Posted:25/06/2009
In the
subject on website optimisation and setting your site up right for the search
engines navigation is a really important topic. This article will look at what
you need to think about with your navigation to make it search engine friendly
and way you need to do it.
1. Web Safe
Fonts
The issue of
web safe fonts can sometimes be a sticky one with our clients as they want to
use interesting and different fonts. However the problem is that there are a limited
number of fonts that can be viewed on all browsers and all computers.
Unfortunately these are the most basic ones which can cause a problem.
The reason
for using them is that search engines can only follow text links and so if you
want to use a non-web safe font then you might need to use an image and this
can cause problems. There are fixes with search engines but they are not ideal so
you are best not to make your menu an image. The other alternative is to use
text but to be aware that it will not display the way you want it to on many
people's computers.
Our advice
is to always keep your menu simple and use a basic web safe font like Ariel or
Verdana. It might be boring but it is the practical answer for the search
engines.
2. Menu
effects
Many people
want to have interesting effects on their menus that use either Flash or
Javascript to create. The problem with this is that search engines can only
read and so they cannot see these effects. This can cause you the problem that
search engines might not be able to follow the links in your site and so will
not be able to index all of your pages.
A good web
developer will be able to find solutions to this so that you can have effects
and still get your menu to work for the search engines but not always. The best
way to handle this is to keep your menu simple and functional so that you can
be sure the search engines can get around your website.
3. Consistency
This point
is very important for your users. We have all see those sites that have a
different menu on different page or sections. If you are anything like me you
end up totally confused and completely lost on where you are. Do you want your
visitors to be lost on your site? The answer to this is probably no, as
confused visitors often go somewhere else and will leave your site even if you
have all the information they need. Always keep it consistent and make it as
simple as possible for the people you are trying to sell to.
The most
important thing to remember about all of this is that search engines read and
do not see. For that reason you need to make sure the important elements on
your website can be read. This includes links as well as your text. If a search
engine can't read it then they can't follow it. If they can't follow it then
they can't find the page it links to. This will only do damage to your site and
mean your chance of top rankings is significantly reduced.
