Five Questions Web Designers Don’t Want You to Ask

by Kristi Stangeland © 2005
http://www.mustangwebdesigns.com

It’s obvious. Every time you search the Internet you see it for yourself: the huge difference in the designs of the sites you visit. Some look like they were created by million-dollar Madison Avenue agencies while others look like your 12-year-old nephew did it for his school project. And those are the visible elements. Look deeper, and you’ll find other aspects of web design that affect everything from search engine optimization to visitor experience.

When it comes to your site, take the time to ensure your business will be well represented on the web. Sure, referrals from friends are great, and you should definitely get several referrals when you start your search. But you should also be armed with some carefully thought out questions to ask as well. When interviewing web designers, ask the following:

How do you incorporate search engine techniques when creating web sites?

Why You Care: It has recently been reported that only 30% of web sites are listed in the search engines. All web designers state that they care about search engine optimization when creating sites, but few really incorporate the techniques when your site is actually built.

Most Wanted Response: You want your web design firm to tell you they plan to determine keyphrases for your site at the beginning of the project and incorporate them into the title, content and META tags of your site. You also want them to create your site without the use of frames or 100% flash pages.

Bottom Line: There are other factors (besides web design) that impact search engine optimization, but these design elements will give you a giant boost up with your rankings. Oftentimes, high rankings are as much about what you don’t include as what you do include.

What is your turnaround time?

Why You Care: You’ll want your site finished in a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, I’ve come across many businesses that have waited over a year for their site to be completed.

Most Wanted Response: You’ll want to hear your web designer offer a specific timeframe for site completion. While the web site designer will be dependent upon you for delivery of graphics and content, the designer should be able to discuss a typical schedule and the turnaround time, once you have provided the appropriate materials.

Bottom Line: Don’t get stuck for months without a site while you wait for your designer. Make sure you feel comfortable with the designer’s response.

Do you use Cascading Style Sheets?

Why You Care: A cascading style sheet works behind the scenes to create the look of your entire site. This is preferred to regular HTML formatting for three reasons:

1. Your site loads much faster because file sizes are smaller.
2. Lower maintenance fees. Your designer can update the look of your entire site with one single change to the style sheet.
3. It’s the wave of the future. Embedded styles on your site could soon be obsolete.

Most Wanted Response: Yes!

Bottom Line: You work hard for your money. Don’t waste it on unnecessary maintenance fees or risk having to recreate your site in the next year or two.

Will my site be viewable by all users on all browsers?

Why You Care: Unfortunately, you cannot control what browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Web TV, etc) a visitor to your site will use. Some sites look great in one browser and horrible in another. A good web designer, however, can make sure your site looks the way it should when viewed in a variety of browsers.

Most Wanted Response: Your designer should use necessary techniques to ensure your site will appear, as it should, in several different browsers. This means your site should actually be viewed in several different browsers as well as several different versions of these browsers. In addition, the site should be checked to ensure that the code is correct. (Dr. HTML and W3C Validator are popular services.)

Bottom Line: Don’t push visitors away with a web site that only looks good in one version of Internet Explorer!

How will my business/organization benefit from a web site?

Why You Care: If you’re reading this article, you probably already know many of the benefits of having a site. In case you don’t, I’ll tell you that web sites can fulfill many different needs for a business or organization. For example, service professionals may want a site to generate qualified leads. Retail companies might want an online sales outlet to further increase revenues. Other businesses may not care about Internet traffic at all and just want a site for their existing customers.

Most Wanted Response: Your designer should explain her/his process to learn about your business and business model so s/he can create a site specifically to meet the needs of your organization.

Bottom Line: Your designer has to fully understand your business, or your site won’t function in the capacity you intend for it to function.

In addition to asking these questions, get references and actually follow up with them. Creating a web site is a major investment, and you’ll want to be sure you’re working with someone who is as devoted to the success of your site as you are. Finding a good, competent web designer takes effort on your part, but will be well worth the time you spend.

Kristi Stangeland is President of Mustang Web Designs (http://www.mustangwebdesigns.com) and has been creating professional, beautiful, functional web site designs for her clients since 2001. Visit Kristi online today for her “Free Guide to Creating Effective Web Sites” or to get a quote for your next web design project.

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Subtle Emotion – The Key To Copy That Works

By Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.marketingwords.com

Say the word “emotion” to a man, and he’ll immediately jump out of his seat and run from the room! Utter the word “emotion” to a woman, and she begins to conjure up thoughts of romantic, long talks centered around feelings. However, speak the word “emotion” to a copywriter and s/he should see dollar signs. Why? Because a good command of subtle emotion is the key to copy that works.

