A combination of signs and symptoms that, taken together,
may damage a site's relationship with search engines

Using Header Tags Wisely

The on-page title should use <Hx> tags. - the main page title would be H1, and main sections H2.

Never, ever use Hx tags simply to highlight keywords; that is search engine spam, and is depracated. It is also an inappropriate use of page layout tags.

Please be clear, Hx tags are for PAGE markup, NOT site markup - each and every page can have an H1 title, which helps to head the page, and may assist in SEO.

You DO NOT need more than one H1 title on one page.

For example:You may have one title (H1), four categories(H2), each of which has 3 subcategories(h3). Each subcategory is divided into 4 sections (H4), and most of them have two subsections(H5). Within them, you may like to highlight some paragraph headings (H6).

etc., etc.

It's entirely logical, very easy, and - if done right - may afford a very small SEO benefit (it is one of some 200 factors considered by Google).

If done badly, it will confuse your visitors, exclude visitors with visual difficulties, and quite possibly damage your search engine standings - especially if you have rivals who might report you.

Plus if you get it right, you will have a better looking site that you can be proud of.

Problems:

Prevention:

Check Now for
Sick Site Syndrome

Before committing a fortune to Search Engine Optimization, get back to basics; check for the obvious, the easy-to-fix and the avoidable. Please note, this is not a full SEO service; it's a site diagnosis. In most cases, you can make a big difference to your site, with just a working knowledge of HTML. But your site may need professional SEO.

Check Now for
Sick Site Syndrome

Why SSS if I'm doing everything right?

You may be trying too hard! Just as health food fanatics can overdose on vitamins carrots, so a webmaster can over-do SEO. We advocate a balanced diet, based on building the site for visitors; the search engines try to emulate the visitor experience, so they will usually reward a site that puts visitors first.

This site was launched in 2007, and it will continue to grow, to provide enough information for you to make a serious start at do-it-yourself. If you are not confident of your HTML skills, or time is an issue - let us do it for you. Just follow the links.

24 July 2008 |