by Writing Gal.

Created on: August 06, 2010

What does a search engine spider do? It reads HTML code of websites and then determines which  keywords carry more relevance on that page and then compares their importance to the other keywords on that page. The spider does this billions of times with all the content on the Internet. If your HTML code is messy or incorrect, the spider will not spend time on your website and will quickly move to the next site, thus you lose valuable placement in the rankings of search engines.

One of the ways to ensure the spider finds your pages is to include SEO content articles, however there is more than simply putting tons of SEO rich content on your sight, it is the layers and size of your pages that also affect the spiders.

Place JavaScript on external referenced files. What does this do? First, it will make your HTML files as small as possible because you will be referencing an external file such as .js in your code for where you would normally write the JavaScript on several pages. This is one method to create spider-friendly code. Second, you will reduce bandwidth costs and the pages will load faster. Third, since search engines limit how many characters on each page they read, having embedded the JavaScript will have a positive effect on search engine results.

You want to avoid tables in positioning your information. Tables break up keywords making it difficult for search engine spiders to find your pages. This of course, will decrease your ranking in  search engines. Your goal in organizing the content on your page is make sure spiders index your entire page and not simply the first  few lines.

Remember that visitors and spiders read your web page differently. If you design your web page and code for the benefit of attracting visitors you will begin to suffer in the rankings of the search engines. Spiders are looking at content early on the page and in the headers rather than traveling further down the text, even if the text is rich in keywords, if it is buried the spider will not find it thus lower rankings in the search engine.

Make sure that your HTML code is written to attract the spiders. If your code is not written well, even if it is filled with the best keywords and keyword-rich articles, the spider will not read it or may read it last with the result you will fall in the search engine rankings.

If you have not started using style sheets, this is a good time to start. They will allow the spider to find your pages with ease. Style sheets reduce the bloated code that is often weaved through your web page.

Did you know those beautiful splash screens that say “click here to enter” will actually decrease your search engine ratings? The reason is the amount of levels on your web site. The more levels you have the harder it is for the spider to find your pages. You want to keep your home page concise but rich in keyword content. In your content make reference to the primary topics that also include important keywords. As you do this you are actually helping the spiders find your pages, therefore you will increase rankings for your website in the search engines.

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