SEO and site development
Grow your business, Internal Linking, SEO tips, search engine optimization |
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For companies in the search engine optimization field, clients usually inquire about their services for optimizing already existing sites. While this is really a non-issue for most of us, there are definitely times during the process that we have to deal with site issues that really should’ve been dealt with during the site’s initial planning and development stages.
It would have been great if we had been there during the construction of the site. We could’ve sifted through the design plans and the codes to determine what should and shouldn’t make it to launch date. Here are three of many basic elements you should implement if you’re still in the development stage to make your site SEO-friendly.
Clean up your code
With the popularity of CSS and Javascript mashed up in the HTML mix, it could be a challenge for search engine spiders to rummage through each page looking for unique content to index. It also increases the possibilities of code errors (like conflicting commands and missing functions in syntax trees) and your reader’s browsers could also have difficulties displaying your site. And nobody wants to go to a site with flawed layout, misplaced content and incomplete functionalities. To prevent an overstuffed code structure, you can simply add scripts and CSS files as external files.
Proper use of Flash
Notwithstanding the current Apple-HTML5-Adobe debacle, Flash is still such a versatile platform a lot of sites are continuing to develop their sites on. It’s great for producing interactive elements, a vehicle for audio and/or video content and for animation. Sure we can optimize Flash for search engine visibility, but try to use it only for what it’s meant to do instead of being the backbone that runs the site or when HTML, Javascript or CSS can instead be used. Again, a mishmash of development platforms and programming standards, when not handle elegantly, could prove difficult for indexing.
Apt internal linking
Leveraging on links, as we all know, is a crucial element in sites and in creating both a great relationship with other entities online and for driving traffic to your domain or specific pages, however there are proper ways of doing it. This holds true for internal linking. When creating buttons and other elements that point to pages within your site, try to avoid overlinking. An overabundance of links can bog down your site’s performance as far as usability for your readers and even cause a low ranking because no matter how many times you attempt to send others to a page, search engines will only index the link once. On the other hand, a good linking practice you can employ is affixing links on your homepage that directs to your other pages. This helps your readers discover more value in your site and, in turn, can drive traffic and help boost ranking.
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RSpears @ July 23, 2010
With the popularity of CSS and Javascript mashed up in the HTML mix, it could be a challenge for search engine spiders to rummage through each page looking for unique content to index.