Beyond The Basics
This chapter is not for beginners.
The things here are a little more technical, and
some involve coding strategies, so unless you
understand how to find your way around in HTML code,
you are not going to be able to do these as well.
These things are also less important,
and will make less of a difference to your site
success, so they should not really be done unless
you have already done the the first 6 tasks. If you
have, and want to nudge your site more, then these
strategies can help a bit. If you cannot do them, or
do not have the time, don't fret about it. They are
a nudge, not a leap, in effect.
Search engines do not like
Javascript or Flash, so avoid those unless you have
a major reason for using them. Yes, many large sites
do use them, but they have an advertising budget to
compensate for it. If you are relying heavily on
free search engine traffic, then you cannot afford
to obstruct their view of what your site is about,
and those things can do that. Short JavaScript like
Google code is not a problem. But JavaScript menus
limit your ability to use keywords in links, and too
much of it and the search engine won't even fully
index your page.
If you have a php website, make
sure the pages can actually get indexed by the
search engines. Certain types of php sites don't
index well. To find out if yours is one, just do a
search on some keywords that you have used on a page
that are fairly unique. I used part of an article
title which had unique word usage to search for a
page on my Content Cupboard site, and it popped up
#1, so I know the site was indexing properly.
A domain name with one keyword or
keyphrase in it can help a tiny bit, but don't get
in a knot if yours doesn't have one, because
Wal-Mart ranks for toasters even though their domain
is www.walmart.com. If your domain is not directly
connected to your product or information offerings,
then don't worry about it. Next time you build a
site, you can think about it. There is a “to dash or
not to dash” argument out there. Some people say
that search engines pay more attention to names with
dashes, some people say they pay more attention to
sites without. I, personally, do NOT use dashes, for
three reasons:
They are so often used by people
who are trying to manipulate pagerank that they give
your site a less professional, more scammy look.
People remember URL names better
if there is no dash. It is sort of an internet
tradition to use domain names without dashes, and
that is what people default to. Make it easy on them
by choosing a simple domain name.
No dash names are easier to speak.
It is much easier for me to say, “Firelightwebstudio
dot com”, than it is to say “Firelight dash web dash
studio dot com”. And when someone hears it, it is
easier to remember the no-dash name.
Keep your domain name short. Many
places won't allow you to use one more than 30
characters long. Too long looks scammy. And finally,
people don't remember them. Two words is best, three
at most unless it is a well known, SHORT, phrase. It
is getting harder and harder to get a good domain
name though, and most two word names are long gone.
If you use keywords in your page
links, this supposedly helps, because it is a
repetition on your page of those most important
words. It also helps tie your site together as a
site, and gives your pages more relevance to each
other. Short link descriptions are best.
You can also use keywords in your
filenames, that reputedly helps - most people do
that anyway because you choose a filename that is
logical, and a keyword usually pops to mind. This is
similar to the domain name thing, just a word or
two, nothing too long. Some auto-site builders
generate page names from an entire article title, so
you get “opposing-google-adwords-why-pay-per-click-may-not-be-a-wise-choice-for-shoestring-startups.htm”.
Not only is this absurd, but it smacks of search
engine manipulation and may eventually have a
backlash. Plus, some programs (zip programs, file
management programs) may have a problem with
excessively long filenames. 20-30 characters is
generally a safe limit. Search engines WON'T pay
THAT much attention to the filename, since so many
dynamically generate websites assign random names to
the files anyway.
If you use H1 tags around your
text titles, and bold important phrases that have
keywords in them on your pages, that reputedly helps
because you just indicated to the search engine that
those words were more important. This is just
another way of saying, “Hey, this is what is most
important on my site.”
Don't get obsessive about it, and
don't go overboard into the gray hat area. Just keep
things simple and honest.
Mostly, do what is logical. Don't
ever try to trick the search engines into getting
visitors that are not actually looking for what you
have. And last, do what you can do easily, and don't
worry too much about the rest. Search Engine
Optimization is usually more about nudging your
traffic, and not really about skyrocketing your
numbers.
These things are also less important, and will make less of a difference to your site success, so they should not really be done unless you have already done the the first 6 tasks. If you have, and want to nudge your site more, then these strategies can help a bit. If you cannot do them, or do not have the time, don't fret about it. They are a nudge, not a leap, in effect.
Search engines do not like Javascript or Flash, so avoid those unless you have a major reason for using them. Yes, many large sites do use them, but they have an advertising budget to compensate for it. If you are relying heavily on free search engine traffic, then you cannot afford to obstruct their view of what your site is about, and those things can do that. Short JavaScript like Google code is not a problem. But JavaScript menus limit your ability to use keywords in links, and too much of it and the search engine won't even fully index your page.
If you have a php website, make sure the pages can actually get indexed by the search engines. Certain types of php sites don't index well. To find out if yours is one, just do a search on some keywords that you have used on a page that are fairly unique. I used part of an article title which had unique word usage to search for a page on my Content Cupboard site, and it popped up #1, so I know the site was indexing properly.
A domain name with one keyword or keyphrase in it can help a tiny bit, but don't get in a knot if yours doesn't have one, because Wal-Mart ranks for toasters even though their domain is www.walmart.com. If your domain is not directly connected to your product or information offerings, then don't worry about it. Next time you build a site, you can think about it. There is a “to dash or not to dash” argument out there. Some people say that search engines pay more attention to names with dashes, some people say they pay more attention to sites without. I, personally, do NOT use dashes, for three reasons:
They are so often used by people who are trying to manipulate pagerank that they give your site a less professional, more scammy look.
People remember URL names better if there is no dash. It is sort of an internet tradition to use domain names without dashes, and that is what people default to. Make it easy on them by choosing a simple domain name.
No dash names are easier to speak. It is much easier for me to say, “Firelightwebstudio dot com”, than it is to say “Firelight dash web dash studio dot com”. And when someone hears it, it is easier to remember the no-dash name.
Keep your domain name short. Many places won't allow you to use one more than 30 characters long. Too long looks scammy. And finally, people don't remember them. Two words is best, three at most unless it is a well known, SHORT, phrase. It is getting harder and harder to get a good domain name though, and most two word names are long gone.
If you use keywords in your page links, this supposedly helps, because it is a repetition on your page of those most important words. It also helps tie your site together as a site, and gives your pages more relevance to each other. Short link descriptions are best.
You can also use keywords in your filenames, that reputedly helps - most people do that anyway because you choose a filename that is logical, and a keyword usually pops to mind. This is similar to the domain name thing, just a word or two, nothing too long. Some auto-site builders generate page names from an entire article title, so you get “opposing-google-adwords-why-pay-per-click-may-not-be-a-wise-choice-for-shoestring-startups.htm”. Not only is this absurd, but it smacks of search engine manipulation and may eventually have a backlash. Plus, some programs (zip programs, file management programs) may have a problem with excessively long filenames. 20-30 characters is generally a safe limit. Search engines WON'T pay THAT much attention to the filename, since so many dynamically generate websites assign random names to the files anyway.
If you use H1 tags around your text titles, and bold important phrases that have keywords in them on your pages, that reputedly helps because you just indicated to the search engine that those words were more important. This is just another way of saying, “Hey, this is what is most important on my site.”
Don't get obsessive about it, and don't go overboard into the gray hat area. Just keep things simple and honest.
Mostly, do what is logical. Don't ever try to trick the search engines into getting visitors that are not actually looking for what you have. And last, do what you can do easily, and don't worry too much about the rest. Search Engine Optimization is usually more about nudging your traffic, and not really about skyrocketing your numbers.
