Hi

this is all about web designing....

If i want to start a new website, what are the things to consider so that it will make a search engine friendly? designing techniques?

hope somebody here could share ideas...

many thanks...

absolutely nothing at all!

simply make it for REAL users, they are the one with credit cards

Yeah, pretty much design it for the visitors, if its friendly to surfers, its friendly to SE's for the most part.

Its helpful to use the h1 tag for headings though :P

Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

- text link navigation somewhere on the page (which means, if graphic or flash navigation up top, then repeat on the bottom of the page.
- load content as soon as possible (which means main content on left and sub navigation or ads in the right column, that is an example)
- header tags when appropriate (in other words, do NOT use H1 tags then alter them with CSS, you are spamming. if you use H1 tags, then keep the size intact)
- internal links with keyword phrase
- try to load your main keyword immediately before all other content (in other words, your headline, do not rewrite it to make it work, it should match the content)
- reserve content modules that can load ever changing or fresh content (as long as it is relevant to the topic of the page)
- the basics (title tags, meta tags, name the page in relation to the topic, keywords in bullet list, bolding, italics [only when it calls for it, do not force it, you would be spamming]

The only bit of that post that was anywhere near accurate was the first paragraph

- text link navigation somewhere on the page (which means, if graphic or flash navigation up top, then repeat on the bottom of the page.

After that it goes downhill rapidly!

Style the heading elements to suit your design
Changing the "loading order" of content makes no difference.

Using italics to create emphasis is NOT spamming!

Originally Posted by chrishirst

The only bit of that post that was anywhere near accurate was the first paragraph

After that it goes downhill rapidly!

Style the heading elements to suit your design
Changing the "loading order" of content makes no difference.

Using italics to create emphasis is NOT spamming!

why? because the masses on the popular forums say so? Do you really think top SEO's just go around the internet telling you the secrets to beating them? Most forums on SEO are filled with people telling new people the same old basic crap and their Opnions!

My clients hold top rankings in real estate, law and mortgage. The most competitive industry's for SEO. When you are beating millions of webpages and the top 10 containing SEO's of various levels of experience, yes these things matter.

Using any element for no reason other than to just do it, because you think it is good for SEO is spamming. I am telling the person to create a reason.

Anyways, my opnions are above and this is why my sites can climb and hold top rankings.

@igotdreams

Opinion has another "i" in it. Also, commas are your friend. And who are SEO's? Doesn't SEO stand for search-engine-optimization? So wouldn't that make it a process, as opposed to a group of people? People WANT you to know how to do it well, so that it's easier to find relevant content and get what you want. Sure it's competitive, but not to the point where people are selling top secrets to one another. Also I'm not sure about your definition of "spamming." Also, no matter how well optimized your site is, it's always about the content.

@william

Sorry about the offtopic. I agree with chris, you should style your header and content in a way that presents itself. Take a look at problogger or webdesignerwall. They use styling to their advantage. When it comes to "spamming" (using text formatting for emphasis and style?) there's no reason why you can't go ahead and use italics or change the size of the <h1> tag. I do it all the time. The default is just really irritating to work with. We have pre-defined styles for the purpose of manipulating the content more easily. Imagine if you had to write all of the initial classes HTML gives you. (such as coding the default style for <h1> and <p> and <table>) It'd be ridiculous!

Design-wise, remember to designate certain areas to certain tasks. Such as the side-bar. It should be subtle enough to distinguish between the main content, but not overpower it. Think about how you're typesetting everything.

As for optimization, it's important to remember which elements you should have special cases for. Example, you should use text links for your navigation, instead of embedding the links in images. (The actual links themselves. You can use images to style them.) You should always have good in-content anchors such as, "learn more about design trends" or "get support from experienced webmasters." Search engine spiders index pages and follow links, so putting them in images or flash makes it hard or impossible for the spiders to get to them.

Hope that helps. Resources (some linked in this post)

http://www.problogger.net (monetization and success tips for blogs)
http://www.smashingmagazine.com (design trends)
http://validator.w3.org/ (mark-up validation)
http://www.webdesignerwall.com (design trends)

- header tags when appropriate (in other words, do NOT use H1 tags then alter them with CSS, you are spamming. if you use H1 tags, then keep the size intact)

That's just ridiculous. The search spiders are NOT seeing any of the styling, including font sizing, that is applied, they are reading the RAW TEXT that's within the Hx tags. How you PRESENT the content really means nothing to a search engine spider, they don't 'see' it anyway !

I also have to agree with the others, your 'definition' of 'spamming' is out of whack.

Originally Posted by LadynRed

That's just ridiculous. The search spiders are NOT seeing any of the styling, including font sizing, that is applied, they are reading the RAW TEXT that's within the Hx tags. How you PRESENT the content really means nothing to a search engine spider, they don't 'see' it anyway !

