| Creating a good web site structure is crucial for both | | | | use spaces when searching for terms (e.g., people |
| your visitors and achieving a good rank with the | | | | search for "blue widgets" not "bluewidgets". |
| major search engines. Most visitors who visit your | | | | Do not use underscores to separate words (e.g., |
| site will be visiting for a particular reason. Either they | | | | "blue_widgets"). If you separate your keywords with |
| want to find out more information about the | | | | underscores, Google (and possibly other search |
| products or services that you offer, or alternatively, | | | | engines) will not separate your keywords. The search |
| they may wish to buy a product having carried out | | | | engines will index the word for your file name as one |
| some initial research. | | | | long text string and not as separate words. |
| You may have only one opportunity to inform them | | | | Dynamically Generated URLs |
| about your services and have them contact you; | | | | Dynamically generated URLs come from Web pages |
| therefore your site should be designed in such a way | | | | that are generated from "scripts," which put together |
| that encourages and makes contacting you easy to | | | | page content from a database or multiple files "on |
| do. | | | | the fly" by a server, when a user asks to see a Web |
| In this regard, search engine optimization should not | | | | page. These pages are different from those that |
| get in the way of having a clean and friendly site. | | | | statically sit on a server. If you see a URL containing |
| The following design rules can help you build a site | | | | a question mark ("?"), it likely means that page has |
| that will be both visitor friendly and ranked well by | | | | been pulled from a database to be displayed in your |
| the major search engines. | | | | browser. Other symbols you might see that indicate |
| Home Pages | | | | this are: &, $, =, +, and %. |
| The home page is the most important page of a | | | | Some search engine crawlers, such as Google's, will |
| Web site from an SEO standpoint. If you are only | | | | index dynamically-generated pages, but others will not |
| going to optimize one page of your site, both for | | | | index pages when they see those symbols, especially |
| search engines and potential clients, it should be the | | | | the question mark. Some search engines will only |
| home page. Even if your goal is to optimize your | | | | index a dynamically-generated page that is linked |
| entire site, you should devote a good deal of your | | | | from a static page, i.e., the search engine will not |
| time and effort to optimizing your home page. | | | | follow links from dynamically-generated pages. |
| In the search engine indexing process, the home | | | | If you are going to have dynamic pages on your |
| page of a domain receives more weight than its | | | | web site, it is important that, at a minimum, they not |
| internal pages. The home page is also the one page | | | | have session variables presented to the search |
| that will be seen by most of your visitors. Because | | | | engines. Session variables are unique strings of text in |
| of this, it is important to list and include your practice | | | | a URL that are generated each time a user visits a |
| areas and other keywords on your home page, as | | | | site. For example, Amazon has session variables in |
| well as provide links to information in your internal | | | | the URL when a user visits its site. Session variables |
| pages. The home page must be text rich and not | | | | cause the same page to appear with constantly |
| contain extensive graphics, flash or video | | | | changing URLs, and search engines will not index |
| components. The page must also load quickly, and | | | | dynamic pages that deliver the same content over |
| any JavaScript and style sheets should be placed in | | | | and over again with a changing URL. |
| external files. | | | | A Web server may be configured to have the URL |
| You should never have a splash page if your | | | | of a dynamic page appear as a static HTML page, in |
| objective is effective search engine optimization. | | | | which case spiders will index the Web page as |
| Most visitors will skip by the splash page, and it may | | | | though it is static and will follow links on the page. |
| even keep a search engine crawler or spider from | | | | An additional issue that dynamic pages create, even |
| indexing your the other Web pages of your site. | | | | if they appear in the URLs as static pages, is that |
| A Search Engine and Visitor Friendly Site Map | | | | they are often slower-loading than plain HTML pages, |
| You should always have a site map that contains links | | | | because of the data processing required by the |
| to your web site's various sections or pages. From an | | | | server to put them together on the fly. The slow |
| SEO perspective, having a link to your site map on | | | | processing of these pages can lead to fewer pages |
| your home page -- if not all pages of your Web site | | | | being indexed. If a page takes too long to load, a |
| -- is important. Listing the links to all the major | | | | spider will move on without indexing that page. As |
| sections and/or pages of your site in one, | | | | Google notes "Because our web crawler can easily |
| easy-to-find place makes it much easier for a search | | | | overwhelm and crash sites serving dynamic content, |
| engine crawler to grab and index your entire site. | | | | we limit the amount of dynamic pages we index". |
| From a user-perspective, it is worthwhile having the | | | | Hypertext Links |
