seo: Looking Like a White Hat When Getting Crawled

Appearing natuaral to a web crawler is not all that difficult
if you follow a few simple steps


By Alex Strzetelski

Appearing as a relevant and natural site to a search engine web crawler is not as difficult as it may sound. In many instances site designers and marketers tend to “over think” their work. There are several aspects that can be taken under consideration for getting a website noticed while not being noticed. The trick is not to be overly “heavy handed” about the process. Some of these aspects may include

 Content
 Page layout
 Headings
 Links
 Navigation

Each of these areas is key to obtaining a higher rank in the website rankings. In addressing each, however, understand that there will be people reading and looking at what you are doing. It is this concept that will help you to appear natural because it is how the web crawler is looking at the page or; from the perspective of “Joe somebody” looking at the page. The key? Set up the page for a person not a machine.

Content

Content is the number one thing that a search engine web crawler is considering when it decides if a web page is “close” to what the user is looking for. From a content writers point of view the copy needs to be more like a sales pitch. Include the information in a simple and easy to understand way. Don’t try to appear as some sort of technical genius. The facts need to be laid out simply. Support those facts with the relevant vehicles, like a link or two, not an entire basket of links.

Page layout

The page layout is an important vehicle for the user. It needs to be pleasing to look at. From a crawlers point of view it only cares about the text, and text in certain places. It wants the text in the same places that a reader would expect it to be. Locate your text in these places for ease of use: at the top for a header, in the middle or upper right hand portion of the page (this is important because this is where a persons eye is naturally taken when they look at a page) for copy and at the bottom for where to go next. This is basic, to the point and easy. All things a user is conditioned for.

Navigation

With a proper page layout, there then becomes the issue of getting the user to respond to the page in the way that is desired. In most instances, conversion is the end result that the webpage is working toward. The web crawler recognizes this and factors it into its analysis of the page in terms of ease of use. In other words, it wants the page to be easy to move through.

Having a mechanism available to go straight to the end result is a good indicator for the web crawler and a good way to get the user around any extraneous information that hinders them from a quick resolution of what they are trying to do. Also, easy access to some quick tools is a way that indicates that the site is trying to help the user to accomplish their goals.

Ultimately, the best way to appear natural and relevant to the search engine is to be as helpful to the user as possible. All the tricks in the world will not ultimately help you get the user to act as you wish unless it is easy for them to get where they feel they need to be. A web crawler is looking at how you are trying to help the user. So, in trying to appear natural just try to help the user.

Getting crawled

The topic of how search engines determine which site will be ranked where is always a hot topic when deciding what to include or not to include on your site. Should meta tags be included or not?, where should this or that element be placed. All are valid questions and all have answers with one opinion or another being attached.

Regardless of what is used as a base line for a decision about what is used or not used, all can agree that there are several items that must be included as navigation tools. These tools will serve to form the structure of the site and aide in ranking and ease of use. Some of these include:

 Name , keyword (optional), address in the Heading (H1)
 Basics at the bottom
 Layout
 Meta tags

The search engine is sort of like a ghost. You are sure that it is there but you just cannot see it do whatever it does. There are, however, places that it will likely show up. The trick is to be there to get its attention.

Heading one H1

The H1 is the place you are sure the search engine will go to first. Some search engines will rank other elements first or higher but all will rank the H1 very high on their priorities list. Having an optimal H1 is crucial. If the search engine cannot get all the information it needs from this one stop the ranking will likely go down. This is not to indicate that other elements are less important but this area is key.

Basics at the bottom

Putting the basics at the bottom is just the way that pages have developed over time. It has become accepted that the basic navigation aids will be at the bottom of the page. These elements include:

 Help
 Contact us
 About
 Buy –this item is optional but important for conversion if the customer is ready to buy. It is unwise to muddle the customers thoughts in getting to the sales area when they have their credit card ready.

Layout

Layout is an important feature for a few reasons. The search engine could care less what the site looks like and would actually prefer not having color involved to get in the way. The viewer is another issue but the search engine will like to see ALT tags if there is text within color.

Meta tags

There is some debate about the usefulness of meta tags when it comes to search engines. Some search engines use them to a degree while others use them in a limited fashion. Although some people may disagree the consensus is that they are better used for your administrative use rather than in trying to optimize your site.

