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There are many websites that fail to target their required
traffic, even if they've had some search engine optimization
work done. One of the main causes for this is simply because the
website isn't search engine friendly. This is a basic essential
that needs to be incorporated into the design of all websites at
the outset - think of it as the foundation to establishing your
search engine optimization strategy.
This article aims to highlight the areas a web designer should
think about and incorporate into a design for maximum search
engine effectiveness:
1. Search Engine Friendly Pages
It is important that when you design your website you not only
bear in mind what your website requirements are, but also what
the requirements are for search engines. Best way to approach
this is to remember that search engines don't really care about
how nice or complicated your graphics or flash movies are, or
how snazzy your javascript is. Instead search engines look at
the code behind your page. Therefore, if you want to impress a
search engine, your code needs to be nice and easy to read.
Now from this I don't mean adding 'comment' tags and breaking
the lines of code up with spaces, but to ensure that the
elements the search engine is interested in, i.e. Title tag,
Description tag, Keyword tag (these days only some search
engines really use the keyword tag), Alt tag, are readable near
the beginning of the code. Search Engines don't like wading
through lines and lines of javascript to get to the core areas
that can help your page's ranking. Careful planning and
positioning of your page elements is required.
TIPS:
- If you're using a table for laying out your page then make
them simple and not too complex.
- Avoid using frames.
- If you need javascripts for navigation purposes, then use
smaller scripts to call up the bulk of the javascript from a
different file.
- Think twice on how to use graphics - make them relevant to
your content and use the Alt tag for all images.
- Position the main content of the page before the images, or
at least with the images nested between the text.
2. Keywords
Having good keywords is one of the most important areas to
consider when designing a website/webpage.
One of the best tools for this is Wordtracker
(www.wordtracker.com), which allows you to identify good
competitive keywords for your pages.
In general, the range of keywords associated with your pages
can be very extensive. Therefore, for good concentration and
prominence of keywords, it is advisable to carefully select
the top 10-15 keywords. You can always export the results to
Excel and try out other competitive keywords if the ones you
selected initially do not produce any noticeable benefits.
TOP TIP:
Wordtracker offers a one day subscription to their service from
which you can squeeze nearly 2 ? days worth of use! Here's how -
Sign-up for the service on the evening of Day 1 (the service
will be available almost immediately so you can start searching
for your competitive keywords straight away). You will also be
able to use the service for the whole of Day 2 and strangely for
the whole of Day 3! Enough time to get some good keywords for a
lot of pages!
3. Content
Many search engines look at the main body of the page and
identify keywords and phrases that are used within the text.
TIP:
Use competitive keywords relevant to the purpose of the page
within the main body of the page. Always try and ensure that the
keywords are prominent within the text body, i.e. they appear
near the beginning of the page, they are defined using the
'heading' tag, they are typefaced in bold, or they are used as
hyperlinks.
4. Page Title
This is arguably one of the most important components of a
web page and requires special attention. Similar to many other
aspects of designing a search engine friendly page, the Page
Title should also have a good keyword which describes the page
content. To keep within the limits of many search engines, the
number of words for the Title shouldn't exceed nine.
5. Page Description
Another important area to work on for good ranking is the Page
Description. This is the text found in the META Description
tag and is displayed to users in the search results. Again, it
is a good idea to pay attention to the use of good keywords when
writing the description, which should be short (not more than
20-25 words) and sells your page before the user has even opened
it!
6. Graphics
We've covered the use of graphics briefly above, emphasizing
the importance of using an Alt tag containing the relevant
keyword(s). Although the use of images can be nice and very
appealing to a website, it is also important to bear in mind
that they shouldn't overpower the textual content of your page.
As a general rule of thumb it is best to stick to a 70/30 ratio
(70% text/30% images).
7. Site Map
A Site Map is a fantastic way for search engines to find all
the juicy pages on your website. There are many free Site Map
tools available on the web that'll create your site map
instantly.
8. Navigation Links
Navigation links to other pages on your website should be nice
and easy. Some engines find it difficult to navigate through
to the other pages on your website if the nav bar is too
complicated, e.g. complicated pop-ups, use of flash, etc.
Therefore, if your site does have complicated navigation,
then it's always a good idea to implement simple text-based
hyperlinks to your common pages at the bottom of every page on
your website.
Following the basic suggestions above will help lay the
foundation to apply further good search engine optimization
advice which will make the difference in your overall search
engine ranking.
