Common web site mistakes to avoid

SEO & Web Site mistakes that can lead to poor search engine results

We examine a lot of web pages that have good content but do not rank well on the search engine result pages. This is usually due to small simple mistakes. We have compiled a list of some of the most common problems we see or elements of a site that when improved will yield better search results. This is a list of mistakes, but not mistakes that will get you banned.

Mistakes that lead to poor search engine results

No robots.txt file Ð The robots file tells the search engine spiders where to go and not to go. By not having this file your entire site may not be fully indexed in the search engines. You can view a site robots file by entering www.site-name.com/robots.txt here is what our robots.txt file looks like.
Bad Title tag Ð We see a lot of site just using their company name, or the same title for every page. It is ok to use the company name but we recommend using it after your keyword phrase, for example {Keyword Phrase Ð Company Name} or look at our homepage title tag
Not utilizing meta data Ð While meta data may not be weighed as heavily as in the past it still help to determine a web pages relevance. Make sure you use Title, Description, and Keywords Meta tags . Think of your Meta data as your 1st chance for your web site to make a good impression.
Flash Ð We really like flash and think it can be a very useful presentation tool; most web sites do not properly deploy it into their web pages. The search engines unfortunately are not able to index content or navigation that is embedded in a flash file.
Directory listing - Dmoz or the open directory project is a volunteer group of editors. Google's directory is based on dmoz and is a very important incoming link. After you submit to dmoz be prepared to wait a while. Although it does cost $299 we recommend a directory listing in Yahoo. This is a trusted human edited link source plus Yahoo is the #2 search engine and the #1 web site overall for web traffic.
No use of keyword or keyword phrase Ð We often get questions wondering why a page does not rank for certain phrases. For a search engine to rank your page for your targeted keyword, you need to use phrase a certain number of times and position that keyword properly in the body text.
Targeting wrong keywords or not enough Ð Knowing what your customers are looking for is most important. This is why we recommend using paid inclusion like Google Ad-words and Overture. They bring traffic plus they are a great research tool to find your most effective keyword phrases.
Bad site navigation Ð if your site visitors can not find your good content they will leave quickly. Use a site map and make it easy for users to find what they are looking for.
No backlinks Ð Search engines use the sites that link to your site as a vote of importance and relevancy. You should attempt to get good relevant links for other important web sites. The best way to get good natural incoming links is to have good content. Try to offer useful information and services, give other site owners a reason to links to you.
Bad anchor text (the text that is your underlined link) Ð Now it is good to use your company name for your link anchor text, but you also want to vary it and use your keyword phrases.
Use of paid links - We learned our lesson the hard way. Here is a blog post by Google engineer Matts Cutts on the subject of paid text links .
Do not be a dead end - Have links to other useful relevant web sites.
Do not link to bad neighbors - Be careful who you link to. Make sure you link to qulity relevant sites, use common sence when linking to other web sites.
Not staying within guidelines - Search engines have guidelines that need to be followed. Just reviewing them can help you avoid making a costly mistake. Here is the Google guildelines for webmaster, and this is the Google guidelines for SEO . Here is the Yahoo content qulity guidelines and advise to improve Yahoo rankings. Indexing and content guidelines for MSN search.

If you have suggestions or feel we missed common issues please let us know and we will include your suggestion and of course give you the credit.

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