Key elements of primary keyword ranking success

Finding your site ranked high on a search engines list depends on several factors. Choosing and placing a keyword, however, are the elements that will most likely get your site into the top eight. When choosing and placing your keywords there are several considerations:

 Placement
 Relevance
 Density

Placement

Placement is perhaps the most important consideration for a high ranking. Even before you have chosen your keyword you should be aware of where it will be used and how. Generally, the keyword should be found in the first heading or H1. This placement is not mandatory but highly recommended as most search engines look for a relevant term here.

Relevance

It would not make a whole lot of sense to use a keyword that did not have relevance but using similar words can have a similar effect. If your relevant keyword is one that is used often by others it may doom your site to obscurity. If you use that word along with a less frequently used relevant word you may see substantially better results.

Density

Using density of a keyword is an important aspect of a high ranking. The density, however, must be tempered to a degree because if it is used to often and in the wrong way the site may get barred for “breaking the rules” or ranked less high.

Content

With the possible exception of the H1 portion of your home page, content is the driving force of your ranking. The search engine crawler will rate your content on relevance, location, incoming links and key word density.

 Relevance

The content found on the home page should have some relation to the site. Although the general theme may stay, the content should be changed, on average, about once per month.

 The location of the content is just as important as the content itself. If the content is located near relevant aspects of the page, such as advertisements, the page will receive a better ranking.

 Incoming links are considered as significant ranking criteria by many, but not all, search engines. These links could have your keywords in their link but this is not necessary. In either event they need to be quality links tied to the content.

 Density is perhaps the largest keyword factor to consider in your home page content. The density needs to relatively significant although it cannot be overwhelming. If it is not relevant to the content or is too heavy handed in use the search engine may view this as a negative and rank the site lower or ban the site all together.

Choosing the keyword is just as important as how and where you place it. Generally, relevance and how it is perceived by the person doing the search are the important point to consider. Relevance, however, can be viewed in two ways for your use and effectiveness. If you choose a keyword that is fairly popular you will be placed along with a multitude of other users of the word. This may have the unintended effect of lowering your ranking. Because of this, the use of a word that is close to the popular word but not exactly the same may lead to a higher ranking and better results.

Keywords v. Keyword Phrases

One of the beginning steps in getting a user to your site is choosing the keywords or keyword phrases for use on your site. Ultimately, you are trying to incorporate the same keywords onto your site that a user will enter into the search engine window. The word(s) could really be anything but being relevant and specific are the two forms that should be considered.

Keywords

Using a one word keyword is an option. Using this one word, however, is not likely to accomplish the task of getting your site listed in the top page or two of the featured results. The problem is, that a one word keyword just leaves to many general options. The end result of using just one word is the attraction of millions of possible sites in the ranking and not the high ranking you desire.
Some one word keyword ideas that will not likely work well:

• AIDS
• Cars
• Pickles

Keywords obviously lend themselves to a keyword phrase. Using the one word within the phrase, however, leads to how the word is perceived, and the many forms that that one word might take. When the word “lift” is used, does it mean to “pick up” or a device to move a person from one building floor to the next?, or, for that matter does it mean elevator. With this in mind it would appear that several words used together in the form of a specific phrase would be more specific to attracting that one desired person to your site.

Developing phrase words

Developing these phrases is difficult because, as illustrated, a different word or set of words can mean differing things to differing people. Some considerations may include:

 Do different common words have differing usages i.e. lift-elevator
 Is the phrase to specific i.e. car seat v. child car seat restraints
 Can the word be used in the plural
 Are there spelling variations or is the word commonly misspelled

In certain instances each of these examples can lead to a positive or negative outcome for your ranking or conversion rate. In the first two examples the net effect may be a higher overall ranking but the addition of users that are not, generally, interested in one aspect of the intended product or service.

In the last two examples the overall effect is the same, to pull in people intended and not intended. In this case the effect is intended and may raise your ranking as the number of visits has risen. In either of these cases you are trying to gauge people and what they may or may not enter on purpose.

Don’t assume you’re right

Whichever strategy is taken there is one aspect of making a final decision that you should follow, don’t guess or think you are right. Just because you think in this way or that it does not mean that the general population thinks in the same way.
The best strategy to follow once you have a list of potential words and or phrases in mind is to make a list and go to a crowded market or mall and start to ask people what they associate with the words or phrases that you have come up with. It is likely that your initial feelings about the words are incorrect.
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