| site map linked on every page so that users can | | | | Hypertext links are the text and links placed |
| easily go there if they are having problems finding | | | | between the link tags (<a href=" link text < |
| specific information. | | | | a>), which take internet users to different |
| Multiple Sub-domains | | | | sections and pages of your web site, as well as to |
| If you own a particular domain name then you can | | | | other Web sites. |
| create an unlimited number of domain names that | | | | Search engines like hypertext links as navigation tools |
| use the original name as a suffix. Once you register a | | | | for two reasons: |
| domain, such as with a registrar, you are free to | | | | (1) Spiders and crawlers can easily read the text |
| create as many sub-domains as you wish, e.g., You | | | | placed between link tags; and |
| will still need your system administrator or ISP to set | | | | (2) Spiders or crawlers can easily follow links that are |
| these sub-domains up, and they may charge a setup | | | | listed. Remember that if a spider or crawler has a |
| cost, but there are no domain name registration | | | | hard time finding or following the links you've placed |
| costs. Each of the default/home pages of these | | | | on your pages; it may give up indexing your site. |
| domains will get the same preferential value as your | | | | Drop-Down or Pull-Down Menus |
| default domain name or home page from search | | | | Using a drop-down or pull-down menu helps you save |
| engines. If your Web developer can provide | | | | on screen space when you have a lot of material |
| sub-domains for you, it may help increase the | | | | that needs to be displayed on your pages, or a |
| rankings of some of your Web pages in search | | | | complicated multi-level navigational structure. In |
| engine indices, without having to purchase additional | | | | general one should use XHTML and CSS style sheets |
| domains from one of the registries. | | | | to present drop-down or pull-down menu navigation |
| Directory Depth and Search Engine Indexing and | | | | so that the search engines will still see the Href links |
| Rankings | | | | when indexing your Web page. |
| Directory depth refers to the number of directories | | | | If this type of navigational scheme uses a CGI script |
| in a URL. When your web site content and files are | | | | or JavaScript it is not good for search engine |
| grouped into a directory structure, your URL will | | | | crawlers, and the links may not be indexed. If you |
| reflect this structure (similar to how files are grouped | | | | decide to use drop-down or pull-down menus using |
| and stored into broad categories in folders in your | | | | JavaScript or a CGI script as your main navigational |
| computer). The deeper you go "down" the directory | | | | format, remember to include a secondary form of |
| structure, the more directories your URL will show | | | | navigation to allow search engine spiders to follow |
| for a particular file. | | | | links to the sections of your Web site easily. You can |
| For example: has a directory depth of 0 has a | | | | normally do this by linking to a page that contains |
| directory depth of 1 (products is a directory) has a | | | | links to the choices presented in the drop-down or |
| directory depth of 2 (products is a directory, and | | | | pull-down menu. |
| widgets is a subdirectory) | | | | Image Maps |
| Most of the major search engines will index a site | | | | Most search engines will not follow links placed in |
| regardless of its directory depth. Yet, some search | | | | image maps. Thus, if you are going to use an image |
| engine algorithms will discount the weight given to | | | | map it is best to also provide text links as well. |
| pages that are multiple levels down in a web site's | | | | Ideally, all of the text links should be included on the |
| directory structure. As a general rule, it is advisable | | | | same page, but if needed, from a design perspective, |
| not to have extraneous directories that are not used | | | | put one link in text at the bottom of the page that |
| in your web site's structure. For example, if you have | | | | takes your users to a list of links that were on the |
| an extraneous directory called "html" where you place | | | | image map. This will also help those not loading |
| all of your HTML files, you should remove it if | | | | graphics find the content they are looking for. |
| possible. This can normally be accomplished by asking | | | | Fast Downloads of HTML, XHTML, Site Layout and |
| your webmaster to change the web server | | | | Navigation |
| configuration to point to the "html" directory/folder | | | | It is important that the HTML or XHTML of a web |
| as the default folder for the Web site. | | | | page load into a user's browser window quickly. The |
| Domain, Directory and File Names | | | | file size of a web page itself, excluding images, |
| You can place keywords in the name of a domain, | | | | plug-ins or other files that are a part of the page, |
| secondary domain, directory or file. Some search | | | | should to be under 40k when at all possible. One way |
| engines give extra weight to these file name words. | | | | to keep the file size of a page small and remove |
| Here are a few tips to help you do this: | | | | extra text from the top of the page is to keep |
| Separate keywords with dashes (e.g., "blue-widgets"). | | | | JavaScript and style sheets in a separate file that is |
| Do not run keywords together, as they will be seen | | | | called by and integrated into the Web page at the |
| as one word by the search engine, and most people | | | | time a user wants the page. |