Proper SEO (search engine optimization) writing will be quickly picked up by the major search engines and can help you regain your reputation or at least combat the negative publicity.

Search Engine Friendly – Ensuring that no part of a web site or it’s code is a barrier to a search engine, web crawler, or spiders’ ability to access web content. A “friendly” web site follows best practices in regard to stable, correct and current code, proper navigation, the display of quality and meaningful content, and proper user experience (UX) design. (Our through development process sets Netdrafter apart in these areas.) While “friendly” techniques may encompass some of the techniques used when “optimizing” web sites, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a separate and more involved process. By default, and by design, all Netdrafter-produced code is Search Engine Friendly (even if a project does not include further SEO services.) See the “friendly vs. optimized examples” chart below.

Search Engine Optimized – Optimized pages have been purposely constructed to improve the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from “natural” or “organic” search results. It is an Internet Marketing strategy that considers and reacts to how search engines internally work and how users search for relevant information. SEO is a science in itself and there’s no one strategy that can guarantee placement or results for all web sites. It is an individualized process that involves research, web site structure and code improvement, and continued maintenance and monitoring. Don’t be fooled by the spam you get in your email inbox – there’s no way to guarantee placement, there’s no “quick fix” and proper optimization can’t be done for $19.95 a month! See the “friendly vs. optimized examples” chart below.

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Quick Friendly vs. Optimized Examples

Accessible – Accessible web pages are usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. Web accessibility addresses factors such as visual impairments (blindness or color blindness, for example), motor/mobility difficulties (ability to use standard input devices, like a mouse or keyboard), auditory impairments, and cognitive/developmental disabilities (like dyslexia, problem-solving and logic skills) as well as many other conditions. Correct web page development and coding aids the function of available devices (screen readers, for example) to assist with and enhance the online experience for these users. These guidelines are part of an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and known as Section 508. They are quickly becoming a standard in technology development and their usage is often required for many government, health, and financial web projects.

Mercury is a Loudoun web design shop specializing in starter web sites for small business. Mercury recently featured our “Truths and Myths of SEO” quiz in their May newsletter “Search Engine Facts & Myths.”

Do you have the facts when it comes to Search Engine Optimization? Take the free Netdrafter SEO Quiz to find out!

Web site not showing up in search engines? You need it optimized correctly! Read about our SEO services and Contact Netdrafter to do the job right.

Did you know it takes a user 20% longer to read text on a computer screen than on a piece of paper? Anyone know someone who prints out web pages just to read or better understand the content? It is simply harder on the eyes to read on-screen text and therefore, content needs to be quick, clean and to the point.

Web Writing and The Inverted Pyramid

Remember the typical term paper format? You start off with a thesis statement. Then comes a myriad of supporting details and finally, the conclusion. Well, flip that model upside down and you get the “Inverted Pyramid” method, typically used on the web. Impatient web site visitors want the conclusion first. They also scan page content, rather than reading word for word. If they don’t get the information they are looking for within the first or second paragraph, they move onto the next resource and away from your web site. You can keep visitors on your web site longer by providing them easy access to the information they seek.

Web Writing Tips:

• Tailor the content to your audience
• Be clear and concise
• Use plain English
• Use short sentences and paragraphs
• Use headlines to break up long paragraphs
• Use bold or italics to draw attention to important concepts
• Don’t underline text (underlining is reserved for links)
• Don’t indent paragraphs
• Start every page with a unique and explanatory headline
• Limit pages to one or two screens in length
• Put the most important and keyword dense information at the top of the page
• Copy should have a sales spin and include a “call to action”

Common Web Writing Mistakes:

• Repurposing your print copy on your web site
• Not understanding your target market
• Writing your own web content (Your mom may love it, but will it relate to your customers?)
• Using overly detailed copy (You probably understand it, but will anyone else?)
• Misusing search engine optimization techniques
• Hiding text either in the code, or by using white text on a white background, for example (This is not an effective SEO technique.)
• Writing too much for search engines – there needs to be a complementary balance (Heavy SEO writing will alienate your visitors.)

Need a review of your content or help writing it? Head on over to our Content Development page or contact us!

We also offer custom Content Development training. Find out more on our Speaking and Training page.

Questions about SEO? See our SEO services page or contact us with your questions.

The best way to keep a page or set of pages out of the search engine index is through password protection. Web crawler scripts will be able to see that the page is there, but will not be able to see the content. If password protection is not practical, you can place a “no index” meta tag within a singular page to tell scripts to exclude it from search results. You can also create a “robots” text file to restrict indexing of multiple pages or an entire site.

If a page already appears in search results, these techniques can alter future results when search engines do their reindexing. If you can’t wait until the next reindex, Google and Yahoo both offer a manual removal request option that takes approximately 3-5 days to complete. Once the page is removed, you’ll need to use one of the methods above to react when a search engine is ready to rerun their crawlers.

Need help restricting access to a page? Netdrafter can help!
Contact us today.

Keep your questions coming to: support@netdrafter.com!

SEO: MORE THAN KEYWORD TAGS
“How easy is it for new customers to find your Web site? 85% of users rely on search engines to locate information. If you’re concentrating on keyword tags and search engine submission, you’re wasting your time. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about multiple factors, including site content, code, and page rank.”

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For more information about Search Engine Optimization, see our SEO page.