How To Optimize (SEO) an AJAX or Web 2.0 Site

One of the three major pillars of Search Engine Optimization is a website’s content, and onsite content optimization. All of the major search engine ranking algorithms have components that relate to the content that is contained on the website. Typically these components relate to Keyword Densities, number of words, content location, and sometimes age of content. In regards to the code that the content is contained in that falls under the topic of structure and not content, and will not be discussed in this article.

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) is an advanced web development method which can be used to create more responsive and interactive dynamic websites. AJAX accomplishes this by making object request calls back to the web server without having to refresh your browser, these object calls are then processed and are typically used to update the content of the page on your website that is currently being viewed. For the sake of this Article I’m going to ignore the XML component of AJAX as the search engines never view any of the XML data. Websites that use Javascript to manipulate content without using AJAX will also suffer from the issues described.

When a search engine sends out a robot / spider to visit your website with the goal of indexing your content it is only looking at what is being presented in the Markup Language. Generally a search engine does not behave like a user when indexing your website, it doesn’t click buttons or links it simply makes note of URLs associated with each page then individually then visits these pages to index them. This largely goes against the goal of AJAX which is to have as few pages as possible by interacting with the web server in a smarter method as the users interact with the website.

To put the last paragraph simply any content that is changed via AJAX or Javascript on a webpage that is not hardcoded in a page won’t be cached by the search engines. This essentially means that if you have great content that the search engines may love but you’re using AJAX you may be missing out on traffic. There are two approaches to rectifying these which may even give you an advantage over sites that don’t utilize Javascript / AJAX.

The first approach is to make sure that your website degrades to normal flat markup language for non javascript capable browsers and search engines. Essentially every time you would have used an AJAX call make sure you have a page with the same content. Unfortunately for a lot of people this could mean a lot of work, for those individual using a database with PHP or ASP it is not too hard to build a site that builds itself with some effective web programming.

The second approach is to use AJAX in a more minimalist fashion. The goal here is to present the search engines with your optimized content while making sure that any AJAX calls a user would do has no bearing on what you want the search engines to see. In fact this can be used to remove content from your website which may negatively affect your rankings such as testimonials. I’ve seen very few testimonials that actually do good things for a sites keyword density, I’ve even been known to optimize testimonials on client’s websites. With Javascript / AJAX you could insert a random testimonial into a page and therefore not affecting that pages keyword density. The only downside to this approach is that some offsite keyword density tools actually use Web Browser rendering engines so they may get false results as it takes the Javascript into account.

Now you may think that I’m anti AJAX from everything that I’ve said, but there are times and places for AJAX, provided it doesn’t affect how the search engines see your beautiful relevant content your trying to rank. AJAX is great to use for Member sections of your website, interactive forms, slideshows, and a lot more it just needs to be leveraged correctly to avoid missing out on search engine visitors. The final thing to keep in mind is that most search engines like to see more than a single page website which many AJAX website appear to be, always strive for at least 5 or more indexable pages as internal links and anchor text can have a lot of value.

Source: beanstalk-inc

Top Ten Reasons Your Web Site Needs Help

Everyone will have their own opinion on what makes a good web site, I thought that I’d walk through the top 10 traits of a bad web site, one that in the long term will hurt a business more than it will help a business.

I’ll count these down from # 1 and arrive at my #10 s in for web sites. Make sure to avoid these ten items and you’ll be on your way to success with your web site.