This finer area of SEO is beyond the realm of this document and
will require further investment based on individual needs. There are many websites that fail to target their required
traffic, even if they've had some search engine optimization
work done. One of the main causes for this is simply because the
website isn't search engine friendly. This is a basic essential
that needs to be incorporated into the design of all websites at
the outset - think of it as the foundation to establishing your
search engine optimization strategy. This article aims to highlight the areas a web designer should
think about and incorporate into a design for maximum search
engine effectiveness:
1. Search Engine Friendly Pages It is important that when you design your website you not only
bear in mind what your website requirements are, but also what
the requirements are for search engines. Best way to approach
this is to remember that search engines don't really care about
how nice or complicated your graphics or flash movies are, or
how snazzy your javascript is. Instead search engines look at
the code behind your page. Therefore, if you want to impress a
search engine, your code needs to be nice and easy to read.
Now from this I don't mean adding 'comment' tags and breaking
the lines of code up with spaces, but to ensure that the
elements the search engine is interested in, i.e. Title tag,
Description tag, Keyword tag (these days only some search
engines really use the keyword tag), Alt tag, are readable near
the beginning of the code. Search Engines don't like wading
through lines and lines of javascript to get to the core areas
that can help your page's ranking. Careful planning and
positioning of your page elements is required. TIPS:
- If you're using a table for laying out your page then make
them simple and not too complex.
- Avoid using frames.
- If you need javascripts for navigation purposes, then use
smaller scripts to call up the bulk of the javascript from a
different file.
- Think twice on how to use graphics - make them relevant to
your content and use the Alt tag for all images.
- Position the main content of the page before the images, or
at least with the images nested between the text. 2. Keywords Having good keywords is one of the most important areas to
consider when designing a website/webpage. One of the best tools for this is Wordtracker
(www.wordtracker.com), which allows you to identify good
competitive keywords for your pages. In general, the range of keywords associated with your pages
can be very extensive. Therefore, for good concentration and
prominence of keywords, it is advisable to carefully select
the top 10-15 keywords. You can always export the results to
Excel and try out other competitive keywords if the ones you
selected initially do not produce any noticeable benefits. TOP TIP: Wordtracker offers a one day subscription to their service from
which you can squeeze nearly 2 ? days worth of use! Here's how -
Sign-up for the service on the evening of Day 1 (the service
will be available almost immediately so you can start searching
for your competitive keywords straight away). You will also be
able to use the service for the whole of Day 2 and strangely for
the whole of Day 3! Enough time to get some good keywords for a
lot of pages! 3. Content Many search engines look at the main body of the page and
identify keywords and phrases that are used within the text. TIP: Use competitive keywords relevant to the purpose of the page
within the main body of the page. Always try and ensure that the
keywords are prominent within the text body, i.e. they appear
near the beginning of the page, they are defined using the
'heading' tag, they are typefaced in bold, or they are used as
hyperlinks. 4. Page Title This is arguably one of the most important components of a
web page and requires special attention. Similar to many other
aspects of designing a search engine friendly page, the Page
Title should also have a good keyword which describes the page
content. To keep within the limits of many search engines, the
number of words for the Title shouldn't exceed nine. 5. Page Description Another important area to work on for good ranking is the Page
Description. This is the text found in the META Description
tag and is displayed to users in the search results. Again, it
is a good idea to pay attention to the use of good keywords when
writing the description, which should be short (not more than
20-25 words) and sells your page before the user has even opened
it! 6. Graphics We've covered the use of graphics briefly above, emphasizing
the importance of using an Alt tag containing the relevant
keyword(s). Although the use of images can be nice and very
appealing to a website, it is also important to bear in mind
that they shouldn't overpower the textual content of your page.
As a general rule of thumb it is best to stick to a 70/30 ratio
(70% text/30% images). 7. Site Map A Site Map is a fantastic way for search engines to find all
the juicy pages on your website. There are many free Site Map
tools available on the web that'll create your site map
instantly. 8. Navigation Links Navigation links to other pages on your website should be nice
and easy. Some engines find it difficult to navigate through
to the other pages on your website if the nav bar is too
complicated, e.g. complicated pop-ups, use of flash, etc.
Therefore, if your site does have complicated navigation,
then it's always a good idea to implement simple text-based
hyperlinks to your common pages at the bottom of every page on
your website. Following the basic suggestions above will help lay the
foundation to apply further good search engine optimization
advice which will make the difference in your overall search
engine ranking. This finer area of SEO is beyond the realm of this document and
will require further investment based on individual needs.
Arif Hanid is the Internet Marketing Manager for Ambleton Computing.
Professionals in bespoke Internet Developement and Marketing.
arif_hanid@ambleton.com
www.ambleton.co.uk
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