A Search Engine Optimization Primer: Part 2 of 2

A Search Engine Optimization Primer describes for the layman the various methods and requirements to make a Web site "search engine friendly."

What is the point in spending time and money building a Web site if no one can find it doing a simple search using Google, Yahoo!, MSN, or any number of other search engines?

This article is part 2 of a two-article discussion about Search Engine Optimization. These two articles provide an introduction to Search Engine Optimization, and are written for those who are considering optimizing (or having optimized) their own Web sites. I cover concepts like rich content, keywords, meta-tags, SEO techniques, and Fact and Fiction. Use this document to have an intelligent SEO discussion with your Web site designer and creator.

Article 1 begins the discussion with the following topics:

• A Definition
  
• The Science of SEO
  
• The Art of SEO
  
• The Importance of Textual Content
  
• Textual Content Defined
  
• How to Make Sure Textual Content Works for You

How to Make Sure Keywords DON’T Work for You
The use of keywords on a page should be natural but purposeful, not forced or overdone. Your Web page should not resort to "tricks" to put keywords in the Web page’s search engine readable text. Here are some guaranteed ways to get penalized, banned or ignored by search engines:

• Stuff your page with keywords. On some Web pages you will see some works repeated over and over and over, assuming that this will force a search engine into giving the keyword a higher value. The opposite actually happens. Search engines identify the over-use of keywords as "spamming," and can actually ban your Web site from their index for this practice.
  
  
• Use invisible keywords. Invisible keywords are invisible only to you, not to the search engine. Web site creators can make words invisible by simply making them the same color as the background. If the underlying code for a Web page contains invisible keywords, it will be penalized, or even banned, by search engines.
  
  
• Use extremely tiny fonts. If your Web creator uses an extremely tiny font (less than 6pt) size to hide key words, search engines may penalize your site.
  
  
• Use keywords in your meta-tag that aren’t actually on the page. Search engines that still use the meta-tag fully expect to find the keywords within the readable text on the page itself. If they don’t, they may penalize or ban your Web site.
  
  
• Use graphical keywords. Graphical keywords are words contained within a graphic, photograph or Flash movie. They may look good to you, but search engines take no notice of them.

Other Considerations to Improve Search Engine Listings
Although "content is king" when it comes to search engine optimization, Web site builders can employ other techniques to improve search engine listings. Here is a sampling of things that can be done or should be avoided:

Do These Things

• Robots.txt. Include this file in your root directory. It can contain instructions for search engine robots regarding which directories and files it should spider.
  
  
• Sitemaps. Create a Sitemap. A Sitemap.html page can be created that contains links to each Web page that needs to be spidered. If a link is created on the Home page to the Sitemap.html page, then the spider will follow the link to the Sitemap.html page where it will, in turn, follow all the links on the Sitemap.html page. This helps search engine spiders know which Web pages to index.
  
  
• Google Sitemap and Validation file. Create a Google Sitemap.xml file and validation file. These files are also located in the root directory. Google enables you to create a special Sitemap that is particular to Google robots. The Sitemap.xml file requires a specific Google format to work, and forces Google to spider all the Web pages contained in the Sitemap.xml file. For this to work, Google also requires a validation file to be created.
  
  
• Info.txt File. Create this file and place it in your Web site’s root directory. Some search engines use an info.txt file that contains specially formatted information about the Web site, including the site URL, site name and descriptive text.
  
  
• Links from "Like" Sites. Google especially values links from other like, quality sites that already have a high page rank within Google. For example if your company has partners or customers that are willing to put a link from their Web sites back to yours (with appropriate keywords in the link text, of course), then Google will use those links to improve your own Web site’s Google PageRank.
  
  
• The Use of Smaller Search Engines. Google, Yahoo! and MSN aren’t the only important search engines. There are a number of smaller search engines which can contribute to improved listings and Google PageRank. Also, some smaller search engines are specialized search engines that someone may reach through a Google search anyway, so it would be good to be listed in such specialized search engines.
  
  
• Article Submission Sites. Another way to increase your Web site’s visibility and listing is to publish quality articles and documents on the various document submission sites. These sites will publish your (approved) document on their own site, and it will usually be picked up by other sites or blogs looking for good content. The result is that a number of links are created from those sites back to your Web site. Below is a partial list of smaller search engines and article submission links:

Smaller Search Engine Links


• SearchWarp.com
  
• SitesOnDisplay.com
  
• SearchRamp.com
  
• Mixcat.com
  
• ExactSeek.com
  
• Aesop.com
  
• WebSquash.com
  
• AllTheWebSites.org

Article Submission Links (#=Google PageRank as of this writing)

• ArticleCity.com (6)
  
• GoArticles.com (6)
  
• EzineArticles.com (6)
  
• BusinessKnowHow.com (6)
  
• Buzzle.com (6)
  
• Web-Source.net (6)
  
• ArticleAlley.com (5)
  
• Constant-Content.com (5)
  
• SearchWarp.com (4)
  
• ArticleDepot.co.uk (0)

Avoid These Things

• Dynamic Web Pages. Don’t use them unless you absolutely have to. Search engines have difficulty reading dynamic pages, so any keyword optimization you may have included on the page will be for naught. Dynamic Web pages are created "on the fly" as a visitor navigates from page to page. The content of dynamic Web pages is usually stored in a database, and is not loaded for presentation until the content is requested. Dynamic Web pages are usually identified by punctuation characters in the page URL:

http://www.cpaforyou.com/Default.aspx?tabid=29.

In this case the dynamic Web page is identified by the "?" in the last portion of the URL. Another obvious disadvantage to dynamic Web pages is the inability to use a keyword in the page name and URL. Dynamic pages can make Web site maintenance easier but it may mean forsaking a search engine-visible Web site.


