 Search Engine Optimization
Creating a website presence is more then a great design and a
compelling copy. Although these two features alone will offer you a
dynamic web presence, they will not in and of themselves generate
website traffic. It is the third step, search engine optimization that
is more relevant than either of them. Why is the third step more
important then the first two? Survey after survey shows that internet
users use search engines to find the information they want over 90% of
the time. Although getting 90% of anyone to agree on anything seems
improbable, it is still a large chunk of the market and can not be
understated. Of the scores of articles both on the internet and in
print outlining design mistakes in search engine marketing, Click Here
Designs has compiled a list 5 design mistakes and how to avoid them.
These 5 items should be considered on each page of your website and
although no single item on the list will determine your search engine
marketing success, the combination will.
Lack of Meta data and consistent information flow
Meta data is the information in the header that is used by the
different search engines to organize websites. This includes the
title, description, keywords and search engine instructions on which
pages to index and which not to. The information in the Meta data
should also be consistent with the information on the page that is if
the Meta data informs the search engine the page contains content
about Montana Screen Savers, then the headers and the content of that
page should be about Montana Screen Savers and not vintage Volkswagen
parts. The page should start with a consistent theme in the Meta data
and flow to the footer and copyright and the end of the page.
Improper use of images as navigation, flash navigation
Using images, or buttons as navigation, if done correctly will not
hinder you search engine marketing goals and provide your user with a
nice user interface. If done incorrectly it will greatly hinder your
efforts. The same is true when using flash in the navigation of your
website. Both flash and incorrect uses of images in navigation do not
tell the search engines that internal pages exist. They are in effect
dead end signs on the internet super highway. Although Google has made
efforts to category flash sites it is still not advisable to use flash
in your navigation structure.
Marketing too many keywords on any single page
Keyword prominence is the single most important item in writing
compelling copy for your website. If your website is about Montana
Screen Savers, and your title and meta data reflect Montana Screen
Savers, and your copy is about Montana Screen Savers, and your website
footer speaks of Montana Screen Savers, then it is likely that a
search engine that does not physically look at your site, but only
reads the content, will place your site high when searching for
Montana Screen Savers. However do not expect the same page to return
results when you try and sell those vintage Volkswagen parts.
Overuse of Flash in the design-splash pages
Flash usage in navigation without text links or as a splash page
should be avoided completely. Flash leaves no foot print about what it
is, or where it is going. form a design point alone it may be
compelling, however, form a search engine marketing standpoint it can
be disastrous. If you must use flash in your navigation, consider an
alternate text/image page for both search engines and those who may
not have the plug in.
Using website frames
Using frames in your design limits the number of ways your user can
enter your website. You have created a fornt door that all users must
enter, especially if you have put your navigation in a separate frame
then your content. Let’s say you have a website that contains 20
pages. If you use frames in your site users must enter through your
home page. If you do not use frames then users can enter through any
one of the 20 pages. So the question becomes, how many door way pages
do you want to your website.
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