The Difference Between Subtle and Obvious Emotion

Confusing obvious and subtle emotion is a common mistake among copywriters. Let’s say your copywriting client tells you his product should make the end user feel classy and sophisticated. He wants the copy you write to convey that message. What happens when writing with obvious emotion is this:

Our silverware patterns will make you feel classy and sophisticated. They will decorate your table in an upscale manner so you and your guests will think you’re in a fine-dining restaurant.

Obvious emotion tells readers what they will think, see or feel. This approach is clumsy and awkward and rarely has the result the client is looking for. On the other hand, subtle emotion has a much greater appeal. Why? Because it deals with imagery. When you show people, rather than tell them, how they’ll feel or what will happen after they buy your product or service, you evoke core emotions rather than shallow feelings. Here are several examples of subtle emotion at work:

Graceful and elegant, these silverware patterns are sure to bring compliments from your guests. With an exceptional display of taste and style, you can adorn your table with distinctive stainless or sterling silverware that highlights every element of your table setting.

As peaceful and charming as a Sunday afternoon on grandma’s front porch, these metal gliders are recreations of the WWI originals. Rock the afternoon away with a big glass of lemonade and a little nostalgia wafting through the air like a gentle summer breeze.

Spend lazy days and restful nights in this poster bed dreaming about romantic interludes. Finished with Gabon mahogany veneers, your bed has reed posts, a removable canopy frame and a louvered headboard reminiscent of a shuttered window.

Do you see what’s happening in the copy examples above? No one came right out and said, “Your table’s gonna look real classy if you use our silverware,” but the notion is there. From the description given, you pick up on the fact that this silver will do more than make your table look good. It will make you look good in front of your guests and give you a little boost of confidence due to all the compliments you’ll receive.

The metal glider chair copy never said your blood pressure would be reduced as you sat on your porch de-stressing from a long, hard workweek, but that’s the distinct impression you get from the copy, isn’t it?

And the poster bed? Just the mention of the materials (Gabon mahogany, reed posts) and romantic interludes gives a feeling that this bed is something special, although the copy never actually says so.

By using subtle emotion, by painting a picture of what the customer will get from these products, by incorporating them into the customer’s everyday life, you – as a copywriter – are able to pique interest and increase sales. Ah! The power of words!

Karon Thackston is owner of Marketing Words, Inc., a full-service copywriting agency. She is also author of the highly acclaimed Step-by-Step Copywriting Course, now in its third edition. You can find Karon online at http://www.marketingwords.com or http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Confusing obvious and subtle emotion is a common mistake among copywriters. Let’s say your copywriting client tells you his product should make the end user feel classy and sophisticated. He wants the copy you write to convey that message.

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Manage Your Search Engine Space – Online Reputation Management

Do a search on your favorite search engine for your company name. Look at the results. Hopefully your company web site is at the top of the pile. But what about the other 9 results in the top 10? What do they say about you? People searching for your company name will look at all of these results – not just your homepage. What do they say about your company? Is it all good, relevant, up-to-date information that the searcher is seeing? Are there any flame (bad) sites saying bad things about you or your company? Is there old information listed? What are people saying about you on forums and blogs? This information will all be scanned by people looking for your company.

Many people think of their website as their online presence. However they forget about the ’search engine results pages’ (SERP.) The SERP for your company name or your product name is the new digital ‘front page.’ It is often the first impression that people get of your company. You would like it to be a good impression. Therefore it is important that you manage your search engine space.

But how can you manage the results that are related to your site within the SERPs if you do not control what they say? You do not control what they say, but you can influence where they rank in the results.

Your search engine space is dynamic and constantly changing as new sites are added to the mix and as search engines alter their algorithms. You need to develop an understanding of your environment and of your competition.

First of all undertake an analysis of your search engine space. Look at the sites around you. Figure out which ones you may want to move. Look at their content, their page rank, and the amount of sites linking to the page. This will give you an idea of the scale of work involved. If high ranking of favorable publicity is your goal then you will want to push negative publicity down the list and out of consumers’ sight. The good news is that consumers rarely view more than one page of search engine results for any search.

Here are some of the things you can do to influence the results.

