| Maximizing traffic from the search engines to your | | | | webmasters like to use fancy looking navigation links |
| web site is not a difficult task but it does require you | | | | but, in doing so, they fail to establish a theme for |
| to think ahead and plan your Search engine | | | | their sites. For instance, using a graphical link back to |
| optimization strategy carefully. If you have not yet | | | | your home page does not tell the search engine |
| built your web site and are still in the initial planning | | | | spiders what that link is about unless the spider |
| stages then you may have an easier time of it. If | | | | actually visits that page. If you use optimized ALT |
| you already have an existing web site, then you may | | | | text on that graphical home page link, then that |
| need to take the time to read up on these SEO | | | | would be a step in the right direction. But to |
| strategies and make some changes to incorporate | | | | maximize the effect and clearly define the theme of |
| them into your web site.I will discuss 13 ways in | | | | your web site, you need to use a text link that has |
| which you can improve on your existing web site or | | | | your primary keyword or phrase within the link text. |
| boost a brand new web site into the stratosphere of | | | | This is called Link Reputation.Home, Site Map and |
| high rankings. These are NOT SEO tricks but rather | | | | Contact Page LinksThe Home, Site Map and Contact |
| tried, tested, ethical and true methods that we know | | | | pages are your site's primary pages and should be |
| to work effectively. We all know that in reality there | | | | your SEO strategy top priority. It is essential that |
| are no real SEO tricks. True success is achieved | | | | these pages be spidered and exposed to your site |
| through hard work, research and implementation of a | | | | visitors. To ensure that they are spidered, place links |
| thorough and complete SEO strategy.Without further | | | | to them near the top of your source code on every |
| ado here is a checklist of important items to consider | | | | page of your web site. Your home page is, of |
| and implement into your SEO strategy.Using | | | | course, the main entrance to your web site so you |
| Javascript or Other Unspiderable CodeIf you intend | | | | want that to be the focal point in the search engines. |
| to use Javascript on your web page it is best to use | | | | Your site map page should (if properly optimized) |
| it sparingly or not at all. Search engine spiders cannot | | | | have links to all of your sub pages and use primary |
| read Javascript and it is possible that along with | | | | keywords belonging to each sub page within the link |
| ignoring it when they come across it on your page, | | | | text pointing to those sub pages. Your contact page |
| they may also get hung up on it if you are using a lot | | | | is just as important because it's used by visitors who |
| of it. If you really need to use Javascript you can | | | | have questions or who wish to order products and |
| safely use it by putting the code into a separate JS | | | | services.Redirected PagesWhen a web page has |
| file and calling it with a single line of code which you | | | | outlived its usefulness, webmasters will, on occasion, |
| place between your head tags within the header of | | | | redirect visitors hitting that page to another page. |
| your web page.Using Style Guidelines EffectivelyIf | | | | Search engine spiders, however, take a dim view of |
| you are using CSS style commands, do not include | | | | page redirects. If you change the content of your |
| them within your actual web page source code. You | | | | site and find that you have no further use for a |
| don't want search engine spiders to have to wade | | | | page, do not place a redirect on that page. Instead, |
| through 100 lines of unreadable code before they | | | | remove the outdated content and replace it with |
| reach your actual content. Instead, place your style | | | | something relevant. Include a text link to your home |
| guidelines into a separate CSS file and call them with | | | | page or to a new replacement page. When you |
| a single line of code from within your head tags again | | | | remove a page or place a redirect on an outdated |
| by using the following code:Primary Keyword | | | | page, you're cheating yourself out of better rankings |
| LayoutExamine your web site from a source code | | | | and search engine traffic. Moreover, using page |
| point of view and ensure that your primary | | | | redirects can result in the removal of your site listing |
| keywords or phrases will be spidered first. When | | | | in search engine databases with a consequent loss of |
| search engine spiders read your page they read the | | | | revenue.Excessively Small Type Font SizesText in a |
| source code just like we would read a book from | | | | font smaller than font size 2 is normally reserved for |
| left to right - top to bottom. We know that search | | | | copyright information and the legal jargon often seen |
| engines place higher relevancy on keywords and | | | | at the bottom of web pages. Use font size 2, or |
| phrases which appear closer to the top of a page so | | | | greater, for the majority of text on your page. Font |
| it stands to reason that if you've got a large table full | | | | size is a major factor in SEO strategy because the |
