d:
• creating complex webs of navigation links, e.g. linking every page on your site
to every other page
• going overboard with slicing and dicing your content (it takes twenty clicks to
get to deep content)
• Use mostly text for navigation - Controlling most of the navigation from page to page on
your site through text links makes it easier for search engines to crawl and understand your
site. Many users also prefer this over other approaches, especially on some devices that
might not handle Flash or JavaScript.
Avoid:
• having a navigation based entirely on drop-down menus, images, or
animations (many, but not all, search engines can discover such links on a site,
but if a user can reach all pages on a site via normal text links, this will improve
the accessibility of your site; more on how Google deals with non-text files)
• Use "breadcrumb" navigation - A breadcrumb is a row of internal links at the top or bottom
of the page that allows visitors to quickly navigate back to a previous section or the root
page. Many breadcrumbs have the most general page (usually the root page) as the first,
left-most link and list the more specific sections out to the right.
Breadcrumb links appearing on a deeper article page on our site
Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Version 1.1, published 13 November 2008
• Put an HTML sitemap page on your site, and use an XML Sitemap file - A simple
sitemap page with links to all of the pages or the most important pages (if you have
hundreds or thousands) on your site can be useful. Creating an XML Sitemap file for your
site helps ensure that search engines discover the pages on your site.
Avoid:
• letting your HTML sitemap page become out of date with broken links
• creating an HTML sitemap that simply lists pages without organizing them, for
example by subject
• Consider what happens when a user removes part of your URL - Some users might
navigate your site in odd ways, and you should anticipate this. For example, instead of using
the breadcrumb links on the page, a user might drop off a part of the URL in the hopes of
finding more general content. He or she might be visiting
http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com...card-shows.htm, but
then enter
http://www.brandonsbaseballcards.com/news/2008/ into the browser's address
bar, believing that this will show all news from 2008. Is your site prepared to show content in
this situation or will it give the user a 404 ("page not found" error)? What about moving up a
directory level to
Google News
• Have a useful 404 page - Users will occasionally come to a page that doesn't exist on your
site, either by following a broken link or typing in the wrong URL. Having a custom 404 page
that kindly guides users back to a working page on your site can greatly improve a user's
experience. Your 404 page should probably have a link back to your root page and could
also provide links to popular or related content on your site. Google provides a 404 widget
that you can embed in your 404 page to automatically populate it with many useful features.
You can also use Google Webmaster Tools to find the sources of URLs causing "not found"
errors.
Avoid:
• allowing your 404 pages to be indexed in search engines (make sure that your
webserver is configured to give a 404 HTTP status code when non-existent
pages are requested)
• providing only a vague message like "Not found", "404", or no 404 page at all
• using a design for your 404 pages that isn't consistent with the rest of your site
Offer quality content and services
Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other
factors discussed here. Users know good content when they see it and will likely want to direct other
users to it. This could be through blog posts, social media services, email, forums, or other means.
Organic or word-of-mouth buzz is what helps build your site's reputation with both users and Google,
and it rarely comes without quality content.
Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Version 1.1, published 13 November 2008
A blogger finds a piece of your content, likes it, and then references it in a blog post
While the content you create could be on any topic imaginable, here are some recommended best
practices:
Good practices for content
• Write easy-to-read text - Users enjoy content that is well written and easy to follow.
Avoid:
• writing sloppy text with many spelling and grammatical mistakes
• embedding text in images for textual content (users may want to copy and
paste the text and search engines can't read it)
• Stay organized around the topic - It's always beneficial to organize your content so that
visitors have a good sense of where one content topic begins and another ends. Breaking
your content up into logical chunks or divisions helps users find the content they want faster.
Avoid:
• dumping large amounts of text on varying topics onto a page without
paragraph, subheading, or layout separation
• Use relevant language - Think about the words that a user might search for to find a piece
of your content. Users who know a lot about the topic might use different keywords in their
search queries than someone who is new to the topic. For example, a long-time baseball fan
might search for [nlcs], an acronym for the National League Championship Series, while a
new fan might use a more general query like [baseball playoffs]. Anticipating these
differences in search behavior and accounting for them while writing your content (using a
good mix of keyword phrases) could produce positive results. Google AdWords provides a
handy Keyword Tool that helps you discover new keyword variations and see the
approximate search volume for each keyword. Also, Google Webmaster Tools provides you
with the top search queries your site appears for and the ones that led the most users to
your site.
• Create fresh, unique content - New content will not only keep your existing visitor base
coming back, but also bring in new visitors.
Avoid:
• rehashing (or even copying) existing content that will bring little extra value to
users
Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Version 1.1, published 13 November 2008
• having duplicate or near-duplicate versions of your content across your site
(more on duplicate content)
• Offer exclusive content or services - Consider creating a new, useful service that no other
site offers. You could also write an original piece of research, break an exciting news story,
or leverage your unique user base. Other sites may lack the resources or expertise to do
these things.
• Create content primarily for your users, not search engines - Designing your site around
your visitors' needs while making sure your site is easily accessible to search engines
usually produces positive results.
Avoid:
• inserting numerous unnecessary keywords aimed at search engines but are
annoying or nonsensical to users
• having blocks of text like "frequent misspellings used to reach this page" that
add little value for users
• deceptively hiding text from users, but displaying it to search engines
Write better anchor text
Anchor text is the clickable text that users will see as a result of a link, and is placed within the anchor
tag <a href="..."></a>.
This anchor text accurately describes the content on one of our article pages
This text tells users and Google something about the page you're linking to. Links on your page may
be internal—pointing to other pages on your site—or external—leading to content on other sites. In
either of these cases, the better your anchor text is, the easier it is for users to navigate and for
Google to understand what the page you're linking to is about.
Good practices for anchor text
• Choose descriptive text - The anchor text you use for a link should provide at least a basic
idea of what the page linked to is about.