• You will want to make sure that your corporate site is fully optimized and is the top of the list for your name and your brand. If your organization has more than one site the same attention should be given to all of your sites.
• Consider the opportunities of developing a corporate Blog. This Blog can be aimed at supporting a specific business function such as marketing or customer service.
• Publish all your corporate communications on your website. Companies produce a large amount of compelling written content such as press releases, articles, testimonials, case studies, white papers, etc. Often, this information is not published on a company’s website nor optimized in a search friendly way. Therefore it is not indexed or listed by the search engines.
• Make sure that all content relating to your company on other highly ranked sites is accurate and current. Communicate with these sites regularly and provide them with updates.
• If you are outsourcing your SEO have your SEO provider add a page about you company to their clients pages.
• Look for 3rd party opportunities to include information about your company. This may include retailers of your products, suppliers of your parts, distributors etc. Develop relationships with any types of organizations that you partner with and set a goal of getting information about your business on their site.
• Release regular press releases that are newsworthy and submit them to the online wire services. Optimize these press releases for your name or brand.
• Submit articles about your business to online industry publications.
• Become a regular contributor to Blogs within your industry.
• Consider a paid listing for your company name or brand. Although this does not affect the ‘natural’ listings it helps to add to your total domination of your search engine space.

The above ideas are all directed at getting as many listing as possible related to your company or brand at the top of the SERPs. This is of course not an overnight task but rather should be viewed as a sustained on persistent campaign. However once you begin to see results you are effectively managing you search engine space. This gives you the control over how people perceive you company or brand. From a public relations viewpoint this helps develop favorable publicity for your company. From a business viewpoint it helps give consumers confidence in your company and brand. The end result is an increase in your overall web presence for your company and its products and services.

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Ethics, Best Practices and SEO – A Crisis in the Profession? (part 3)

Golden Rules for Choosing an SEO Company

The following are some golden rules I have written on choosing an SEO. If the consumer sticks to these rules then they should avoid the practitioners in our industry who give the rest of us a bad name.

• Only work with a company that follows search engine guidelines. (If I could only make one recommendation this would be it). The three main search engines are Google, MSN, and Yahoo. Look on their sites for their webmaster guidelines.
• Only work with a company that documents the SEO process they will use to rank your site.
• Only work with a company that provides a written contract outlining their process and their costs.
• Get at least four proposals for your site and compare services before you make a decision.
• Do not work with a company that offers guarantees of top rankings. Nobody can offer these types of guarantees.
• Do not lock yourself into a contract you cannot get out of if you are not getting results.
• Ask for references and follow up with them. If you still have any doubts ask for more. Ensure that references check out. Check that the suggested site is real and that the contact details given check out against the contact details on the site.
• Do not allow any work to be carried out on your site without your approval.
• Do not give the SEO carte blanche to do as they will with your site. It is your site not theirs. It is your responsibility to ensure that the SEO does not apply any techniques that would result in getting your site banned.
• Check the companies BBB (Better Business Bureau) report. Check for membership of any other established trade bodies such as the AMA (American Marketing Association) Many companies claim that they are more reputable because they are part of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.) However this is not necessarily the case. All that is required to be a member of SEMPO is a $299 annual subscription.
• Do not work with a company that engages in site wide link exchanges. Question their linking methods. Ensure that they only have a policy of linking with on-topic sites. Remember, your site is built for users not for search engines. If your site is about computers and your link to a site that sells children’s toys how useful do you think that link will be for your visitors.
• Ask other companies doing well on the Internet who they use for SEO. Always ask about the quality of customer service that is offered. It is not much use having a great SEO if you can never get hold of them.
• If it sounds too good to be true. IT IS!!!

In conclusion the SEO industry is a dynamic growing industry. This rapid growth has created some challenges for the industry. One of these challenges is the perception that outsiders have of SEO practitioners being unethical. To counteract this many SEOs are now promoting themselves as ‘ethical SEO.’ However, as the industry is unregulated it is up to the consumer of the service to become informed and exercise caution when selecting a SEO vendor. As the demand for SEO continues to grow the number of unethical practitioners calling themselves SEOs will also grow. To protect yourself, take the vendor selection process seriously. Look for vendors who are willing to share knowledge and partner with you to provide the best possible outcome for you business.

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Ethics, Best Practices and SEO – A Crisis in the Profession? (part 2)

Bad SEO Can Get A Site Banned

The search engines say that any type of manipulation to get a site ranked is a threat against them and the relevancy of their results. Whitehat practitioners will say that they are not manipulating sites but rather fixing search engine obstacles within a web site. The need for their services is great as many web site designers do not know how to integrate search engine friendly designs.

