SEO 101: The Don’ts of Search Engine Optimization
(http://net NULL.tutsplus NULL.com/tutorials/other/search-engine-optimization-101/)We’ve talked about what goes into a search engine optimized site and we’ve mentioned a couple pitfalls to avoid along the way, but there are other common mistakes that should be avoided which will be equally important to your rankings.
Don’t Have Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is content that appears on more than one page, not just on your site, but anywhere on the internet. If a search engine comes across duplicate content it’s not going to know which page is more relevant to a user’s search terms and will most likely end up omitting one of the results, which could be your site!
Another downside of duplicate content is that if you have information showing up more than once on your site, search engines will most likely think that you are trying to load up your pages with certain keywords and you will probably be penalized in the rankings, maybe even blacklisted.
Don’t Use Frames
Frames are used to pull in other documents that are not part of the main page’s content. They are often used and abused to display basic site information which is a big problem for search engines because the content inside of a frame is virtually invisible to them.
If you do end up using frames on your site, make sure that it is for content that isn’t critical or that you aren’t worried about search engines discovering. You’ll typically use a frame for pulling in content from another site, like embedding a map from Google Maps, and in those cases it is fine, just try to avoid using them when developing your site.
Don’t Bloat Your Code
In 2011 there’s no reason not to be writing clean, semantic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Not only will it make your site load faster, but also be more search engine and screen reader friendly.
Keys to keeping your site’s code clean and efficient:
- Separate your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into their own respective files
- In some cases you may even want to break your CSS and JavaScript into multiple files. Make sure you are calling them in the <head> of your document!
- Don’t use tables for layout. If someone used a visual editor to create your site, chances are the underlying code is a mess of HTML tables. If you notice a lot of <table>, <tr>, or <td> tags in your code this is probably the case. If you are at all concerned about optimizing your site, you should consider having your site re-coded from the ground up.
Don’t Use Flash
Flash websites used to be all the rave because you could do all kinds of fancy effects and unique layouts without having to worry about your site performing properly in different browsers. The problem with Flash is that it is very inaccessible. Flash files are essentially just movies that react to user input. There are certain ways to make a Flash website more accessible, but not surprisingly, search engines have trouble deciphering what the content is inside of a Flash file, just like they do with video.
Most of the effects that we used to rely on Flash for can be achieved with JavaScript now, which is much more accessible and search engine friendly. Unless you have content that truly must be served up with Flash, it is best to keep things coded up in semantic HTML.
Think your fancy Flash dropdown menus are cool? Well maybe they are, but search don’t care how cool they look. Remember, if search engines can’t find the links to the pages on your site they won’t be indexing those pages!
Don’t Use Black Hat Techniques
Have you ever been approached by an SEO company that has promised to get you to the top of the search results for your target keywords in a matter of weeks? If you own a website, chances are you have received a few of those emails and hopefully you didn’t take them up on their offer. Anyone who offers a quick fix of guaranteed results is most likely a scam. Even if they do get you ranked higher, chances are they are doing something against the guidelines set by the search engines and eventually the search engines will end up blacklisting your site.
There are no quick fixes to SEO, so be weary of anyone who is making an offer that seems too good to be true. If it really was that easy, everyone would be doing it and you’d be in the same place you are now.
This wraps up our SEO 101 series. If you have any questions or comments please email us or leave them in the comments below. If there was one piece of advice I could leave you with, it is this: on the web, content really is king. Most people are willing to pay for a web designer to take care of the aesthetics of a site, but what is really important in getting eyes onto your site is the content.
