Thursday, September 17, 2009

User and Search Engine Friendly Web Design

By Amy Nutt

A well-designed website is vital to attracting and retaining visitors. When many people think of designing a site, they are concerned about how it looks. This is very important, but one also has to be aware of the role that search engines play in attracting visitors. Because most people find websites through search engines, one has to make sure that their website is search engine friendly.

When a search ranks a website, they evaluate the text and link components. One needs to make sure that these three elements are fully optimized. Website content is essential to a high search engine ranking. Content needs to be rich in keywords that are relevant to the site, vision, and products and service that the site offering. Placing keyword phrases in the headlines are also important.

Make your text readable. Use a standard size of a 12 font and the preferred test color is black. You should also use a standard font type such as Times New Roman or Arial. Unusual font types will make the site look unprofessional. The site should have introductory and concluding paragraphs with clear product and service descriptions. The quality of the content should be professional, relevant to the site, and free of grammar and spelling errors.

The number of links and the quality of links are important for a high search engine ranking. Search engines are able to identify link farms so dont use them as they will lower site ranking. Your links should be to quality sites as well as having quality sites linking back to your site. . A good quality link includes a keyword rich link text and description. As well, embedded text links in content paragraphs is important to making a search engine friendly site.

The sites navigation bar must be clear and easy to follow. The titles should be professional, clear, and do not contain foolish titles. A site map is very important. Also, make sure that you do not have "page not found" error? Contact information should be easy to find.

The site layout and design is another important element of creating a search engine friendly website. Sites should have consistent layout and design. Use consistent colors, background, and white space. Images should be small and download fast and easy doe people with a slow internet connection. A web page should download in 20 seconds or less using an older type modem. You also dont want bright flashing and silly graphics. Images should professional and relevant to the site. Provide every image with an "alt" label and a corresponding text link.

The key points to remember when designing a website is that search engine spiders and robots love quality content and relevant key words. A poorly designed website that is difficult to navigate results in low search engine rankings.

Producing a website now entails much more thought and planning. Because a high search engine ranking is fundamental to having a successful website, one has to implement all of the components that will make the site search engine friendly. If you dont, you will miss out on site traffic and customers.

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