Creating a search engine friendly website is a MUST when considering the look and feel of your website. Unfortunately, many website designers don't take this into account and you can end up wasting a lot of money on a pretty site that doesn't get found in the major search engines. The search engines cannot see the pretty pictures on your website, so you need to find a balance between aesthetics and information. Here are a few of the many things you must take into account when designing a search engine friendly website:
Relevant Head
The first part of the code on your site is the "head" section that contains all of your meta tags including keywords, description and page title. Research the keywords you want to be found under and make sure that they are terms that people actually search for. There are many websites out there that have tools to help you with your keyword research. Next, make sure that your description and title relate to the content on the page. Each of your pages should have it's own unique meta tags.
Relevant Head
The first part of the code on your site is the "head" section that contains all of your meta tags including keywords, description and page title. Research the keywords you want to be found under and make sure that they are terms that people actually search for. There are many websites out there that have tools to help you with your keyword research. Next, make sure that your description and title relate to the content on the page. Each of your pages should have it's own unique meta tags.
Content, Content, Content!
Without a good amount of content on your website that provides unique information as well as repetition of your keywords, you will fail in your search engine placement goals. The search engines will always compare your list of keywords to the content on your site. If you want to get found in the search engines under "chocolate covered strawberries" then you must write content throughout your website that repeats that keyword and actually provides information about it. Same goes for all other keywords you want to be found under. You will also want to link any key words in your content to relevant interior pages on your site.
Keep Your Code Clean
Your website designer should use up to date techniques when creating your site, including using as little extraneous code as possible. Making sure that your website isn't using tables and has style sheets that are linked into the page instead of all formatting being done on each individual page are key elements in keeping your code clean. You may also want to consider using flash to create your slideshows instead of javascript coding.
No Broken Links
Links on your website that go to 404 errors or "This Page Cannot Be Displayed" will also hurt your rankings. Consider installing an analytics tool like "Google Analytics" to keep track of all the links on your website.
Tag EVERYTHING
There are two types of tags that you can add to the coding on your website to help boost your website's rankings. The first of these tags is called an "alt tag." This is a tag you place on all images that lets the search engine know what the picture is of. When a viewer places their mouse over the picture, the alt tag description will appear. The second is a "title tag" and is used to describe the links on your site when hovered on, like so: custom website design. Repeating your keywords in both of these types of tags will help you immensely.
For more information on search engine optimization and our SEO services, please visit our website.
For more information on search engine optimization and our SEO services, please visit our website.
