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.
Do you ever wonder how people search for things on... Read More
You've got a website. You've put countless hours into it,... Read More
Today's article is about the wonders of SEO. SEO is... Read More
In order to tap the huge stream of targeted traffic... Read More
There are many Black Hat techniques that people use to... Read More
Top 10 search engine rankings. Everybody wants it but a... Read More
What is the Google Algorithm?An algorithm is a mathematical equation... Read More
You need to be extremely careful with keyword research so... Read More
About directories:A directory is simply a web site that contains... Read More
Which SEO hat do you wear? Is it white or... Read More
There are those that get on the computer one night... Read More
One of the most overlooked, but important components, on your... Read More
If you have an online business or you just use... Read More
The importance to the algorithmic web crawlers that speed throughout... Read More
Search Engine Optimization nowadays has a lot to do with... Read More
You've seen the ads: Guaranteed #1 Ranking! There are no... Read More
I wish to give a few little tips, about optimizing.... Read More
In order to get a top 10 google ranking it... Read More
This is part 1 of a 7 part series that... Read More
Let's say you are writing a web site to sell... Read More
I hear this all the time. "I can get you... Read More
Writing articles is all the rage these days on the... Read More
With the ever evolving internet market for just about anything... Read More
Are shades of grey SEO really Black Hat SEO?Black hat... Read More
In parts 1 - 5 you learnt how to develop... Read More
Part 2 Tips 4 tagsMeta tags are the descriptive tags... Read More
A good link building strategy has become an essential part... Read More
Getting a high ranking on Google is a big achievement.... Read More
So, you've just paid £300 - £10,000 for a new... Read More
Having greatly benefited from my relationship with Google in the... Read More
6: The hidden benefits to having the right links. Every... Read More
If you are the owner of a new website, trying... Read More
Everybody knows that getting indexed in Google is getting more... Read More
There is really only one search engine to worry about... Read More
Link building is a waiting game. Many clients have asked... Read More
By now you have likely heard that keywords and keyword... Read More
As you are building your site or getting your site... Read More
If you have a website then you already know the... Read More
The search engine giants are locked in an all out... Read More
Trillions of Billions of content pages make up the wide... Read More
The world of internet marketing is a highly competitive place.... Read More
There is perhaps no more level playing field in business... Read More
By about 2pm everyday, each of my team members has... Read More
So you have a site concept developed that you are... Read More
In a fluke, I was able to notice something about... Read More
Google Sitemaps is a new tool for website owners and... Read More
Visitors and search engines love content-rich web sites, but just... Read More
Let's face facts - Search engines are starting to rule... Read More
You need to be extremely careful with keyword research so... Read More
Keywords are indisputably, the single most important element of an... Read More
It's no surprise that dominant cosmetic surgery practices also have... Read More
First of all, What is SEO? SEO stands for Search... Read More
Search engine copywriting has become an extremely important part of... Read More
Like many folks, I have been using KEI for some... Read More
Over the last couple of weeks, I've received more e-mails... Read More
It crosses every webmaster's mind anytime they see an ad... Read More
First of all, the Google directory is really just the... Read More
These days with millions of websites out there, you need... Read More
You finally have a website and you are ready to... Read More
For your web site to succeed, you must use is... Read More
Good keywords are frequently searched for (high demand) but not... Read More
On the internet, competition is stronger than ever. There was... Read More
What Are Search Engines?A search engine is a database system... Read More
If I ask you how many web sites do you... Read More
With so many internet and home business opportunities on the... Read More
We have all heard that adding quality content to your... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |