Paras Shah published an article in WebProNews entitled “How To Design A Search Engine Friendly Website” that has some very user-friendly tips. Here are a few takeaways (if you want the whole thing, read the article).
DISCLAIMER: everything past this point is an excerpt from the article. And I really do recommend that you read the whole thing — they have list of tools and links to other resources.
1. Search Engine Friendly Pages
- If you’re using table for laying out your page then make them simple and not too complex.
- Avoid using frames.
- Position the main content of the page before the images, or at least with the images nested between the texts.
2. Keywords – Having good keywords is one of the most important areas to consider when designing a website/webpage.
3. Content – Use competitive keywords relevant to the purpose of the page within the main body of the page.
4. Page Title – To keep within the limits of many search engines the number of words for the Title shouldn’t exceed nine.
5. Page Description -Again, it is a good idea to pay attention to the use of good keywords when writing the description, which should be short (not more than 20-25 words) and sells your page before the user, has even opened it!
6. Graphics – As a general rule of thumb it is best to stick to a 70/30 ratio (70 text/30 images).
7. Site Map – A Site Map is a fantastic way for search engines to find all your juicy pages on your website.
8. Navigation Links – Therefore if your site does have complicated navigation then it’s always a good idea to implement simple text based hyperlinks to your common pages at the bottom of every page on your website.
