This is one hot debate about SEO is on sites which are using Flash. As many of you already know, Flash is good visual appealing medium, while the Googlebot
doesn’t have eyes. When googlebot crawls a site containing flash medias, this is what they get,
- Googlebot can typically read Flash files
- Extract the text and links in them,
However, the structure and context are missing which is actually bad for SEO. You see, Googlebot doesn’t currently have the algorithmic eyes needed to read these
graphics, these important keywords can be missed entirely. So the question is "what’s an honest web designer to do?". Here’s the list to start with :-
- Try to use Flash only where it is needed. Many rich media sites such as Google’s YouTube use Flash for rich media but rely on HTML for content and navigation. You can too, by limiting Flash to on-page accents and rich media, not content and navigation.
- sIFR: Some websites use Flash to force the browser to display headers, pull quotes, or other textual elements in a font that the user may not have installed on their computer. A technique like sIFR still lets non-Flash readers read a page, since the content/navigation is actually in the HTML — it’s just displayed by an embedded Flash object.
- Non-Flash Versions: A common way that we see Flash used is as a front page "splash screen" where the root URL of a website has a Flash intro that links to HTML content deeper into the site. In this case, make sure there is a regular HTML link on that front page to a non-Flash page where a user can navigate throughout your site without the need for Flash.
05.Mar.08 
Internet Marketing Strategies 
Comment (1)
A sitemap is often considered redundant in the process of building a website, and that is indeed the fact if you made a sitemap for the sake of having one. By highlighting the importance of having a well constructed sitemap, you will be able to tailor your own sitemap to suit your own needs.
1) Navigation purposes
A sitemap literally acts as a map of your site. If your visitors browses your site and gets lost between the thousands of pages on your site, they can always refer to your sitemap to see where they are, and navigate through your pages with the utmost ease.
2) Conveying your site’s theme
When your visitors load up your sitemap, they will get the gist of your site within a very short amount of time. There is no need to get the "big picture" of your site by reading through each page, and by doing that you will be saving your visitors’ time.
3) Site optimization purposes
When you create a sitemap, you are actually creating a single page which contains links to every single page on your site. Imagine what happens when search engine robots hit this page — they will follow the links on the sitemap and naturally every single page of your site gets indexed by search engines! It is also for this purpose that a link to the sitemap has to be placed prominently on the front page of your website.
4) Organization and relevance
A sitemap enables you to have a complete bird’s eye view of your site structure, and whenever you need to add new content or new sections, you will be able to take the existing hierarchy into consideration just by glancing at the sitemap. As a result, you will have a perfectly organized site with everything sorted according to their relevance.
From the above reasons, it is most important to implement a sitemap for website projects with a considerable size. Through this way, you will be able to keep your website easily accesible and neatly organized for everyone.
18.Feb.08 Internet Marketing Strategies Comment (1)
Understanding your audience or the type of visitors for your site is important because you can use that information to enhance your site to suit them better. This will result in gaining more loyal returning visitors that come back again and again for more.
Let’s list down some of the key points to take note when designing your site
- What is the age level and kind of knowledge does your audience have?
For example, a layman might linger around a general site on gardening, but a professional botanist might turn his nose at the very same site.
- Take your audience’s emotional state into consideration when building your site.
Be as user friendly as possible. If a irritated visitor searches for a solution and comes across your site, you will want to make sure the solution you offer is right up and ready to sell to him in seconds. Visitor will put his trust in what you are offering to their problem and will be more likely buying your product.
- During designing of layout, take into account the characteristics of your audience.
Ask yourself this question before designing : Are they old or young people? Are they looking for trends or just plain information served.
e.g. Introducing a game product with a simple, straightforward black text against white background will definitely turn prospect away. Make sure your design suits your site’s general theme.
- Try to sprinkle colloquial language (informal language) in your site sparingly where you see fit. This will create a sense that your audience is on common ground with you and build a trusting relationship between you and your audience.
29.Jan.08 Internet Marketing Strategies, Web 2.0 Marketing Comments (0)
