Common search engine optimisation mistakes

Non 'search engine friendly' websites

However hard you try, if your website is not built in such a way that search engines can index the content you may as well forget about SEO. Common reasons for websites not being 'search engine friendly' are:

1. The website uses frames.
2. Intro pages with very little machine-readable content.
3. Javascript menus - search engines cannot follow these.
4. Flash menus - ditto.
5. Graphical menus rather than text - the search engines cannot get clues from text within the link.
6. Bloated HTML code.
7. Stylesheets and scripts included within the page rather than as separate files.
8. Errors in the HTML code.
9. Important keywords rendered as an image rather than text (search engines cannot 'see' images.
10. Styling headings using HTML tags other than the HTML H1, H2 .. tags.
11. Database-driven pages.
12. Content generated by scripts.

We are pleased to report that 123Live websites are exceptionally search engine friendly. Many of our customers choose 123Live over other content management systems for that very reason.

Forgetting to use your keywords

Sometimes you are so 'inside' your business it's difficult to see it from the outside. A client recently asked how he could improve his ranking for 'antique maps'. When we looked at the pages on the site, very few actually contained the term 'antique maps'. If you expect to be found under a phrase, make sure the phrase is used on your website.

Expecting miracles

There are a huge number of websites out there. Unless you are in a very esoteric field you will have a lot of competition.

Unless you are an SEO expert, or are prepared to pay for one, it is probably unwise to base your marketing strategy on natural search results. Don't forget good old fashioned 'offline' marketing techniques to get your website known. Consider pay per click advertising to get quick results with quantifiable costs.