There’s a popular myth within the realm of web design that search engine optimization (or SEO) is a mystic art used by only a few tech-savvy shamans. The task of modifying created content to be ideal for search engine troll bots is seen as an herculean effort attainable by only a few Industry gurus. Sadly, this is very far from the truth: There are a number steps you can take right now to increase the SEO of your web designs, and without any in-depth knowledge of code or marketing. With SEO write for us will be much easier and much more lucrative.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of the services you can employ to increase your SEO, but if you haven’t taken any measures at all to ensure your content appears high-up on the search engine results page, these tips are a great place to start. With that in mind, read on, Pilgrim, and keep your HTML codes handy!
- Cut Out The Flash: Flash content is creative, intuitive to use, and endlessly engaging. However, it’s bloody difficult for search engines to index. This is because the coding of the platform makes it difficult for engine troll bots to decipher, store, and index. This means that, though your all-Flash website may be the most gorgeous thing since the David, it’s no good for SEO at all. Where you can, seek to eliminate Flash content and replace it with HTML. Before panicking, HTML 5 is just as capable of producing those nifty dynamic web elements as Flash, and provides for a lot more indexing potential.
- Java, No Java!: Likewise, javascript is also quite difficult for services like Google and Yahoo to index. This is for the exact same reasons as Flash, and though you might like to load up your site with jscript utilities, it won’t be doing you any marketing favors. As before, stick to HTML where possible, and keep all vital elements coded in an easily indexed format.
- Design Readable URL Links: This doesn’t mean your URLs have to be great works of modern literature, but if you insist on keeping all those WordPress posts as straight number entries, you won’t be doing Google any favors. Troll bots are designed to read URL tags for text content, and if your location looks like this—Site.com/post/1234567—the bots won’t receive any useful information. Instead, replace those numbers with something like this: Site.com/post/seo-optimization-guide