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Is your Web site structure up to par? Can a robot get through the code easily, or is the code a mess that is bundled up and would take days for someone to weed through to understand what’s going on? We’re not talking about what languages you’re using, but rather the way it’s built.
Use external CSS to control your site. Let that one file hold all the code that controls the appearance of your site, including fonts, colors, bolded text, image placements, content placement and your <Table> or <div> tags. Try to avoid nested tables.
Be sure to use include files for ALL your JavaScript code; if you’re building from scratch, make it a top priority to include all scripting in external include files. It will work just fine if it is coded correctly. Use include files for site-wide elements like navigation, footers and other places that contain the same content on all pages. The benefit here is that making changes to one page rather than 100 pages saves you time!
Use text for navigations with colored backgrounds, avoid using JavaScript menus unless you’re certain that it is crawl-able. Often times, I see Web sites use sophisticated menus and they look awesome, but robots can’t seem to get to the second-level navigation… from the home page!
When looking for a content management system (CMS), be sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Are they SEO compliant? Do they have the proper fields in place to allow unique Meta data for EVERY single page? Often times, CMS’s come without these extra fields and you either have to pay a programmer to create these modules or purchase an upgrade. Often the creators of CMS tie the <Title> tag with the navigation and the page header; these fields must be independent of each other. Changing the <Title> tag in these systems can change the content of the navigation and the page header; it’s not what you want to do.
These are just a few key areas to allow robots to crawl easily through your Web site. However, there are many more. When was the last time you checked your Web site structure?
Here at Fathom, we take site structure seriously. All clients go through an extensive technical analysis to identify the potential areas that may hinder them from getting the rankings they want.
About the Author: Beth StrukeljBeth Strukelj have been working with Fathom Online Marketing since 2003 and leads the Analytic's and Technical component of Fathom Online Marketing, which entails setting up and analyzing clients’ analytic's and understand customer behaviors online and make recommendations that improve customer website experiences and drive bottom line results. Follow Beth on Facebook, @beth_strukelj and LinkedIn.
Comments
1 Comment so farOne Response to “Does Your Web Site Turn Off Search Engine Crawlers?”
These are great things to keep in mind about crawl-ability. It's a simple practical truth that if your code is search-engine friendly, you are more likely to be discovered and given proper ranking by the search engines. Don't leave rankings buried in SEO-hostile code!