Last year a prospective customer contacted me after being burned by a “rogue” SEO company who got their site (and others) banned from Google for spam tactics. A few weeks later they were contacted by the same “rogue” SEO company under a new name. Perhaps naively she almost fell for it again. She reasoned that if they had been banned once they would not do anything wrong again! This demonstrates the lack of knowledge that consumers have regarding our industry. They don’t know the difference between good and bad SEO. People are being taken advantage of because of their lack of knowledge.

No matter what techniques your SEO uses; ‘ethical’ , ‘whitehat’ ,’blackhat’ none at all it all boils down to one thing. Doing right by the client? Ethics is often viewed by many in the industry as hype.

I think the focus should be on serving users as opposed to manipulating the search engines. SEO’s who concentrate of making the sites the best that they can be for the end user will create a much better longer term affect. The SEOs who chase algorithms and try to game the search engines get burned when there is an algorithm change. Following search engine updates involving an algorithm shift, the industry message boards abound with posts along the lines of “I hate Google, they have killed my site” If these posters had spent more time improving their site for their clients, and the search users, the algorithm updates would be much less stressful for them.

At this time there is no initiative within the industry to create a trade body which sets a code of best practices. It is down to the consumer to practice “buyer beware” and ensure that they practice due diligence in selecting an SEO. They need to use even more caution than they would use to select any other vendor. I also believe the industry has a responsibility to provide education and resources for consumers and help de-mystify the profession.

Great SEO companies share their knowledge willingly. They hide nothing to either clients or search engines. They know that they have a specialized skill and are proud of what they do. They get their results through hard work and perseverance. They also know that to do the job properly takes a lot of time. This is something which most business owners feel they do not have. They are confident that when it comes to hiring a professional, their honest and open approach to their trade will be acknowledged by organizations who only want to work with the best.

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Ethics, Best Practices and SEO – A Crisis in the Profession?

Black Hats, White Hats, Gray Hats

There has been much debate recently on the practice of ethical Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The recent removal of a high profile SEO company from the Google results has plunged the industry into yet another debate on what is ethical and what is not in our profession.

I have been involved in the SEO industry for a few years now and the mention of the word ethics and best practices in what is still an unregulated industry creates a level of confusion the likes of which I have not observed in any other industry. Why does this reluctance to discuss ethics and best practices exist? After all, we call ourselves professionals and as professionals we should strive to be part of an industry which stands for best practices and quality of service.

The confusion seems to come from the way that search engines rank sites. Each search engine has an algorithm which is a complex method of giving a value to a site which will ensure that it is returned in the search results when a relevant keyword is typed into a search engine. These algorithms are kept secret by the search engines for obvious reasons. The SEO industry is highly focused on analyzing these algorithms and using any knowledge gained to modify and rank websites. Ask any two SEO’s what they consider to be ethical in their pursuit of top results and you will most likely get two very different answers. Hence, the lack of agreement on what is ethical and what is not.

So where do we start? Our commitment must always start with the client and our responsibilities to them. An ethical company will always demonstrate loyalty and respect to their client. This is true whether they are an SEO, a doctor or an accountant.

Having sound business practices and a professional approach to all that you do then we can move onto the ’search engine guidelines.’ All the major search engines and directories publish their own guidelines of use for webmasters. This should be the minimum that any SEO practitioner complies with when working on a client’s site. Search engines have a right to protect the integrity of their results and the SEO practitioners should respect those guidelines.

The confusion seems to arrive with the interpretation of the guidelines. One SEO will interpret the rules to mean one thing and another SEO will see it as completely different. The stakes are high and a top ranking in Google for your site is powerful branding and can lead to a major upswing in your business.

SEO practitioners have been classified as ‘whitehat,’ and ‘blackhat.’ Whitehat practitioners are the ones that try to stick to search engine guidelines while blackhat operate using more questionable techniques and view the search engines as the ‘enemy.’ Unfortunately blackhat techniques can sometimes adversely affect the sites ranking and worse, get their client’s sites banned.

Blackhats traditionally play to the emotional needs of their clients and often convince them to part with their money without giving clear and specific information on the changes they will make to their sites. If a client is fully aware of the risks and is prepared to buy into short term gain then that is their choice. However, many Blackhat SEO’s do not disclose their tactics. Would you hire a CPA who submits your tax return including questionable practices and breaking all the IRS rules? You are the one who will get audited, prosecuted and have to pay huge fines.