I also have to agree with the others, your 'definition' of 'spamming' is out of whack.

I understand your ignorance..... you are right and yet wrong. Yes the spiders only see so much. But a human editor can see alot more. Once again, I am talking about beating millions of webpages fighting with other SEO's for high level keyword phrases. We report each other to human editors. We just have to find enough flaws to warrant a report. If all you have is <h1> with a style sheet, then that is not going to fly. This is a why most SEO's at this level are going to analyze all top 10 competitors as well as their client's.

It seems LadynRed has a goal to follow me around and bash me. That's okay, you are actually helping us to keep newcomers off the frontpage of major search terms. I only need to post around here for a few more days and then I will not be back for a year or so.

Originally Posted by Sneakyheathen

@igotdreams

Originally Posted by Sneakyheathen

Opinion has another "i" in it. Also, commas are your friend. And who are SEO's? Doesn't SEO stand for search-engine-optimization? So wouldn't that make it a process, as opposed to a group of people? People WANT you to know how to do it well, so that it's easier to find relevant content and get what you want. Sure it's competitive, but not to the point where people are selling top secrets to one another. Also I'm not sure about your definition of "spamming." Also, no matter how well optimized your site is, it's always about the content.

SEO's is whatever the industry wants it to be. It means many things, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Optimization tech or Search Engine Optimizer (which is what Google calls us)

Google Page "What is an SEO?"

I do not get the selling secrets statement.

I want to reply to this statement "no matter how well optimized your site is, it's always about the content.", actually no it is not. Sure in general when speaking to people that do not understand the advanced SEO practices, we will say; "it is simple, drop the words on the page and you will be found for the words and the phrase. Will you be more relevant then the other sites? Probably not!" But that is the basics, right? It is easier to explain to someone that isn't going to hire you or that is so hungry for information that you will be trapped there for several hours explaining all the details and points of SEO, to just say "content". In fact, you can rank on just link popularity alone. If 10 million links (or human web developers) say you are, then you are. What a great way for a programmer to measure your credibility! Not to be confused with Google Bombing in case someone tries to argue that point. There are examples everywhere, major block buster websites and or celebrity websites built 100% in flash. Where is the content then? It is the links from the media and fans.

Do not get me wrong, it is always domain, content, growth, traffic and links last. But if walk up to me and ask, I will say "content", if I am at a convention with my competitor, we are going to talk about link popularity.

Do you really think top SEO's just go around the internet telling you the secrets to beating them?

So what the hell did you just do?!

Great start to a "short" career...

Originally Posted by rolda hayes

So what the hell did you just do?!

Great start to a "short" career...

explaining a point and sharing. I did not give any secrets.

Google's first patent was a basic search, then involves a search within the search results based on link popularity.

It is just not a statement that people on message boards, rinse and repeat to each other all day.

If all you have is <h1> with a style sheet, then that is not going to fly.

I never said or implied that it was. My argument was not with placing a single H1 in non-semantic context, the argument was with your so-called 'rules' for styling Hx tags, THAT is the ludicrous part.

If your method of "SEO" entails lurking around and being a tattle-tale on your competitors, then all the rest of the major search engine pundits are soooooo wrong and you're the only one who's right ?? Somehow I can't buy that.

people on message boards, rinse and repeat to each other all day.

That is far from the ONLY place that techniques are repeated, there are thousands of blogs, probably just as many forums that are JUST around for the purpose of covering search engines - you cannot be the only one with "the answer".

It seems LadynRed has a goal to follow me around and bash me. That's okay, you are actually helping us to keep newcomers off the frontpage of major search terms. I only need to post around here for a few more days and then I will not be back for a year or so.

If your only purpose here is to boost your own rankings and not contribute anything USEFUL or HELPFUL, rest assured that I could make every single one of your posts disappear in about 2 minutes, and you would disappear right after that. So you just keep on insulting people, especially mods, and see where THAT gets you . Pomposity gets old REAL fast.

Originally Posted by igotdreams

Google Page "What is an SEO?"

My mistake, I'm not good at acronyms.

I do not get the selling secrets statement.

It was a joke to point out that yes, optimization is competitive, but not so much that designers aren't willing to help one another out.

I want to reply to this statement "no matter how well optimized your site is, it's always about the content.", actually no it is not.

In terms of search engines, you can have the most "link-popular" site on the internet, and the quality can be that of a 3rd grader. People stay for the content. Are your clients getting readers and customers, or visitors?

