You are going to want as many people as possible to view your site on the Internet. After all, you’re in the business of promoting a product or a service, and to this end, website optimization is everything. So what are some things you should definitely avoid when you’re designing and making your site? Here are five useful tips we’ve put together to help you avoid pitfalls and optimise the number of hits your site receives.
1. Avoid Files That Can Only Be Opened Using Specially Downloaded Players
The number of hits your site receives is dependant on links from search engines. Search engines have programmes that cleverly investigate the Internet to find out what’s on sites. SEO Content Management Systems can help you navigate this often complex and specialised field, but one thing to remember is that having a lot of features on your site that require the downloading of special software slows the whole process down. That’s why flash technology used to be regarded as an enemy of SEO. While that may no longer be entirely true, bear in mind that the technology, however good it makes your site look, is not always your best friend.
2. Use Text Rather Than Images To Represent Keywords In Flash
There’s a better chance of crawlers picking them up. If you are using flash technology on your site (and it’s more than likely that you are), then bear in mind that text is a very important part of search engine optimisation, and that the key words you’ve chosen to include at a high frequency may be invisible to search engine technology if they are included as pictures rather than as text. While advances are being made in terms of search engine recognition of flash content, most would agree that a site consisting entirely of flash is unwise in the extreme. Find ways to make it look good and also get you hits.
3. Avoid Pre-Loaders And Frames On Your Site.
An automated search could, in theory, confuse your waiting page with the destination page and miss your content. While it is by no means certain that this will happen, as a general rule it’s better to avoid those loading pages where possible. Similarly, search engine optimization specialists say you should think carefully about using frames on your site. While frames might have certain benefits when it comes to users navigating certain pages on your site, search engines have a reputation for not dealing with them well, and you might want to think twice before making them a feature of your site.
4. Do Not Waste Any Opportunities To Link Within Your Site – Particularly On The First Page
You may wish to make your site as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and if you have a taste for minimalism you might not want too much ‘clutter’ on the screen. However, remember that optimising your search results is crucial too, and don’t waste opportunities. When including a picture on your first page, think – is this an opportunity to link? And remember the benefits of text.
5. Maintain The Quality Of Your Site; Avoid Overusing Keywords And Broken Links
It’s a fact that the software that looks for keywords you’ve placed in your text for optimisation purposes knows when you’ve overdone it. If your keywords appear at above 8% then alarm bells start ringing. You need a balance whereby the keywords are included but the quality of the site and the meaning of the text isn’t compromised. In keeping with this theme of maintaining quality, avoid broken links. Aside from the fact that broken links generally detract from the quality of your site and drive away users, they are not good for your search engine optimisation potential. Links are an all important part of search engine optimisation and you should take care of them. Search engine optimisation requires ongoing maintenance of your site. Think about Internet reputation management, or get help with it from a specialised SEO Agency.
Think about what a shame it would be to allow the time and effort that you’ve put into making a great site go to waste through failing to think about search engine optimisation. You might think about getting a free SEO analysis. You might decide to use the services offered by a search engine optimisation company. In any case, keep these five tips on what to avoid in your mind and stay ahead of the game.
The Article is written by seoconsult.co.uk/ providing Seo and Search Engine Optimisation Services. Visit http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/ for more information on seoconsult.co.uk/Products & Services