search engine tips
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
THE CBJ Digital Team is frequently asked to assess commercial websites that other companies have built. Why? Presumably because people want to know whether the sites they have developed or paid for are working for them and are visible on the Web.
What do we look for when we carry out that review? This short note is not an in-depth analysis of all the complex algorithms and rules that the search engines use. Apart from anything else, the rules change frequently. Search engine providers try to keep one step ahead of those who try to fool their systems to get top ranking. This note provides basic guidelines for you to consider which will keep your site up in the top quartiles without a need to pay unnecessary fees for optimisation to SEO organisations.
1: Accessibility.
If the site has been designed to comply with basic W3 accessibility standards, then it has
passed the first hurdle. “Frames” are a no no. Most
Flash based sites (without underlying text alternative) are a no
no. Text built into graphics (without underlying text alternative)
is a no no. Each of these factors makes it nigh on impossible for
the search engines to see what is there in the site and to navigate
and “crawl” your site content. Flash may be good for
design, but it is often slow and is search-engine-robot
unfriendly.
Another problem area for search engines is sites that are based on
“frames” techniques. This approach was popular a few
years ago but is now to be strongly discouraged. Search engines
cannot easily cope with the internal links and page identifiers
– so avoid them. So, in summary, Rule #1 – make
sure your site is built to at least AA accessibility
standards. How can you test this? There are tools
available on the Web, but for a basic assessment install the
Mozilla Firefox browser
– we recommend this over MS IE7 – and go on the tool
bar to View>Page Style>No style. If everything reads
beautifully logically from the top of the page downwards (not in
columns or interrupted by graphics) then this is what a blind
person could be hearing. Imagine listening to the page being read
to you – is the site still easily navigable? Do the images
have captions? Search engine robots have a similar approach. Make
sure the un-styled page doesn’t annoy or confuse! The search
engine sees things likewise!
2: Content – keywords
Content should be “keyword rich”. Don’t go over the top, but brevity does not always pay on a website. Think of all the adjectives and nouns and phrases that visitors might use if they were looking for an organisation like yours on the web. If those words are not in your site content, then the search engines will not find you. You may be a consultant! Then use the words advice and advisors. You may be in Watford, but use the words Hertfordshire, Bushey, North London and Hertfordshire etcetera in your text. Meta tags don’t do much these days – they have been so abused that the search engines take little notice of them. Rule #2 – Make your site keyword rich.
3: Links in
Sites are ranked by search engines and this affects their search engine relevance and positioning. How does one improve one’s rank? We do not suggest SEO specialists for our sites because all these other built-in factors can help so much and at no extra cost. Use the directory sites to give you links. Many are free. Some directories charge very low fees for having a link to your site. The Flea , a community magazine and directory, only charges around £4.50 per month for a full entry with a link into your site. Get your suppliers or customers to link to your site. The number of links–in that you have determines the relevance of your site on the web. Rule #3 – Get as many links in to your site as you can. We try to give all our clients a starting point by listing them on our own website.
4: URLs
A URLs is the address that appears in the bar at the top of the browser when you move from page to page. Which URL makes more sense to you?
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/index.php?cPath=45&osCsid=b97f12a79e798a4c645986df4ae1105b
Or, alternatively:
http://www.hrhiggins.co.uk/accessories/coffee/.
I prefer the latter one. The search engine likes the one you understand! All CBJ Digital sites utilise meaningful URLs that tell you (and the search engine) where you are, whenever possible. You, the client, can even determine what these should look like if you use a CBJ Digital site. Rule #4 – Ensure your site has meaningful and updated URLs throughout.
5: The Browser Title Bar
Each time you go onto a new page the browser title bar should indicate where you are. Look at the top of this page “cbj digital SEO”. You’ve got it: the search engines read these lines as well – so it is no good having a title that never changes. With the CBJ Digital AdminSystem, you can decide what should appear as you navigate round your own site. Rule #5 – use a system that allows you to put what the page is about into the title bar.
6: Internal links
Don’t use “click here” when you want to lead someone to another page on your site (or elsewhere on the internet) – use a descriptor and put the URL underneath the descriptor, as it were. For example, if I want you to look at our page about “Is your website legal?” then use these words as your link text instead of “click here” – the search engines do not like it! Rule #6 Make internal links meaningful and intelligible!
If you apply all these rules, it will not guarantee top page ranking, but it will definitely help. Search engines use the most sophisticated algorithms to find out about the relevance of the millions of sites on the Web. But the rule for getting recognition is simple – make sure your site is technically sound, make it lively, interesting and relevant throughout, and keep it updated! Good luck. Contact us if you need more advice on your site. We are here to help.