Sure in general when speaking to people that do not understand the advanced SEO practices, we will say; "it is simple, drop the words on the page and you will be found for the words and the phrase. Will you be more relevant then the other sites? Probably not!" But that is the basics, right? It is easier to explain to someone that isn't going to hire you or that is so hungry for information that you will be trapped there for several hours explaining all the details and points of SEO, to just say "content". In fact, you can rank on just link popularity alone. If 10 million links (or human web developers) say you are, then you are. What a great way for a programmer to measure your credibility! Not to be confused with Google Bombing in case someone tries to argue that point. There are examples everywhere, major block buster websites and or celebrity websites built 100% in flash. Where is the content then? It is the links from the media and fans.

Do not get me wrong, it is always domain, content, growth, traffic and links last. But if walk up to me and ask, I will say "content", if I am at a convention with my competitor, we are going to talk about link popularity.

I'm not sure what that (above) entire paragraph meant, but I think you're telling me that I'm copping out of explaining things by using the word, "content." Let's revisit the definition of a web-page, shall we? It is a place on the internet that displays information. This is what surfers want. Information, a service, a product. Now, we group the essential purpose under this header called content. The categories you divide your content into can be used as keywords. Search engines index these websites, take your categories, and add them to your database. And so on and so forth, by organizing them by popularity and relevance.

At the base of this process, however, is the information the visitor wants. You seem to be focusing on your amazing SEO skills, however, visitors want the information, service, product, etc. that the website is providing, and search engines are just a tool to find that information faster. Therefore, yes, Content is King. You embed your optimization techniques inside the content and information, in the form of good post titles, out-links, and keywords. Still, without the basic information, you have nothing. And that's all I have to say on the matter.

Originally Posted by igotdreams

- load content as soon as possible (which means main content on left and sub navigation or ads in the right column, that is an example)
- header tags when appropriate (in other words, do NOT use H1 tags then alter them with CSS, you are spamming. if you use H1 tags, then keep the size intact)
- internal links with keyword phrase
- try to load your main keyword immediately before all other content (in other words, your headline, do not rewrite it to make it work, it should match the content)
- reserve content modules that can load ever changing or fresh content (as long as it is relevant to the topic of the page)
- the basics (title tags, meta tags, name the page in relation to the topic, keywords in bullet list, bolding, italics [only when it calls for it, do not force it, you would be spamming]

I don't know if anyone has said this, I don't want to read all of the responses, but also make sure to make it search engine friendly by using the W3C Validator.

Originally Posted by igotdreams

Using any element for no reason other than to just do it, because you think it is good for SEO is spamming. I am telling the person to create a reason.

Using vowels, apostrophes, and misspellings is spamming. Also, using prepositional phrases and run on sentences is spamming. If the average number of letters in your HTML tags isn't an even number, it's spamming. Working on a web page between the hours of 2:30 and 11 pm is spamming, as is writing on a day when the moon is waning.

Originally Posted by LeetPCUser

I don't know if anyone has said this, I don't want to read all of the responses, but also make sure to make it search engine friendly by using the W3C Validator.

Validating does NOT make a page "Search engine friendly"

Originally Posted by igotdreams

- header tags when appropriate (in other words, do NOT use H1 tags then alter them with CSS, you are spamming. if you use H1 tags, then keep the size intact)

Yes they should be used only when needed - of course. I feel that they are needed when they add semantic structure to a document. The size has little to do with it really - the "normal" size that you talk about it only the browser default H1 size/style, and alters depending on the browser you are using. In general, H1 tags should be larger than the rest of the content or other heading tags as they are supposed to be more important than the rest of the content. In reality though, their size has no effect on search engine rankings and human editors would only "punish" you for it if they were being clearly abused (i.e. using CSS to make them absolutely tiny and unreadable to an average human, but still visible to computers and search engines).

Originally Posted by igotdreams

- try to load your main keyword immediately before all other content (in other words, your headline, do not rewrite it to make it work, it should match the content)

I really don't know why this has much/any effect on a search engine at all. At the end of the day, it's going to read the whole page anyway - it's sophisticated enough not to fall for stupid tricks such as this. Your keywords are often placed near the top of the page and may load earliest anyway - your theory is just guesswork.

Originally Posted by igotdreams

- the basics (title tags, meta tags, name the page in relation to the topic, keywords in bullet list, bolding, italics [only when it calls for it, do not force it, you would be spamming]

Surely you should build a site for a user, not a search engine? Placing bullet lists everywhere to attract search engines would be ridiculous. It's common sense not to use bold or italics everywhere on the page anyway unless you want visitors that leave after just 5 seconds.

You class yourself as a world class SEO yet you are posting some useless advice on the forums and bizarrely said that you are now leaving to return next year.... I'm not sure of the logic behind this, but I'm not sure of the logic behind some of your SEO methods either.