• Frames. Again, don’t use them unless you have a compelling need to do so. Any content contained within a Web page’s Content frame is often invisible to search engines. Frames involve one Web page file (the Master frame) loading content from some other Web file into another frame (the Content frame). All the search engine sees is what is contained in the Master frame, which is usually just the meta-tags, a banner file name, and navigation elements. Any of the stuff in the Content frame isn’t seen because it’s not really part of the Master frame and its underlying code; the content file is just referenced by the Master frame. By the bye, any keyword or SEO work you’ve done goes to waste.
  
  
• Broken Links. Make sure that all links on your Web pages work properly. Search engines do not like broken links. A broken link is simply a link that displays a "Page Not Available" or some other such message. Your listing rank will be lowered if search engine spiders find broken links on your page.
  
  
• Link Farms. Do not use link farms or link sharing schemes. Search engines very much value links from like-site to like-site; they do not like links from unrelated site to unrelated site. Your listing rank may be lowered if your Web site is part of a link farm. Here’s what Google says:

Linking schemes will often do a site more harm than good. Many sites that advertise link-sharing programs not only offer little value, but will distribute your email address without your permission, resulting in an increased volume of unwanted mail.

The Aesthetics of Search Engine Optimization
Do Search Engines care about, reward or penalize the visual or aesthetic appeal of your Web site? In a word, No. Ugly Web sites can be ranked as high or higher as visually appealing or highly creative Web sites. In fact, the design techniques, tools, utilities, components, and gimmicks many visually stunning Web sites use actually often prevent those Web sites from being effectively spidered, indexed or listed. So how much attention should you give to your Web site’s visual appeal? It depends. If your Web site illustrates your artistic capabilities, such as for an artist, musician, or photographer, then you should make sure that your site is highly aesthetic, and you will likely have to make some compromises between aesthetics and search engine optimization. If your Web site is an e-commerce Web site, then it can actually be quite ugly and still be effective both in regards to search engine optimization and user interaction. Most of us, I think, just want a good looking, appealing Web site that search engines like, too.

Claims of Which to Be Wary
Some search engine optimization companies will make strong claims regarding their ability to get your Web site a high listing. For example, they may claim, "We Get Your Website to Page One’. Here’s what Google says:

• No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google.


• Some SEOs may try to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar.

Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do so. Evaluate such proposals with extreme care and be skeptical about the self-reported number of users who have downloaded the required applications.

Keep in mind that millions of Web sites exist, and for any particular search term tens of thousands of Web sites may be listed. Most search engines only display 10 listings per page, so a guarantee of your site’s naturally being in the top 10 or 20 listings for an important search term cannot be made. What if the companies already listed in the top 20 paid an SEO company to guarantee a top 20 placement? Where would that leave you? Having said that, all is not lost. For example, an Arlington, Texas-based accounting firm may not be able to appear in the top 20 listings for the search term "accounting firm," but it may have a good shot at appearing in the top ten for the search term "Texas accounting firm," or "Arlington accounting firm," or "DFW accounting firm" or "church accounting firm."

Others may claim "Guaranteed Search Engine Listings." Understand that this is a claim that even the search engines will not make without forking over some loot. No search engine that I know of guarantees that your Web site will be listed (except for those accepting payment for listing), so how can an SEO company make that claim? They can’t. However, most Web sites are eventually listed by search engines for free. The questions are: How long does it take? Where in the listing does your Web site appear? and For what search terms? It really doesn’t make any difference if your Web site is listed number one for some obscure search term that may rarely or never be used.

In my own experience, most search engines pick up a well-designed, search-engine-optimized Web site within 72 hours of a free submission. It may not be listed highly at first, but it is listed.

So What Can an SEO Company Really Claim to Do for You?

• They can evaluate an existing Web site based on known SEO practices, standards and techniques that are search-engine approved, and advise you on how to improve your Web site’s SEO content.
  
  
• They can create Web sites based on known SEO practices, standards and techniques that are search-engine approved.
  
  
• They can provide services for you like keyword research, code optimization, domain registration, search engine submission, article submission, Google Sitemap creation, etc.
  
  
• They can help you create pay-per-click (PPC) adword campaigns that will get you listed on the first, second or third page of listings for specific search terms. Just keep in mind that for highly popular keywords and phrases, even PPC can get quite expensive. For example, to get Google Page 1 listing for the adword "technical writing," you could expect to pay $3.30 per click. Based on an estimate of 23-29 clicks per day, that’s up to $100.00 a day just for people clicking on your Google ad.

Summary Advice
Establish realistic expectations for your Web site, but commit yourself to using good, solid, proven practices, techniques and standards to improve your Web site’s search engine optimization effectiveness.

If you already have a Web site, it is not too late to make it SEO compliant. It may take some work, but the potential rewards could be great, especially if you need to use your Web site as a lead generation or sales tool.

Having said all of this, not every Web site needs to be optimized. Some Web sites are meant primarily to serve existing customers, and are not designed to be electronic brochures or sales tools. Or, the business is structured such that sufficient new business comes from referrals rather than via marketing or a Web presence. In such cases, owners should count themselves lucky.

If your business could benefit from SEO, don’t put it off. Your competitors are likely not sitting still, and are hoping that you hesitate just a little longer.

NOTE: This discussion is started in a previous article entitled "A Search Engine Optimization Primer: Part 1 of 2"

A single .PDF version of Parts 1 and 2 can be found at:

www.grdavismedia.com under the title "A Search Engine Optimization Primer." A Glossary of SEO terms is included.

Copyright (C) 2006 by Randy Davis, GR Davis Media Services. All rights reserved.