| of graphics appearing at the top of your source code | | | | font size used defines the relevancy a search engine |
| before your primary keywords, then you can achieve | | | | spider assigns to the content it finds on your page. |
| higher rankings by adjusting your layout and placing a | | | | An example of this would be the text within heading |
| well written search engine optimized paragraph above | | | | tags (H1 through to H6). Text surrounded with H1 |
| that table full of graphics.Spiderable Text Present on | | | | tags has a higher relevancy placed on it than text |
| Each PageMany times I have seen some very pretty | | | | surrounded with H6 tags. Visit the w3.org website for |
| web sites, but their chances of ranking high for any | | | | a better understanding of how on-page text is |
| relevant keywords have been dashed by the use of | | | | viewed by search engine spiders with regard to |
| only graphics and very little or no text on the pages. | | | | importance and relevancy. Search engine spiders tend |
| It is very important to your SEO strategy that you | | | | to follow the W3 HTML standard.Hidden Text, Door |
| make sure that you've taken the time to write some | | | | Way Pages and Other TricksNowadays search |
| quality textual content for your pages. Don't write | | | | engines are pretty smart and trying to trick them is |
| nonsensical text filled with blatant sp@m. Instead, | | | | not a wise course of action. Take some time to stop |
| take a few extra minutes and write 4-5 quality | | | | and examine your approach before proceeding with |
| paragraphs which clearly explain the theme of your | | | | your SEO strategy. The rule of thumb is that if it |
| site and the particular page you're writing for.Proper | | | | looks like spam or could be perceived as spam by |
| Use of robots.txt FileOn several occasions I have | | | | the search engines, then it probably is spam. The last |
| performed an analysis of a client's web site only to | | | | thing you need is for a competitor to report unethical |
| discover that they had inadvertently blocked spider | | | | SEO tactics to the search engines. Such tactics could |
| access to their web site by incorrectly formatting | | | | result in a loss of existing site listings as well as a ban |
| their robots.txt file. It is critical that you know what | | | | on future submissions. So, to ensure the longevity of |
| you're doing when you use a robots.txt file. If you | | | | your online business, stay away from any technique |
| are unsure of the correct syntax when modifying or | | | | that looks unethical.Using HTML FramesIn short, don't. |
| creating a robots.txt file, I recommend you not use a | | | | Frames are not very search engine friendly because |
| robots.txt file at all. This may sound | | | | search engines cannot read a framed source |
| counterproductive, but it's better to be safe than | | | | document that tells your browser to load more than |
| sorry. Accidentally blocking the spiders can result in a | | | | one page in your browser window at the same time. |
| loss of all your rankings. It would almost be like | | | | Thus, achieving a high PageRank on your home page |
| starting over again to repair the damage. For help on | | | | is difficult. Frames also make it hard for search engine |
| correctly formatting your robots.txt file, visit | | | | spiders to find all of your sub |
| robotstxt.org.Dead Links and 404 ErrorsIf you are | | | | pages.Non-Spider-Friendly URL'sIf the URL's for your |
| not checking for broken links on your web site, then | | | | web site contain characters such as &, $, =, %, etc., |
| you should start immediately and make this a part of | | | | that is they are dynamic in nature, then search |
| your SEO strategy. You can never be 100% sure of | | | | engine spiders may not be able to read them. And, if |
| your link integrity, especially when your site has 100, | | | | they can't be read, then the search engine spiders |
| or more, pages. Aside from losing potential customers | | | | won't be able to follow them to index your pages. |
| into a vortex of 404 errors, you risk more than that | | | | However, there are solutions available to fix this |
| from a search engine perspective. When a search | | | | problem. For example, webmasters who have sites |
| engine spider visits your web site and finds broken | | | | hosted on servers with Unix operating systems can |
| links, the impression left is that your site is not | | | | use Apache mod_rewrite to rewrite URL's that |
| regularly maintained and updated. Not much is known | | | | contain a session ID, or other nasty characters, into |
| about how the engines view this, but your crawl | | | | search engine spider friendly URL's.SEO, of course, is |
| status may be assigned a low priority by visiting | | | | not just limited to the 13 areas covered in this article, |
| search engine spiders. In other words, the spiders | | | | but if you apply the SEO strategies outlined in these |
| may not visit your site as frequently as they visit | | | | 13 areas to your web site, you will find that your site |
| sites with 100% link integrity. So make sure you | | | | rankings and traffic improve dramatically.Brendon |
| download some link checking software and begin a | | | | Turner maintains - a progressive weekly edition of |
| regular schedule of verifying your link structure.Using | | | | real-world online marketing business tactics that work! |
| Images For Primary Navigation LinksMany | | | | |