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The_Spider_Is_Waiting_To_Get_YouBut_Are_You_Ready
| The Spider Is Waiting To Get You...But, Are You Ready?
Here is my latest article. It may be freely used in ezines, on
websites or in e-books, as long as the Resource Box is left
intact.
I would appreciate notification of where it was used, and if
possible, a copy of the ezine or newsletter that it was used in.
Please send notification mailto:webmaster@online-wealth.com
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As more and more businesses come online, the fight to get on
page one of search results obviously gets more competitive.
In another article, I talked about the need for content with
"themed relevance", if you want to have even half a chance of
getting on page one. You can read that article here:
http://online-wealth.com/articles/page_one_blues.htm .
But, getting the right content with the right theme and a good
design is only half the battle. In fact, the construction of the
actual web page(s) is *more* important!
Why is that?
Simply stated, if the website construction is *not* search
engine friendly - and, by that, I mean "spider" friendly - then
all efforts to get on page one are in vain. Totally.
To make things crystal clear, by "construction", I mean the
actual HTML code that is used to show the web page(s) on your
browser.
As you know, as you surf the web, you're presented with what
appears to be an infinite variety of web pages. That's *not*
true at all: while there is (maybe) an infinite variety of
designs and colors, the actual HTML coding is common to all.
Moreover, there are only a relatively few choices in the way
that the coding is used and compiled.
That means if you develop and compile your HTML code in a way
that prevents the search engine spiders from reading your pages,
then you'll be lucky to have the site even included in the SE
database. Even when it shows up to look your site over.
And you can forget about page one, for sure.
It won't matter if you have a visually appealing site, with
great themed content that wins awards...if the spiders choke on
it, you're history! And, whether you're a multi-national or a
Mom & Pop corner store is quite irrelevant also.
So...question is, what stops the spiders?
There are five basic aspects:
1. From the overall design perspective, avoid pages with frames,
splash pages that use Flash, and pages created with WYSIWYG
editors.
Instead, concentrate on good text that supports a constant theme
throughout. If you don't know how to use a good HTML editor,
then you'll have to pay somebody who does.
2. Go easy on Keywords and too many JavaScript cookies. If you
have an excessive number of keywords in your tags, your site
could be banned. An excess of cookies can confuse spiders.
Better to ensure that the TITLE and Description tags are used
properly to provide a true "picture" of the site.
3. Dynamic pages (ASP,PHP etc with a question mark) are a real
nuisance for spiders - they can get caught forever, trying to
follow the links. So...the spiders are programmed to ignore
those pages.
Hence, if you must have them - say, for a database application -
link to them from the main page(s) that is ASP or PHP free.
4. Keep the graphics, video and music to the bare minimum. Not
only will the spiders love you, but your prospects will not have
all their senses battered trying to find out what you're selling!
Much better to hone that textual content...make your words sing
and dance, instead.
5. When submitting pages to search engines, do it manually. Not
only does that ensure the job is actually done, you will also
ensure that each submission is tailored for each SE. And
remember, there are barely a dozen or so SEs that count; get
indexed in those and you can worry about the rest later.
There are many automatic submission services, but I do not use
them for my submissions to the majors. For submissions to lesser
known search engines however, I've used the services of
Selfpromotion.com with good results. Use this link if you're
interested:http://online-wealth.com/promo/ .
Don't forget: make sure that the first four points are fully
covered *before* you make *any* submission to *any* SE.
So...if you follow the spider's rules *and* you have site with
unique, themed content, you are very well positioned to get top
ranking in all the majors, for your keywords.
Additionally, if you can generate relevant links with other
sites, that will tend to improve your popularity and your
overall ranking. But, in my opinion, that's a bonus.
And, finally, it's getting a lot tougher to get into the major
SEs now. That being the case, get it right first time or you'll
just keeping losing more time and money. ;-(
About the author:
Roger Burke has been involved with computers since 1967, and has
managed to break quite a few, over the years. He, and his wife
Sherry, are now actively engaged in online self-publishing and
promoting specific affiliate programs at
http://online-wealth.com . If you have any comments or questions
about this article, please send emails to
mailto:webmaster@online-wealth.com . Copyright 2001,
Online-Wealth. All rights reserved.
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