Creating Search Engine Friendly Web Sites

by Chris Sherman, December 10, 2001 Comments

A special report from the Search Engine Strategies 2001 Conference, November 14-15, Dallas, TX.

Participants of the Successful Site Architecture session were in for an exceptional treat in Dallas recently when industry leaders Barbara Coll and Shari Thurow discussed strategies for creating search engine friendly Web sites.

This information-packed session should be on a "not to be missed" list for future participants, no matter what their level of expertise. I found myself continually saying, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" as they discussed strategy after strategy. The session offered excellent reminders of things that are so easy to forget, especially considering how complex search engine marketing is. And, it presented new strategies as well, important strategies that need to be placed in the forefront of all search engine marketing endeavors.

Barbara Coll, CEO of WebMama, opened by discussing the importance of considering search engine optimization in all areas of your project development. "If you'll start thinking 'SEO tactics' when you're designing your site, you'll have better results," she said. Coll noted that a number of key factors were important in designing search friendly sites.

File Structure

According to Coll, site architecture can definitely impact your results in the search engines. For example, regarding file structure, most search engines don't know about anything beyond two directory levels. They'll index 40-50 files in those directories and do it alphabetically.

So, it's crucial for you to place your most important pages at the first or second directory level, breaking it up into 50 files per directory. Be sure to name your files and directories with your keywords. Don't use the underscore to separate keywords. Instead, use hyphens.

Don't stuff too many keywords in your file or directory names. Make them keyword rich but not too long.

Entry Pages

Coll calls any pages that bring you traffic "entry pages," and she recommends optimizing and submitting each of those pages. Make them stand-alone pages, just like your home page. When a visitor lands on one of your entry pages, will the visitor know where they are, who you are, and what the page is about? Include full navigation on all entry pages and make it obvious what the page and site is about. Don't assume visitors will find the index page first.

If your visitors come through your "contact us" page, for example, and all they see is a form, that doesn't tell them where they are or what the page/site is about.

Coll also recommends naming images after keywords, which is particularly important now that AltaVista and Google have image searches. Name your PDF's after your keywords as well.

Site Map

A very important entry page on your site is your site map. "Site maps have food that search engines love, and they have links to every single page that your visitors care about," explained Coll.

Therefore, make sure you submit your index page and your site map. Put your site map at the root level, and name it after your keywords. Use standard navigation on the site map. Add a blurb about the company or services at the top of the page or left column before the links. Use keywords in your links as well. Keep your site map simple, using no or few graphics.

Custom 404 Error Page

Coll also discussed the importance of a custom 404 error page, which she calls "error trapping." Through your custom 404 error page, make it easy for the users to find where they want to go. Use HTML links and include a search box. META data on your pages is important for on site search engines, so be sure to include it on every page.

For information on how to create custom 404 pages for every type of server, visit the 404 Research Lab (http://www.plinko.net/404/). The site also features many examples of custom 404 pages.

Problem Strategies

"Skip intro" pages are the worst thing you can do to your site, according to Coll. "Skip intro" or "splash" pages generally have no or very little content, often contain a movie, and frequently redirect to another page.

Your introductory page needs to contain content, so get rid of your intro page if it doesn't. Instead, stick Flash in a window on the home page and include it as an element, like an image.

Remember that Web technology that detracts from the content or provides no static content will negatively affect search engine rankings. Sites developed completely in Flash or other interactive technologies, large animated graphics, or movies are deterrents to content seekers and detrimental to search engine rankings.

Spiders don't see image maps and don't follow those links. They can't read graphics. Anything in an image is useless.

Coll also recommends not using frames. If you do use frames, she recommends making sure that you include META and title tags on all frames and frame set pages. Don't allow a frame to be shown without redirecting to the frame set first. Use a