1. Inaccessible Site:
   This is a big topic for me, especially as I learn more and more about the subject of Web Accessibility. If your site cannot be visited by a blind person, and easily understood, then you’re making a grave mistake. You’re probably unsure of your site’s status when it comes to web accessibility, however work with a local professional, and they’ll help you get your site viewable by all that visit.
2. Bookmark My Site Buttons:
   Love these, I really do. Because, people can’t find the Bookmark button on their own, your site is so good you need to tell me, so I can remember to bookmark your site. Computers and the internet have been around for a bit now, bookmarks are used by lots of people. However, using up valuable real estate on your web site to promote such things is a waste of space for the limited return you’ll see for your efforts.
3. Random Link Pages:
   While I understand the importance of In-Bound-Links to SEO, I do not get why companies must feel that a good link exchange with every web site in the world is of any value. I promise you that if you are a florist, and you have links to a Harley Davidson dealership, a barbershop, an accountant and an amusement park on your site, you don’t get the point of linking. Please don’t link to any site, unless it is going to be a value to your visitors, and it is actually something related to your business.
4. Ads vs. Content:
   I cannot explain how bad this is for web sites. I’m seeing this more and more frequently, web designers, business professionals linking ads on their web sites. I’m not sure what a person can be thinking in regards to placing ads from Google or Yahoo on their site where they are selling their services. I know I might step on some toes here, but if your web site cannot make money without plastering ads all over the place, well, it might be time to find a new business. Now, I’m strictly discussing service professionals here. Real Estate Agents, Web Designers, Accountants, Lawyers any type of business that isn’t in business to sell ads, such as a newspaper, or similar site, it is really quite tacky if you have Google Ads plastered on your home page right below your company logo.
5. No Solid Content:
   This is actually one of my bigger issues with web sites, but unfortunately I could only place it at number 5 on the list. I’ll give you an example. I am currently in the process of looking for a new home. I did a search for “Home Values” and visited a site. What I got was a web site that discussed markets in each state, on one page. No real deep meaningful content. But it was filled with “ads” (we’re getting to that one) and it was well ranked in the search engines. Amazing in my eyes. If you are going to have a web site. Try and ensure that you are going to provide lots of good information, and that you’ll do everything you can to keep that information current.
6. Broken Scripts:
   If a page is public, it needs to work. Test it, double test it, make sure it works, and visit your site frequently to make sure there are no issues. I have been to some major organizations web sites recently where I run into JavaScript or other scripting errors that keep me from actully getting to information on their web site. Always make sure to test something before it is made live. Once live, always check on it to make sure it’s still working.
7. Bad Site Navigation:
   People visit your web site for one thing. To get information. That’s it. Nothing else. Build navigation links that will make sense to visitors, especially those that may not know the hot terms for your business. Site navigation should be easy to find, always located in the same spot on the page, be text based if possible, and be clear. Your site isn’t better because someone visits 10 pages before finding the info they want, it is simply more frustrating. Make everyone’s lives easier, make your navigation a major piece of the site, and put some real thought into how it’s laid out.
8. Fade In / Fade Out on Page Changes:
   Okay, I thought the design community would see this feature as one that shouldn’t have been used in a public setting, but even today, I still see sites that fade between page changes. This takes time, and really is simply a useless gimic that some web designers use to make a web site more “attractive”. Business owners, if your web site does this, it doesn’t help, it hurts, and it doesn’t make you look professional. Please stop.
9. Large Image Files:
   Yes pictures are pretty, and they help tell a story, but they are not the foundation of a great web site, even if you are a photographer. Users today can be on a variety of services, perhaps they are on broadband, then lots of photos isn’t bad. Or they might be on dialup still, then your web site won’t load quickly enough, and they’ll go somewhere else. I read recently you have 4-5 seconds to make your impression or the visitor will be off to another web site. Finally, the user could be accessing your site from a PDA or Cell Phone and if that is the case, your site may be completely unable to function within the device. Any of these users will not be back if your site takes too long to load, and doesn’t have the information they are looking for at their fingertips.
10. Flash Intro Page:
    Okay, I’m not sure why so many companies feel that these are great ideas for their web site. I cannot name the number of times that I’ve found such a site, and tried to find the “skip intro” link on the page. The only thing more frustrating than a flash introduction is one that you can’t skip. These items take up bandwidth, and studies have shown no one actually watches them. Save us all some headache and skip this. If you want to have a flash company introduction, offer it as a link somewhere deeper in your web site.

Top Ten Reasons Your Web Site Needs Help

7 Simple Geo Targeting Tips for Your Site.

7 Simple Geo Targeting Tips for Your Site.

How do they do this?

By looking at a number of factors, such as:.

