Dear Kalena...
Thank you very, very much for the thorough analysis of our site. That is just what we were looking for. We built the site with Microsoft Frontpage 2003 (and still use it) a few years ago. I thought 'tables' were the staple of all websites, what is CSS? So you are saying we need to start over right? What web building software should we use? Do you ever do this sort of work (correcting all the problems you described with our site)? The background and a few other small things we can fix now. Can we use a light grey background or does google like white better? Also what is "anchor text link" and "Your internal links could also use some work from an anchor text angle." How do I find these "Trusted Sites"?
Thank you very much Kalena!
Mike Kalena's Answer:Dear Mike
That's a lot of questions! Think I'll need some more caffeine :-)
Let's take them one by one:
1)
What is CSS?CSS stands for
Cascading Style Sheets and is a way to store the design and layout code for your site in a separate file so you don't have to include it in the HTML code of every page. Instead, each page simply refers to the CSS file. It's a much neater way of designing a web site than tables and search engines prefer it too because there is less code for them to index and less chance of your code tripping up a search engine bot while it's indexing your site.
2)
So you are saying we need to start over right? What web building software should we use?
Yes, preferably. Tables are old technology and very difficult to design with. Also, the site could use an overhaul - no offence but it does look a little "home made". I have a confession to make - I am also a Front Page junkie! But I have learned over the years that Front Page adds a lot of unnecessary code to web pages and most sites built with FP aren't very search engine friendly so I try not to use it anymore. It's best if you build a site from scratch using HTML code and CSS or hire a designer who can build one for you in PHP or HTML. There are web site templates you can purchase online, but often these are built with tables. The alternative is to use an Open Source Content Management System (there are available free of charge) but it will require a steep learning curve. If you'd like some recommendations for reasonably priced web designers that understand how to build search engine friendly sites, please let me know.
3)
Do you ever do this sort of work (correcting all the problems you described with our site)?
Yes, I offer search engine optimization services via my hourly consulting rates and my company
Jordan Consulting Group can provide a quote for web design using a Content Management System. Use the Ask Kalena link again and ask for a quote on either service if you're interested. If you want to learn quickly how to optimize your own site from scratch, consider taking one of our
online search engine optimization courses.
4)
Can we use a light grey background or does google like white better?
Light grey should be fine, as long as it has a different HEX color to your table background in your HTML code.
5)
What is "anchor text link" and "Your internal links could also use some work from an anchor text angle."
Anchor text, (sometimes known as the link label), is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. The keywords you use in a link to a site can have an impact on how well that site ranks for searches utilizing those keywords. In other words, if you want your site to rank well for "gold dipped roses", then you should incorporate links within your site that use "gold dipped roses" in the anchor text of the links. You can do this by linking from internal pages of your site to other internal pages of your site with such anchor text. But the keywords you use in your link text should always be relevant to the page content you are linking to. You should also try to encourage other sites to link to you using anchor text in their links.
6)
How do I find these "Trusted Sites"?
Ah, that's a time-consuming task. You need to research and look for popular directories to submit your site to and approach sites that have a similar theme to your site to ask for a link. Try looking for
niche directories, regional directories and industry portals relating to your business as a source of one-way incoming links Some sites will require a reciprocal link placed on your site to theirs before they will link to you, but reciprocal links don't have as much search engine value as one-way incoming links. If you don't have time, you can hire a company to run a link building campaign on your behalf.
Good luck!
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Technorati | BloglinesLabels: css, link building, search engine optimization (seo), search engines, web site design
Dear Kalena...
