Interlinking web pages

One of the more interesting aspects of the web page ranking is based off the idea of linking your web pages based off your keywords. The use of hyperlinking (Using HREF text links to direct to another web page of your site) allowing your visitors to quickly click on a link to get to another web page offering them information about that keyword phrase.

The interlinking of web pages tells the search engine spiders that the phrase you are using describes the web page or offers more information about the keyword that is hyperlinked. Thus increasing its usefulness as an indexing element.

Example:

I write about search engine optimization on my web site. So the keywords I want to be found for would be South Florida search engine optimization. By text hyperlinking to another web page, this linked keyword allows the search engine to index it with a higher value.

You can hyper link with images, but they are not as effective as a text link for optimization. This is an example of a hyperlinked image that links to the same web page for search engine optimization.

Always select your best keyword phrases to link to interior pages.

Good luck!

-=Smitty=-

If there is an image on the web page, there should be an alt tag to describe the image.

Alt Tags are used to provide a text based descriptions for images on a web page. To add text to the alt tags – enter the text between the parenthesis

example:

< img src=”images.jpg” width=”50″ height=”50″ alt=”This is part of optimization” >

There is a secondary aspect of the alt tag – it is used to provide information for the image for the sight impaired as a verbal description that gets translated into sound.

Although this too has been a point of abuse by many web site owners, the importance has diminished over time with this feature, but it is still a good practice and will also help with W3C compliance.

-=Smitty=-

Depending on the nature and the size of the website. A sitemap is important to get all your web pages indexed, or at least found.

What is a Sitemap?

A Sitemap is nothing more than the list of all your active web pages.

Why use a Sitemap?

Easy, it allows the search engine spiders to index every web page that you want found. Also it allows your visitors to locate a web page quickly.

Be sure to have a link to your sitemap page from the main page. Then be sure to have a link to the sitemap on every web page.

Do you have a Graphics menu? With Javascript code?

As a follow up from my previous post. Graphic image menus are attractive and can do well, but I feel a text based menu system using CSS does a much better. Why? Because a graphic image even with an Alt Tag, does not carry the same weight as a text based hyperlink in the eyes of the search engine algorithms.

Again, Javascript menus do not always get spidered, you must test them before releasing them on to the web. If you do have a graphic based menu, as useful strategy, I would add a text menu at the bottom of the web page. They are simple to setup and provide the hyperlinks in case the graphic based menu is not getting spidered.

-=Smitty=-

CSS and Javascript are terrific web building tools when used correctly.  However, they can cause problems with search engines spider bots.

The first and foremost issue is that CSS and Javascript information should be placed is a separate file. I have two reasons for this. The first is to clean up the web page and the second is to make it easier for the search engine spider to index a web page.

When CSS is found imbedded in a web page – it makes the header much longer and more involved. The quicker the spider can get through your web page without interference or complexity, the better. Also You do not want to focus on CSS, but the actual text on the web page. The search engine spider is looking for content, not code (although the CSS code and comments will be indexed if found in the web page).

The same is true with Javacsript. The spider has to dig it’s way through the code. Now here is the kicker, if the code is written is a way that appears confusing to the search engine spider bot, the bot will stop reading the file and move on. I have seen this so many times with Javascript menu systems. This is a disaster, because the menu links are not indexed – they never find the rest of the website. So the only page that gets indexed or should I say that only a portion of the main web page will be indexed. All the rest of the website is lost and not submitted to the search engine.

If you have a Javascript menu – test it with a search engine simulation to see if the hyperlinks are being followed.

http://www.smittysholdings.com/SpiderSimulator/index.php

http://www.webconfs.com/search-engine-spider-simulator.php

If you find that there are problems consider changing it or if you can’t (or won’t) I suggest adding a text menu in the footer or a text hyperlink to a sitemap

Good luck!

-=Smitty=-

This information came in recently from Google…

Inter page linking are links between web pages of the same domain.

One of the more interesting aspects of the web page ranking is based off the idea of linking your web pages based off your keywords. The use of hyperlinking (Using HREF text links to direct to another web page of your site) allowing your visitors to quickly click on a link to get to another web page offering them information about that keyword phrase.

The interlinking of web pages tells the search engine spiders that the phrase you are using describes the web page or offers more information about the keyword that is hyperlinked. Thus increasing its usefulness as an indexing element.

Example:

I write about search engine optimization on my web site. So the keywords I want to be found for would be search engine optimization. By text hyperlinking to another web page, this linked keyword allows the search engine to index it with a higher value.

You can hyper link with images, but they are not as effective as a text link for optimization. This is an example of a hyperlinked image that links to the same web page for search engine optimization.

Good luck!

The H1 tag is another of the key components that the search engines use to evaluate your content for indexing information. This is a location that warrants a keyword phrase as part of the content. You can also use h2, h3,… tags that also carry some weight.

Example: <h1>South Florida Web Site Marketing </h1>

You can control the size of the font of the h1 tag using CSS thus allowing the tag not to be oversized.

H1 Tags are usually found near the top of the content area, but can be anywhere on the web page.

-=Smitty=-

Where do you Keywords phrases belong?

Placing keyword phrases on a web page requires a strategy to allow the search engines to get the message that your web page is devoted to that keyword.

The first appearance of a keyword phrase must be in the title, description, and meta tags. After that, the keyword phrase needs to be located in the first part of where the text begins and last paragraph of your web page.

You do not want to go over board with your keyword phrase, because that can actually work against you. Now I say this with reservation, because in the past I have seen web pages rank well with that keyword splashed all over the web page. However, I think the top search engines have addressed this in their updates for the ranking algorithms.

It would be helpful to hyperlink the keyword to an internal web page if possible.

-=Smitty=-

The next tag to examine is the keyword meta tag. Keyword meta tags are usually found in the header portion of the web page.

The use of the keyword meta tag has lost it’s luster with the search engines due to web site owners stuffing them with keywords. Some search engines still use them to help define a web page ranking. I still use them if only to keep track of the keywords I have on that particular page.

When using the Keyword meta tag – use no more than 10-15 keyword phrases.

Example:

<meta name=”keywords” content=”search engine marketing, website marketing, search engine submission, search engine optimization,  pay per click marketing, link research, SEO, SEM, South Florida, Broward, Fort Lauderdale, Florida”>

-=Smitty=-