What's the most potent free traffic source on the web?***... Read More

The Disease of Google Banning: Are You At Risk?

Definition:Google banning occurs when Google removes your site from its... Read More

Keyword Demand Isnt Enough

I get half of the world traffic for the term... Read More

Top Search Engine Ranks, Part 2- Mastering the Secret- Explained

In the first part of this series on ranking at... Read More

The Google Sandbox Explained

Introduction The Google Sandbox is a metaphorical term... Read More

Going To Market: Keywords and Backlinks, Part 1

As I waded into the 'Make Money Online' waters on... Read More

You Have More Web Sites Than You Think You Have: The Importance of Deep Submission

If I ask you how many web sites do you... Read More

Does Google Hire Mad Scientists?

Online search giant, Google, often tests the waters for new... Read More

Why Search Engine Marketing Has A Passion for Web Site Usability

Watching a recent football game, I imagined two very different... Read More

SEO #2: On-page Optimization

Yesterday you should have read the first course out of... Read More

Beyond the Box with Googles Web API

Google, the most popular, and many say best, search engine,... Read More

How Web Design Can Affect Search Engine Rankings

Uniquely built web sites can create unique issues when being... Read More

Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 2: Content Creation

Welcome to part two in this search engine optimization series.... Read More

SEO for CEOs ? Search Engine Optimization Unmasked for CEOs

If you're like most other CEOs, the term "search engine... Read More

Anatomy Of A Top Ranking Web page

Optimizing web pages for high rankings in the search engines... Read More