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How to Optimize for Google: Part 3 of 3
By Scott Van Achte, Senior SEO, StepForth (c) 2008

In Part 1 (http://www.sitepronews.com/archives/2008/apr/21.html)
and Part 2 of How to Optimize for Google
(http://www.sitepronews.com/archives/2008/apr/25.html) I
discussed general website optimization, links, and Google
webmaster tools. In Part 3 we will look at a number of other
considerations which play a role in successful rankings in
Google, and also touch on some tactics which are best avoided.

Completing Optimization: Other Considerations

Redirects
If you need to use redirects on your site, it is very important
to use the correct one. If a page is moving to a new location,
or being removed all together, it is very important to have this
page redirected to either the new location or the next closest
page using a Permanent 301 Redirect.

While rare, if a page is being moved to a new location for a
short term, with the intent of it returning to the original
location, then and only then, will you want to use a Temporary
302 redirect. For more information please see Redirects:
Permanent 301 vs. Temporary 302 (http://news.stepforth.com/blog/
2008/01/redirects-permanent-301-vs-temporary.php)

Non WWW Redirects
To help eliminate page rank split, and provide your site with a
little extra value, implement a non-www redirect. What this
redirect will do is change the URL to include the "www"
whenever a URL is accessed that does not include it. This can
help to consolidate links to the correct page and give your site
some additional strength. For more help on Non WWW redirects
please see: How to 301 Redirect Non-WWW to WWW URL's
(http://www.stepforth.com/faq/non-www-redirect.htm)

HTTP Headers
Check your page headers! If you have implemented any form of
redirect on your site including mod rewrites, check your HTTP
headers. You may be surprised at what you find. Some forms of
redirects may use a 302 code where you really want a 301. By
checking your headers you can ensure all is well, and
troubleshoot problems. On our website we have added our own HTTP
Header Checker (http://news.stepforth.com/seo-tools/
http-header-checker.php) for your convenience.

Home Page URL
Never have more than one URL for your home page. If your home
page is available and displays on more than one URL, then
utilize 301 redirects on all but the main URL you want to focus
on - in most cases "http://www.domain.com/". All your links
pointing to the home page should direct to the exact same URL
otherwise you will split the value of your home page into
multiple duplicate URL's.

Google sees "http://www.domain.com" and
"http://www.domain.com/index.html" as different pages, but
displaying the same content. This splits the overall value of
your home page, and can decrease the chances of rankings. By
keeping it consistent with a single URL, you remove this split
and retain more of the strength.

In theory having your home page split like this could bring with
it duplicate content penalties, however, I have yet to see this
actually happen - that said, it is best to avoid the risk all
together.

XML Sitemap
XML Sitemaps are great for ensuring that Google and the other
engines are able to spider your entire site. While an XML
sitemap will not directly impact your search rankings it can
help as Google is more likely to see any SEO based changes more
quickly, which in turn can have an impact.

Robots.txt
This is the first file all search engines look for every time
they visit your site. While placing a blank robots.txt file in
your root folder will not help with search rankings, it will
help reduce 404 errors appearing in your log files.

It is also highly recommended that if your site utilizes an XML
sitemap, to include a call to this sitemap within the Robots.txt
file. Simply add the following line to ensure that the major
engines (including Google) can find your sitemap:

    Sitemap: http://www.domain.com/sitemap.xml

Potential Blockages
If you are finding that your site is simply not being indexed it
is possible that you are blocking the spiders in one way or
another.

Start with checking your main site navigation, if you are using
Flash or some other fancy form of navigation that could be your
problem right there. Next check your HTTP headers to ensure that
your home page is returning a 2xx code which indicates that the
clients' request was successfully received. Finally take a look
at your Google Webmaster Tools for any noted errors. If you are
blocking Google, chances are you will be able to uncover the
issue with these steps.

Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can be quite damaging to your rankings. Ensure
that all content on your site is unique. Never steal or
"borrow" content from another site, and never cut and paste
large portions of text from one page of your site to the next.
By keeping all pages of your site entirely original you stand
the best chances of getting a thumbs up from Google.

Fresh Content / Regular Updates
Update your content. In highly competitive markets, sites with
old static content can often slip away. Keep your content fresh
and updated to keep bringing Google back to your site. If they
find new pages and updated pages with every visit, they will
come back more often.

Site Age
The age of your site can also have an effect on search engine
rankings. While there is little you can do (short of keeping the
same domain) to help on this matter, remember that the longer
your site is online, the better its chances for success. It pays
to select the perfect domain right from the start and not to
change domains mid-stream. Older sites that stand the test of
time add a level of authority in Google's eyes. New sites
seldom see rankings for competitive terms in their first year.

Note: Site Age is determined not by the date the domain was
originally registered by rather by the date Google first
discovered content on your site.

Load Time
Load time can have an impact in your Google AdWords Quality
Score but it is unknown for sure if it can also impact your
organic search rankings. It is best to keep your load time to as
little as possible. If it is not already a part of the Google
Algorithm, it likely will be soon. Besides, it is also best in
order to give your site visitors the best experience possible.

Server Up Time
This can be a rather significant issue. If you find that your
web hosting company has a history of down time, change hosts. If
Google comes to visit your site once and it is down, not to
worry, they will come back, but if Google visits your site often
only to find that it is unavailable, you can find yourself with
drastically depleted rankings.

Google Local
If you have a traditional brick and mortar store, consider
submitting to Google Local (http://www.google.com/local/add).
While this will not directly impact your regular organic
rankings, you may find your site ranking above the organic
results with a "local business results" map listing. This tends
to be most common when your business is near the geographic
center of a city, and when the search phrase uses a geographic
modifier.

W3C Compliant Code
There is much speculation as to if W3C compliant code can have a
positive impact on search rankings, and the majority believe
"maybe" with some saying "yes". Regardless, it is definitely
a good idea to have your site be W3C Compliant if at all
possible. Not only may it help you in terms of search rankings,
but having compliant code can decrease load times, and help to
ensure cross-browser compatibility, all of which are good
things. If at all possible, it is recommended that sites be made
to be compliant.

Many experts who took part in the SEOMoz "Google Search Engine
Ranking Factors" (http://www.seomoz.org/article/
search-ranking-factors) lean towards it not being a big
contributor, however, it may be an issue if Google has
difficulties indexing a page properly.

A code validation service is available at validator.w3.org
(http://validator.w3.org/).

Read the Remainder of Scott's article at SiteProNews.com >>
(http://www.sitepronews.com/2008/04/24/
how-to-optimize-for-google-part-3-of-3/#more-933)
================================================================
Scott Van Achte is the Senior SEO at StepForth Web Marketing
Inc.; based in Victoria, BC, Canada and founded in 1997. You can
read more of Scott's articles and those of the StepForth team at
http://news.stepforth.com or contact us at http://www.stepforth.com/,
Tel - 250-385-1190, Toll Free - 877-385-5526, Fax - 250-385-1198
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