Build Web Page From Scratch

How-to Create Web Sites Built for Search Engine Optimization

All too often must I tell someone that their website must be re-created from scratch during a consultation because it was not designed with search engine optimization in mind to be performed upon the website’s completion? I have written this article in an effort to help web designers create websites that are not only search engine friendly, but that which makes it possible for a search engine optimization team to promote a web site that he or she has created upon it’s completion. This is by no means an exhaustive list of criteria, but rather a set of guidelines to follow when performing the initial development of a site.

Beware of issues with FLASH and SEO

Do not uses flash unless the designer is capable of producing a site that pulls the content in via XML. Search engine robots are able to index XML content, however getting the robot to associate that xml content with the flash file that is using it is a bit tricky and most designers that learned the “old school” way of building a flash site are not aware of such modern techniques in Flash. The other option is to build two versions of the site, one in flash and one that is html, however this is not very cost-effective and if the search engine’s are driving traffic to the html site, more than half of the site’s visitors will never even see the Flash version. A good Flash designer should also be able to tell the difference between pointless animation and that which is purposeful – meaning it enhances the user experience. Most flash content out there is pointless animation that is nothing more than a distraction that bogs down the user’s system resources.

Use unordered list elements to build navigation menus

A search engine friendly navigation menu must present links as text and not images, however if images must be used, always make sure the images have alt tags attached to them with relevant keywords. Additionally, whether you are using images or text links, always attach the title tag to the link.

Be cautious of using javascript with navigation menus

It is important to be aware of how your javascript is used for navigation. Programs like Adobe/Macromedia Fireworks can be handy as a graphic interface for creating professional-looking navigation menus, but they are far from search engine friendly. The menus that are produced with such programs usually bury the links in a slew of poorly written javascript, making it impossible for the links to be visible to robots. Javascript can be used to control the behaviors of navigation menus however, but in a different way than that which is used in such programs as Fireworks. This method involves the use of tags together with unordered lists and a javascript function within the page that is defined in an external .js file. The div is then assigned a div id and the document.getElementById() method is used within the javascript function to basically tell the menu what to do with such behaviors as onClick and onmouseover.

Separate content from presentation

This is more of a design principal than an SEO technique; however it makes the job of the optimizer much easier. This involves heavy usage of id’s and classes and defining the style information inside CSS stylesheets.

Use text wherever possible

As a general rule, it is good practice to use a div wrapper with a background image and insert the text within the div, then style it in the css, as opposed to building one image in photoshop and placing it in the web page. It is in fact much easier to just create a single image in photoshop, however it is not search engine friendly by any means.

Make sure there is text on every page

We see a lot of homepages in particular with videos and flash yet little to know text content. By looking at the vizmarketing.com homepage, you will find a lengthy paragraph near the bottom of the page that is very keyword-driven. Very few people will read that text since there are many other elements that are intended to draw the user’s attention and make them click on a nearby link, such as the “Got Video?” container. However, without that text on the page, robots would have a hard time figuring out what the web site is all about. Robots rely on the homepage to determine many things about the site, so you want to give them what they are looking for right off the bat.

Watch your meta data

Always include the title, keywords and description tags in the header. This information is critical to the proper identification of page content. A professional search engine optimizer will likely change the information contained in these tags based on keyword and competitor research, but the designer must place or modify these tags initially because you don’t want the site to be published with meta description information saying something like “Joomla – the dynamic portal engine and content management system” on every page of the site, which is what the Joomla system does as the default page title.

Keep in mind, the above stated items are design principles for search optimization, and should not be taken as actual SEO tactics.

About the Author

Vision Media Corporation is a Las Vegas & Nevada based search engine optimization, web design & development, business development firm specializing in new approaches to information technology and it’s relationship to marketing strategies and business models. The company has become known largely for it’s innovative approach and utilization of technology in marketing and business model management. For more information regarding search engine optimization, as well as the SEO services offered by Vision Media Corporation, browse to our site: Vizmarketing.com

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