Web Design & Search Engines

Here's the new rule for design and the WWW: don't bother building it if people aren't going to be able to find it. Because having a web site isn't enough these days. Your site has to be optimized for search engines. And that means having content that contains keywords that people will use to search for related products, services, information, ... you name it.

Search engines periodically crawl or index your site. They use software programs that capture your site's content and then analyze the text utilizing a complex algorithm that's completely unique to each search engine. Using good design techniques allows a site to be easily indexed and referenced.

The sweet spot of search engine results - the top five results. This is prime real estate when we talk about search engine results. Statistically, the first five results in search results will see the most traffic. And driving traffic to your site is critical. The next best result is getting your site in the first page of search results. This means in the top ten sites for a search.

A word about search engine optimization SEO - there are no guarrantees. A lot of companies will tell you they can guarrantee your site will be number one for a particular search using a particular keyword. The truth is that only the technicians and engineers who develop and maintain search engines really know how results are ordered and ranked for searches. And they aren't telling anyone. That's guarded knowledge as search engines are only as good as the quality of the results returned. And if people are able to manipulate search results, then the search engine won't be trusted and will fall from favor. So beware of the company making big promises. They may not be giving it to you straight.