Blackhat techniques are just plain bad business practice. They also do the search engines and the search users a huge disservice by contributing to poor quality of results. This adds nothing to the end user experience.

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Copywriting Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly

By Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com

When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a big role. You want to have excellent copy that appeals to both your visitors and the engines in order to create pages that will rank highly. However, sometimes there can be potential problems with fitting copy into certain types of sites. Due to space constraints, page layout requirements or other issues, some site owners hesitate to include SEO copy thinking it will detract from the visitor’s experience. It won’t if you do it right!

Gigmasters.com is a database site that allows visitors to search for any number of entertainment options then book them directly from the site. They segmented their target audience by the events visitors would book entertainment for (i.e., wedding entertainment, birthday party entertainment, etc.) Pages were then created for each entertainment type.

The Problems

Gigmasters.com wasn’t ranking highly for its keyphrases on a number of pages. In fact, for the page we’re focusing on in this article (see the original copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-original-wedding.pdf), Gigmasters.com wasn’t ranking in the top 50.

The page desperately needed more copy. The concern was that visitors would be distracted by the addition of more text. After all, customers who come to a site to book entertainment are going to focus on the information in each performer’s bio. not the copy on the category page, right? As we found out, this was not at all true.

In addition to quantity (word count), the page also needed quality. The one paragraph of copy that was on the page was rough and sounded awkward.

The Solutions

Writing copy that appeals to the site visitors and the search engines should be the goal of every SEO copywriter. You never want to sacrifice one for the other. However, I knew that adding a long block of copy right in the middle of the page would not be using good judgment. Good thing nobody ever said all your copy had to be in one place!

By breaking the copy up and adding short blips under each section of the page, we were able to include enough text to support the chosen keyphrases. At the same time, we were able to help visitors make the best choices for their wedding entertainment.

Already know how to write good copy? Want to dramatically improve your SEO copywriting skills? This ebook gives you 11 effective and legal ways to do just that!

The Rewrite

For this particular page, the target customer was someone in need of wedding entertainment. The visitor might be a bride or the mother of a bride looking for a wedding band (a wedding music band, that is), a DJ or some other form of wedding reception music. Most often the site visitor was a bride, however.

I never want to include copy strictly for SEO purposes if possible. The copy should always have a dual purpose: to help the visitor and to boost rankings. To accomplish this with Gigmasters.com, the introductory paragraph of copy spoke directly to the bride-to-be. It gave her the feeling that Gigmasters.com understood how important the music for her wedding and reception are.

Under each music classification, the bride was given ideas or suggestions. Statements like, “The gentle melodies played by a harpist or flutist during the prelude to your ceremony can add an air of distinction” and ” Do you want your guests to dance? Consider a Latin band or swing band to pick up the beat” prompted visitors to think through their selections and evaluate all their options before deciding.

Each section of copy used at least one primary keyphrase to boost support of those terms with the engines. The copy was carefully written so as not to sound forced or stiff when including search terms.

The Results

You can view the updated copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-updated-wedding.pdf. What happened after the changes? Within just a few weeks the page began to rise in rankings dramatically! Currently, the page has great rankings with various engines for various keyphrases – several in the top 10 with Google and Yahoo.

And conversions? They are holding steady if not increased some according to site partner Kevin Kinyon, further proving that search engine copywriting can be helpful to real people, too.

Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check out Karon’s latest e-report “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword. When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a big role. You want to have excellent copy that appeals to both your visitors and the engines in order to create pages that will rank highly.

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Optimizing Your B2B Marketing

Marketing your products or services to other businesses offers many different challenges that marketing directly to consumers. Here are some steps to help you optimize your B2B marketing efforts.

Understand your target market.

Make sure you clearly identify your audience and customers. Find out who are the key decision makers. You can waste a lot of time and effort by trying to sell to those who do not have the power to make buying decisions. Maximize your resources by targeting the true decisions makers. If you are not talking directly to the decision maker ensure that all information and collateral stands on its own with a clear message. The decision makers may only see your summary so make sure it communicates your message clearly.

Make sure your marketing plan is aligned with your strategic business plan

It sounds simple but in many organizations this does not happen. Marketing plans may get reorganized on a near daily basis due to reductions in budget, re-focusing of ideas, or changes in sales initiatives. By keeping in touch with your strategic business plan you will reduce your risk and also make better decisions. This will help you to deliver your marketing communications with maximum impact.

