Search engine optimization for today's search engine robots requires that sites be well-designed and easy-to-navigate.
To a great degree, organic search engine optimization is simply an extension of best practices in web page design.
SEO's relationship with web design is a natural one. By making sites simple and easily accessible, you are providing
the easiest path for the search engine robots to index your site, at the same time that you are creating the optimum
experience for your human visitors.
This approach ties well into the notion of long-term search engine marketing success. Rather than trying to
"psych out" the ever-changing search engine algorithms, build pages that have good text and good links. No
matter what the search engines are looking for this month or next, they will always reward good content and simple
navigation.
Search Engine
Robots
Search engine robots are automated programs that go out on the World Wide Web and visit web pages. They read the text
on a page and click through links in order to travel from page to page. What this really means is that they
"read" or collect information from the source code of each page. Depending on the search engine, the robots
typically pick up the title and meta description. The robots then go on to the body text of the page in the source
code. They also pay attention to certain tags such as headings and alt text. Search engine robots have capabilities
like first-generation browsers at best: no scripting, no frames, no Flash. When designing, think simple.
Search Engine
Friendly Design
Creating search engine friendly design is relatively easy. Cut out all the bells and whistles and stick to simple
architecture. Search engine robots "understand" text on the page and hyperlinks, especially text links. The
relationship of SEO and web design makes sense when you start with good design techniques for your visitor. The easier
the navigation and the more text on the page, the better it is not only for the visitor but also for the search
engine robots.
Obstacles For
Indexing Web Pages
Search engine robots cannot "choose" from drop down lists, click a submit button, or follow JavaScript links like a
human visitor. In addition, the extra code necessary to script your pages or create those lists can trip-up the
search engine robots while they index your web page. The long JavaScript in your source code means the search engine
robots must go through all this code to finally reach the text that will appear on your page. Offload your JavaScript
and CSS code for quicker access to your source code by the search engine robots, and faster loading time for your
online visitors. Some search engine robots have difficulty with dynamically-generated pages, especially those with
URLs that contain long querystrings. Some search engines, such as Google, index a portion of dynamically generated
pages, but not all search engines do. Frames cause problems with indexing and are generally best left out of design
for optimum indexing. Web pages built entirely in Flash can present another set of problems for indexing.
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Depth Of
Directories
Search engine robots may have difficulty reaching deeper pages in a website. Aim to keep your most important pages no
more than one or two "clicks" away from your home page. Keep your pages closer to the root instead of in
deeply-nested subdirectories. In this way you will be assured the optimum indexing of your web pages. Just as your
website visitor may become lost and frustrated in too many clicks away from your homepage, the robots may also give
up after multiple clicks away from the root of your site.
Solutions And
Helpful Techniques
If there are so many problems with indexing, how will you ever make it work?
The use of static pages is the easiest way to ensure you will be indexed by the search engine robots. If you must use
dynamically-generated pages, there are techniques you can use to improve the chances of their being indexed. Use your
web server's rewrite capabilities to create simple URLs from complex ones. Use fixed landing pages including real
content, which in turn will list the links to your dynamic pages. If you must use querystrings in your page addresses,
make them as short as possible, and avoid the use of "session id" values.
When using Flash to dress up your pages, use a portion of Flash for an important message, but avoid building entire
pages using that technology. Make sure that the search engine robots can look at all of the important text content on
your pages. You want your message to get across to your human visitor as well. Give them enough information about
your product to interest them in going the next step and purchasing your product.
If you must use frames, be sure to optimize the "no frames" section of your pages. Robots can't index framed
pages, so they rely on the no frames text to understand what your site is about. Include JavaScript code to reload the
pages as needed in the search engine results page.
Got imagemaps and mouseover links? Make sure your pages include text links that duplicate those images, and always
include a link back to your homepage.
Use a sitemap to present all your web pages to the search engine robots, especially your deeper pages. Make sure you
have hyperlink text links on your page, and a sentence or two describing each page listed, using a few of your keyword
phrases in the text.
Remember that the search engine robots "read" the text on your web page. The more that your content is on-topic and
includes a reasonable amount of keyword-rich text, the more the search engine robot will "understand" what the page
is about. This information is then taken back to the search engine database to eventually become part of the data you
see in the search engine results.
Last of all, it is very important to test your pages for validation. Errors from programming code and malformed html
can keep the search engine robots from indexing your web pages. Keep your coding clean.
Check List For
Success
- Include plenty of good content in text on your web pages
- Incorporate easy to follow text navigation
- Serve up dynamically generated pages as simply as possible
- Offload JavaScript and other non-text code (style sheets, etc.) to external files
- Add a sitemap for optimum indexing of pages
- Validate your pages using the World Wide Web Consortium's validation tool, or other html validator
On Your Way To
Indexed Pages
The best way to assure that your pages will be indexed is to keep them simple. This type of architecture not only
helps the search engine robots, but makes it easier for your website visitors to move throughout your site. Don't
forget to provide plenty of good content on your pages. The search engine robots and your visitors will reward you
with return visits.
Resources
To learn more about how to work around optimization problems with JavaScript, dynamically-generated pages, Frames and
Flash, read the following articles:
Optimizing Pages with JavaScript
and Style Sheets for Search Engines
Optimizing Dynamic Pages (Part I)
Optimizing Dynamic Pages (Part II)
Optimizing Frames for Search
Engines
Html validation tool
Stylesheet validation tool
Copyright (c) 2002-2004 Search Innovation Marketing.
http://www.searchinnovation.com All Rights Reserved.
About The Author
Daria Goetsch is the founder and Search Engine Marketing Consultant for
Search Innovation Marketing, a Search Engine Promotion company serving small businesses. She has specialized in
search engine optimization since 1998, including three years as the Search Engine Specialist for O'Reilly &
Associates, a technical book publishing company.
