Optimizing a website is certainly nothing new for online businesses, and more bloggers and tech journalists are incorporating keywords and relevant topics into savvy content aimed to generate buzz. But web optimization doesn’t end nor begin with key phrases, inbound links and other tricks, it actually begins with your website’s design. Is it visually appealing to your visitors, and will it work well with
search engines to provide as much information as possible? There are some strategies you shouldn’t live without, while other designs are doing nothing for your website.
Keep your website simple and easy to use. Advertisements are fine, but they should never block any content or become the center of attention in a website. Your services and features are the most important sections of your website, and it’s what brings people back for more. With that said, splash pages (intros, loading screens) and Flash have got to go. Because your home page rests at the top of
your website’s page hierarchy, it is usually the address with the most inbound links. When search engine bots scour for relevant sites, your splash page will offer little to no information about your page. Likewise, Flash doesn’t help your website’s appearance to search engines. As mobile use on the web continues to increase, Flash becomes invisible to many users, as well.
Design your site with a common theme. Attract your visitors and engage interaction with something they will want to regularly use. If you need some guidance in creating simple yet effective web design, use a blogging service such as Blogger or Wordpress. Headlines and body copy are your best sources for search engine text crawling, as these bots cannot pick up text embedded in background images.
Blogging services also let you develop site-wide font themes, include metadata for search engine communications and manage pages and posts more easily than any other sites.