• Country-specific domain name – eg. .com or .com.au or .co.uk etc. etc.
• Where your site is hosted – be careful with this as a lot of hosting providers may have their offices in one country, but use servers and equipment based overseas.
• Language used in your website content - even things like UK English vs. US English can make a difference due to spelling and colloquialisms.Inbound Links to your site – are they mainly from other Australian websites, US sites, UK sites etc.
• Listing of your address / location / phone number on your website.
• Location of people who look at your site – if your site has more traffic from Australian visitors it is likely to rank better in Google.com.au than it would in Google.com.

Knowing the above information makes it a lot easier to perform a Geo Targeting audit on your site. Here are the things I would do:

1. If you run an Australian website and your main customers / clients are other Australians, spend the few extra dollars and buy a .com.au domain name. If you’re targeting clients in the UK, buy a .co.uk. etc. etc.
2. Apply the same logic (as above) to the web hosting – spend a few extra dollars to have your website hosted in the country that you are targeting.
   Be sure to check that your hosting provider uses equipment based in your country too. If you still aren’t certain you can check their IP’s using SEOmoz’s IP Location Tool.
3. Take the time to check your spelling and use the type of wording your clients will understand and are familiar with.
   For example the term swimwear, swimsuit, beachwear, cozzies, bathers and togs all mean the same thing but people in Queensland, Australia (where I’m from) rarely use the term bathers or cozzies – we wear ‘togs’.
4. An inbound link is like a personal referral or testimonial for your website. Having links from other relevant local sites will be far more valuable with Geo Targeting than having lots of inbound links from overseas sites.
5. Submit your site to local business and local search directories – this can often be one of the easiest methods of attracting local links and local traffic.
   As a rule-of-thumb, just make sure the directory presents well and that you are comfortable being listed amongst the other sites that are in the directory. If you think the directory isn’t great quality, you’re probably right and it should be avoided.
6. Mention your address, location and contact details in the footer of each page – this is one of the easiest things to do which can help tell your clients and the search engines that you are a local business.
   The only time this doesn’t really help is if you have offices in multiple locations. Mentioning a dozen countries / cities in the footer won’t do much for your local profile in each of those places. If this is the case you should build separate sites (or at the very least separate pages) for each location.
7. Build your brand locally as you will usually rank well for your business name before you’ll start ranking for more competitive terms.
   Ensure you promote your site through off-line advertising methods, which can be as simple as including your website on your business cards, letterheads and other corporate stationary.
   This will help you gain local search traffic and as mentioned above, if your site has more traffic from Australian visitors it is likely to rank better in Google.com.au than it would in Google.com.

GEO-targeting Analysis.

GEO-targeting SEO doesn’t end at SEO-targeting promotion. To fully understand visitor behaviors of each GEO market, try using geographic Meta data for accurate results. Several Boston Internet marketing companies have used Web analytic software and IP databases that provide a range of locations for specific requirement when a version of a web site or advertisements need to reach only a specific city within the states.

GEO-targeting Design.

Websites targeting multiple GEO regions may have a few versions of the site. And each version targets one particular language. For the same version, the page may be configured according to the location automatically. It’s a common practice to use IP address to identify the geo region of a visitor. For design of each version, make sure to work closely with the designers who really know about that market. The design of the website should suit the style and taste of the local users. A website targeting US market has much better chance of success if a Boston web design company is involved, instead of a web design firm from India. Geo-targeting depends on the user’s settings. As an example, an English web site may display different versions according to the user’s location, whether Canada, Australia or the United Kingdom, since Geo-targeting identifies the user’s keyword settings, language and location.

GEO-targeting Promotion.

All major search engines serve the search results based on both what users are looking for (the quires) and where they come from (location). In fact, major search engines Google, Yahoo Search!, and Microsoft’s Live search all have a different version of the main search engine for either major language or a country. A searcher from UK will see the different search results than a searcher from Australia even though they use the same search engine and search for the same term. Search engines rank pages according to what kind of links a site is pointed and where the links are from. If a website site gets most of links from UK, the site will rank well when UK users look for information in a search engine. If you’re not located in the GEO market you target, work with a local SEO firm is productive and rewarding. A Boston internet marketing company that really knows about Boston SEO will do a much better job for acquiring links from either US sites or Boston local websites.

Courtesy: SEO-NEWS