This email newsletter can be found on the web at http://www.hardweb.com.au/anzac05newsletter.html

Hello again HardWeb clients!

First some unusual news as a result of last weeks newsletter if you put in the search terms "Britney's weight problem" into the Google search engine at the moment www.hardweb.com.au comes up top!

Amazing!

It happened because I put a text link (that is a text link) on my front page (which is already well indexed by Google) to the newsletter page, so the spiders (or crawlers or bots) followed the link and indexed the page which had that text on it (see here for previous newsletter)

Next the results of Thatch's Search Engine Challenge!...

"Gold Coast web design"	NineMSN(Aus)	Google	Google (Aus)	Yahoo	Yahoo (Aus)	MSN
Initial Search	11th	15th	10th	11th	11th	34th
Wk 1 (after tweaking links)	5th	2nd	2nd	19th	19th	9th

WELLL!!!
Improved in NineMSN up 6 places, Google up 13, Google Australia up 8 and MSN up 25 places!
Unfortunately down 8 places in both Yahoo and Yahoo Australia (which give the same results)
How did I do it?
For the first stage of this challenge all I did was added text links to the graphic links to my site from my clients sites (that's all of you!) , to reitterate, I added to the little graphics like these ones that you may be familiar with;

text links that include "search words" that will improve my rankings, like this;
Hardweb Gold Coast web design, Website design by Hardweb, Gold Coast website design

The good news is that I also changed the text links to my clients pages (that's you again) on HardWebs homepage to more closely reflect the search terms that I think will help you, so instead of just a text link with your business name there is now a text link containing search terms that will help you.

NEXT WEEK I'M GOING TO TWEAK THE TITLES TO SEE IF I CAN GO FURTHER UP THE SLIPPERY SEARCH ENGINE POLE!

Here is a list of things not to do with your website that I came across at Web Pro News

If you want to develop a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, go out of your way to avoid blunders that limit search engine rankings.

Here are 10 to keep in mind:

1. Don't use frames.

Why would you want to use frames if SEO is important? Don't risk confusing the search engine spiders, which happens often with frameset sites. Sure, you can write scripts or adjust the content to work within frames, but you probably have better things to do with that time and energy.

2. Don't use Flash.

Everyone agrees--Flash looks awesome. But it also slows down the user experience and Flash makes it tough to get ranked. The Flash future looks bright for the ability of search engines to read some keywords, but what good will this serve if site pages lack visible, readable text?

3. Don't skimp on title tags.

Why would you simply call a page About Us in the title tag when this meta data occupies prime SEO real estate? Always include effective search phrases that reflect the content within title tags.

4. Don't overstuff title tags.

Limit titles to 70 characters, with commas between phrases in EVERY title tag; use fewer characters on pages with limited content.

5. Don't bury text.

Design often gets in the way of Text. Make sure your visible text is located high on the page.

6. Don't use graphics as page headers.

Graphic headers are a waste of space, and thus of time, when it comes to SEO. Use text as page headers and support them by utilizing strategic keywords - in the header, after the header or below the header.

7. Don't use the wrong words.

Website owners love one-word search terms because they seem to get lots of traffic. The reality is that only a fraction of Internet users entering a broad search word want what you have to offer. Go for search terms using two, three or four words that will help visitors qualify their interests.

8. Don't ignore link building.

Hunt down links from other websites that have content and categories that relate to what you offer. If you sell sweaters, find a specialty guide about sweaters or a portal about clothing.

9. Don't overwhelm your pages with keywords.

You might not write the same keyword in succession 10 times, but you can make the mistake of too much repetition. Mention your strategic search term several times throughout the page, but promise yourself not to force its use too much.

10. Don't use long URLs.

If you use a database to maintain the website, you may end up with long URLs with several session IDs and parameters that produce many question marks and equal signs. These lengthy URLs can hinder search engines from properly indexing the pages. Work with your developer so as to limit them or to remove them altogether as much as is possible.

warmest regards
David Thatcher
-----------------------------------
HardWeb for web design
thatch@hardweb.com.au
www.hardweb.com.au
07 5526 2939
0401 352 269
Home/Office Address
-- 25 Savoy Drive --
Broadbeach Waters Qld 4218
-----------------------------------

cartoon from dilbert.com

Go here for the first newsletter about Search Engine optimization
Go here for another newsletter about mail outs, keeping a list and offers of tutoring
go here for a newsletter about icons
and here for a newsletter about how to do a signature and an offer about coloured scrollbars.

All info here is Copyright ©2005 David Thatcher & HardWeb

Home | About us | Web design | Web information | Web Links | Search Engines

Time
Per
Person