Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com
  HTML version available at: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html

Common-sense Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen

For years, when people thought about search engine optimization, 
in all likelihood, gateway pages, doorway pages or informational 
pages probably came to mind. If you're a search engine 
optimization specialist, you've probably had clients requesting 
that you create these types of pages for them.

They may believe the following statements to be true:

o Every search engine has a different algorithm (formula) to 
determine the ranking of a Web page, and therefore none of 
their "regular" pages will rank highly in all of the engines.

o Keyword-rich copy that the search engines will like is not 
text they can visibly put on their site where people can see 
it, especially not on their front page!

o Business sites need to be on the cutting edge and use Flash
animation and/or lots of graphics, and they shouldn't have to 
change this just to please the search engines.

Although there is a grain of truth to each of the above, let's 
examine each point in more detail so you'll have some ammunition 
the next time you get this type of request.

Dealing with Differing Algorithms

Yes, it's true, search engine algorithms are varied and do 
change. There will always be SEOs who spend many hours poring 
over search engine results and statistics, trying to figure out 
each search engine's current formula for high rankings. There 
have been many software programs written over the years to help 
crack the algorithms and automatically generate high-ranking 
pages for each engine.

One of the problems with using this method is that as soon as a 
new algorithm is in place, these carefully crafted gateway pages 
will often drop out of sight in the rankings. The new algorithm 
must be cracked again, and new gateway pages must be created. 
It's truly a never-ending, time-consuming and expensive process 
that is very much against the best-practice guidelines put forth 
by the search engines.

The truth is that even though search engines do have slightly
different algorithms (and they do change them at times), 
basically all engines appreciate the same things that real 
people look for in a Web site:

o A simple, cleanly coded design
o Well-thought-out, intuitive navigation
o Well-written, descriptive copy
o Titles and Meta tags that help identify relevant keyword 
  phrases
o Links that accurately describe what can be found at the site.

It's really just common sense. Web sites with the above features
don't need to crack algorithms. These sites have the potential 
to achieve high rankings for many keyword phrases in all major 
search engines for many years, regardless of ever-changing 
algorithms. And more importantly, they will likely be a hit with 
their site visitors.

Writing Keyword-rich Copy

Clients (and even some SEOs) often justify the use of doorways 
and gateways by claiming that there's a difference between good 
copy for search engines and good copy for their site visitors. 
That is simply not true. Good marketing copy can be written that 
sounds great, stresses the benefits to the user and also utilizes 
keyword phrases. There's definitely an art to it, and you have 
to be a good copywriter to begin with, but it most definitely 
can be done. The key is to use a professional copywriter, not an 
SEO, for that aspect of the job.

Use of Flash Animation and Graphics at the Expense of Content

Over and over again we hear from companies that want high 
rankings and lots of traffic and sales, yet refuse to forfeit 
their LUGs (large useless graphics) and Flash animation in favor 
of good content. Unfortunately, these pages don't give the search 
engines much to go by when trying to determine what the site is 
all about. This forces the engines to figure things out solely 
based on the Title tags and the links. That may be enough in 
some cases, but the best indicator of what a site is about is 
through the content on its pages. Now, it's true that some 
search engines have started reading the content of Flash files, 
but there's generally not much "meat" contained in the ones I've 
seen!

Never forget that the ultimate goal of most business Web 
sites is to sell a product or a service. When you see a Flash 
presentation on a site, does that make you want to purchase 
their products or use their services? Sure, it might appear cool 
the first time you view it, but thereafter it only serves as an 
annoying distraction and/or waste of time. And if you're on a 
dial-up modem (yes there are still some left!), you probably 
don't want to wait around to view it. Besides, you can have your 
cake and eat it too by simply using small amounts of Flash in 
appropriate places, along with your great content.

When all is said and done, most people would rather be presented 
with information on the types of products or services offered in 
clear, concise language, right on the main page of the site 
they're visiting. Luckily for us, that's exactly what the search 
engines want to see as well!

Optimize Your Actual Site

You don't need a second (or third or fourth) site for SEO 
purposes. Those companies that are willing to create useful 
content within the pages of their Web site can very often own 
long-term high rankings. Plus, they won't have to rely on link 
popularity as much as the low/no-content sites have to.

In years past, convincing companies of this fact was one of the 
most difficult jobs we had to do. Thankfully, as the Web matures, 
more and more site owners are discovering that their fancy, 
cutting-edge sites don't convert as well as the competitor's 
informational site that gets right down to business. It's 
usually at that point that they become more receptive to doing 
what it takes to make their site the best it can be for their 
visitors as well as the search engines.

================================================================
Jill Whalen of High Rankings is an internationally recognized 
"search engine optimization" (http://www.highrankings.com/) 
consultant and host of the free weekly High Rankings Advisor
"search engine marketing newsletter" 
(http://www.highrankings.com/advisor.htm).

She specializes in search engine optimization, SEO consultations 
and seminars. Jill's handbook, "The Nitty-gritty of Writing for 
the Search Engines" (http://www.highrankings.com/seo-writing.htm) 
teaches business owners how and where to place relevant keyword 
phrases on their Web sites so that they make sense to users
and gain high rankings in the major search engines.
================================================================

Copyright © 2004 Jayde Online, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.