Article printed from SEO-News: http://www.seo-news.com
  HTML version available at: http://www.seo-news.com/archives.html

Google Webmaster Guidelines You May Be Overlooking
By John Metzler (c) 2006

Most webmasters have visited Google's Webmaster Help Center:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters. Many of the
suggestions are obvious: Don't use frames; Don't employ cloaking
techniques or scripts designed to trick search engines; Create a
search engine-friendly site map; Get incoming links from other
quality web sites. But us webmasters can be a cocky bunch and
will let our own pre-conceived notions get the better of us
sometimes.

This refresher is for all you (ie. us) webmasters and search
engine optimizers who have a set method of designing and/or
promoting web sites and who consider yourselves experts in your
field. Experts you may be, but it is never a bad idea to review
the basics from time to time.

- Make sure your pages have less than 100 links. This won't be
too difficult unless you display product lists without breaking
them up into separate pages (which should be done for your
visitors let alone search engines!) or have a link partners page
or a site map. If you have more than 100 outbound links, you may
want to review your linking practices unless you have compiled a
comprehensive list of high quality and relevant resources for
your visitors.

- Dynamically-generated content can create session IDs and URLs
that contain a "?" character. Check your database administration
settings to make sure that you aren't forcing search engine
spiders to begin a new session each time they visit your site.
Note: Preventing spiders from starting a session on your site
may have negative effects if you use a third party for web site
credit card processing. Always check with these services before
making any changes of this nature.

- Web designers still utilize images as a way of displaying
headings or other important areas of text instead of simple HTML
simply because they think the Book Antiqua font with a drop
shadow improves the aesthetics of the site. While branding and
clarity are always paramount, keep in mind that multiple fonts
used on the same page can have a negative impact on readability.
And the more text written in HTML that can be read by search
engine spiders, the better. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) also
provide a way of attaining the look you want while keeping the
code clean and in search engine-readable format.

- "Make sure that your TITLE and ALT tags are descriptive and
accurate." Most webmasters assume that by using keywords in the
page title that are relevant to the page's topic, that they are
adhering to the rules. But that last word in quotes is the most
important: Accuracy. It is standard practice for search engine
optimizers to make sure that if a word is used in a page title,
that it also shows up in the main body of the page as well. Not
doing this means that Google may be interpreting your page
titles as inaccurate or at worst, trying to manipulate its
algorithm.

- Use 301 redirects to let visitors know if a URL has changed.
Many people still use the "meta refresh" command. This is an
outdated command that has been utilized in the past for
unethical purposes. While visitors can be directed to the new
page the same way with either method, Google specifically
mentions using a 301 redirect. More information on how to
implement this redirect can be read at
http://knowledge.freshpromo.ca/seo-tools/301-redirect.php

- Google suggests you submit your site to the Yahoo! directory.
Why would Google urge its users to pay a direct competitor of
theirs $299 USD a year? It is safe to say that web sites
included in the Yahoo! directory are not trying black hat SEO
techniques such as free-for-all link exchanges, cloaking,
multiple domains showing duplicate content, and so on. Companies
that spend money promoting their web site should receive a vote
of legitimacy from search engines. As difficult as it might be
for some small business owners to bite the bullet with Yahoo's
yearly cost, having Google recognize that you have paid for
directory listings will increase the chances that your site will
rank well.

- "You should never have to link to an SEO." If you are hiring a
search engine optimizer to help you with your site's rankings,
be careful they do not insist on linking your site to theirs.
The only reason for this is to help the SEO's own link
popularity. If anything, it will detract from the SEO efforts.
Not the most brilliant suggestion from a company claiming to
help you, is it?

It is recommended that you read Google's entire webmaster
guidelines if you are developing a new site. The above points
are ones that a lot of webmasters may have overlooked, and if
you're included in that group don't worry: just fix the issues
and remember them for next time you work on a web site.
================================================================
An expert at organic SEO, John Metzler has held executive
positions in the search engine marketing industry since 2001.
He is the President of FreshPromo, a Canadian-based SEO firm
(http://www.freshpromo.ca/).
================================================================

Copyright © 2006 Jayde Online, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SEO-News is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.