Almost all B2B websites are not utilized to their maximum potential. Rather than thinking of it as an on-line catalog see it more as a strategic competitive weapon. It is usually the first view of your company that many people receive. What do they see when they first look at your site? A global leader or another follower?

Today the search engine results page for your company name is the new digital front page for your company. When you do a search for your company’s name in Google what do the first ten search results say about your company? Remember that this is what many potential clients read about you before they even visit your site! There are companies out there whose sole purpose is online reputation management. This involves making sure that the top ten results for your name are favorable.

90% of technical buyers use the internet to look for products

So make sure you optimize your business opportunities by being visible in the major search engine results. Optimizing your site to be found in search engine searches is critical in today’s economy. But this is only the first step. Once on your site the visitors have to be converted into leads. Study your web analytics to find out the habits of your visitors. Invest in usability studies. Constantly update the site based on your findings to improve the user experience. This has paid huge dividends for many companies involved in B2B.

Remember that you website is a low cost way to communicate your product and brand to your target markets. Also bear in mind that the same is true for your smaller competitors! It is essential that you stay on the leading edge of the technology and maximize your online potential.

PR is better than advertising! However PR involves more than just press releases. A larger proportion of your efforts should be spent on case studies and white papers. Successful PR also requires continuous dialogue with media representatives. Frequent contact and relationship building are essential. Aim to make their job easier by reacting quickly and offering full explanations backed up with illustrations and photos. Making the editor’s job easier will reap rewards and generate increased editorial coverage. Optimizing your press releases for search engines is a powerful and cost effective way of getting an instant message to a mass audience. It also increases your chances of being found by a journalist researching your industry in a cost effective and effective manner.

Integration of you marketing efforts is an essential part of your comprehensive marketing strategy. These efforts are not individual tasks but rather linked together with a view to increasing your total business. For example, search engine results are PR, or – your target market determines your web site content. By linking together your marketing efforts you will help build your corporate brand and generate leads. The end result is better return on investment and increase value for your customers.

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Indexing Obstacles for Dynamic Web Sites

URL Parameters, Session ID’s, Reserved Characters and Deep Nested web pages can make it harder for search engines to fully index your website. If your site uses any of the following you may find it hard to get indexed by the search engines:

Parameters

If your URL’s include parameters (end with ?a=1&b=2) then the search engines may not index these pages. This is because the spider can get caught in an infinite loop, indexing the same page hundreds of times with exactly the same content.

It used to be that no search engines would index pages with parameters. This is now much improved to how it used to be, however to ensure your site is indexed by all the search engine spiders always limit to a maximum of two parameters, but if possible use none.

Session IDs

Question – What’s worse than a search engine not indexing a URL with a session ID?
Answer – A search engine that does index a URL with a session ID

If a search engine indexed pages with session IDs the following could happen:

1. Visitors coming from that search using the same session id share a shopping cart, exposing order and shipping history, and potentially credit card information
2. The search engines index the same page with different session ids resulting in a duplicate content penalty
3. The search engines ignore the page thus ensuring your pages are not indexed

Sometimes this problem can be extremely hard to see, the site may only use the URL session id when a visitor doesn’t accept cookies – no spiders accept cookies so they would always see the session ID. To check this properly turn off accepting cookies on your browser, clear your cookie cache, and then access your site.

Reserved Characters

Moving away from standard alphanumeric characters in a URL can cause issues. HTML and URL’s reserve certain characters to serve special uses. An example of this is the & character, which in URL’s is used to divide parameters. If your site uses these non-alphanumeric characters you need to encode them whenever they’re listed. If someone links to you from their own site they could mis-enter it causing it to point to the wrong URL.

# (pound sign or hash sign) are used for accessing anchors on pages, these can be kept when used for this purpose but avoid filesnames with these in.

Spaces are also a reserved character, being rendered as %20 in URLs. When representing a space in the URL, use a hypen (’-') instead.

Nested Too Deep

While not really about the syntax for URLs, if your page is more than three levels deep on your site the search engines may deem it irrelevant and not index it.

Depth should be measured from the home page of your site, count the number of clicks it takes to get t the destination page, add one (so you include home) and that’s your level. Keep at most three deep, if you can’t consider adding a search engine friendly site map.

Links

If you’re still having problems getting your site indexed it might just be lack of incoming links. Arrange non-reciprocated and reciprocated links from good quality sites. Instead of arranging for all your links to go to your home page, try to arrange deep links to your internal pages – some of the directories allow deep linking to internal pages as well as listing your home page.

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