Page Heirarchies & Stuctures

The most commonly pictured graph of a hierarchy is probably the "management" or "chain-of-command" type hierarchy, where all the different areas branch off downward from one main area, with the bottom rows never in contact with the main starting point. The image to the left is an illustration of this kind of structure.

With a web site, the main area (your index page) needs to be connected to every other page of your site directly, or within one degree of it. The picture to the right over there kind of illustrates what I am talking about.

More than that, though, each page of your site has to be directly connected to each other. Imagine each of your pages connected by little lines, something like this:

See how it's starting to look more like a spider's web rather than a traditional kind of hierarchial structure? They call it the World Wide Web for a reason. More than that, though, this kind of structure increases the chances that every page in your site gets indexed by seacrh engine spiders that get on your little "web" there, looking for content.

It's a lot like linking to a site from your site: when you link to another site that you think your users/customers might find useful, you are, in effect, creating a spider's thread from your page to the resource, not only for spiders to follow, but for your users, too. It works conversely, too: when you've got great content that people link to, they create a thread from their page to yours, increasing your relevance to Google, in particular, thus helping your SEO.

To break it down: your index page should link to every other section of your site, and so should every other page in the site. A page without links to the other sections of your site or with only one way into it is pretty useless for both your customers and for search engine spiders (though I'm sure there are arguments for "orphaned" or "semi-orphaned" pages like that, though I can't imagine what they are).

In our next few installments, we'll discuss how to built a functional navigation system for your site that won't hurt its SEO (no Java or scripts?!?!), and effectively using linking to keep your social networks up-to-date and relevant.

Copywriting, Keyword Density, & Content

Traditionally, content is anything that is on a web page. That can be text, pictures, Flash movies, embedded content, music, links, documents, et cetera. Each of those things can be optimized using keywords in order to bring people (customers) to your site via search engines. Search activities have surpassed e-mailing as the #1 activity conducted online.

But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, while you're writing your content to get better rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs), ultimately, you're still writing for customers. The balancing act that has to be achieved here is to write content with enough relevant keyword density to rank well in search engines for relevant searches, but also - and more importantly - make users want to use your site and ultimately buy something from you. It doesn't matter what you're selling - your services as a landscaper to designer handbags - the goal is to make money with your web site.

That can't be done unless people can find you, and the fastest way to do that, as you have probably surmised if you've found this blog, is through SERPs. How do you accomplish this balancing act of writing content that brings in the search engine spiders and ranks you well in SERPs for your keywords and writing content that users won't find "spammy"?

It's actually easier than you think. And I am going to reveal that secret to you now:

Sit down at your keyboard and start typing about your products or services.

(It's really that simple.)

No, really. Think about it this way: nobody knows your business, customers, products, services, employees, and all the rest better than you or someone who works with you or your company closely do. So, in the beginning, just write. Write about each of your products or services. Write about your business. Write about your policies and prices.

Just write.

Once you've written about every aspect of your business that you can think of, look back to your list of keywords, and count how many of those keywords automatically appear in the text. Lots, huh?

Now, just start replacing generic words with keywords. When describing a product, instead of saying "It's made of 100% recycled materials," say, "This custom, tattoo-themed handbag is made of 100%$ recycled materials." Instead of saying "we provide a full range of products and services for the sawmill industries," make a list of all the products and services you provide, and then add a few short lines or a paragraph describing each product and its functions.

Then, go back and replace generics with specifics again.

It's easy to get complacent about writing about your products or services. You know them so well, that it can be easy to overlook details. but try to think about your product from the standpoint of someone who has heard of the product but knows very little about it. Describe it in as much detail as possible. The keywords will come with this writing.

In our next installment, we'll talk about page heirarchies and structures. Sound boring? Trust me: it isn't.

Welcome to the CMDS Tips Blog!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to make this blog a go-to source for tips and tricks of web design, search engine optimization, graphics, copywriting, and more. I'll also be answering questions, so feel free to ask any question pertaining to any of the topics listed above, as well as any computer hardware or software-related questions. I'll do my best to help... at no cost to you.

Let's get this thing started with the most basic piece of information regarding search engine optimization that I can give you: write for your customers. Don't write for search engines; they won't be making you money. They won't be buying your products or services. Your customers will.

Think like your customer: if you were looking for your products or services, what would you put in a search engine "search" field? Make a list of things you might use to find your products if you were a customer, or, better yet, ask your customers what they might search for. If you're just starting out and don't know what people might be searching for to find you, make that list, anyway. Think like a customer. "Custom purses New York" might be a phrase with too much competition to bring you results, but "tattoo purses" might not have that competition.

Next time, we'll talk about some tools to use to see what phrases and words from your list are being searched for, and what the competition for those words and phrases are.