by Irmin J. Roybal

In a process of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), i.e. when humans are flirting with robots, some caution could be a plus. Young and restless webmasters tend to make site rating better than it really should be, and, as a result, the rating instead of increase cab get a sudden reduction. Several common errors of this type are discussed below.

Graphic Header It is always nice to have a catchy graphic piece on top of the page picturing the logo and crowds of satisfied customers. Yes, humans tend to react positively to a vision of smiling faces, so nice graphic heading is always inviting. SE crawler may have a different vision, though. It looks for heading with h1 tag and keywords, or better for both at the very top of the page. If it will not find it there because of a space taken by the graphics, it may leave the site with a different (comparing to human visitor) idea about site quality. To avoid such nuisance, it is good to have h1-tagged title with the keywords before the graphics.

Invisible Text Stuffing your web site with keywords for robot satisfaction can be creative process or it can be dull, depends on the perception of webmaster. Some, especially beginners, are getting a bright idea of posting a ton of keywords embedded into a code (from simple text white on white to no script areas in the code, and so on). Cheating of this kind cannot pass with impunity, and it will cost the site its reputation.

Excessive use of h1 tag All text under heading 1 (h1) tag is getting higher rating, so one may tend to use text under h1 excessively. Better approach is to use h1 tag only once, a repetitive use of h1 is punishable. For the rest of the headings h2 and h3 tags can be used repetitively, the limitations on usage of these tags are much less restrictive.

Conclusion and last tip Search Engine Optimization is an important part of any traffic generation strategy, however, it cannot be a sole part of it. It is well known that SE change their algorithms periodically, and, as a result, the sites tuned to previous conditions may suffer severe losses of traffic. Best practice is always the same: to combine all affordable (and honest) means of getting visitors to your site.

Good luck!

Tagged with:

Filed under: Business Online

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!