Site Design through the Eyes of the Search Engines

In the real world, spiders have as many as four different pairs of eyes – each of which perform a specific function depending on the individual family or classification of spiders.  In general, though, the visual acuity provided by these compound eyes give spiders a natural advantage over their prey, as they’re able to scan and process information about the world around them more quickly than other insects.

The eyes of the search engine spiders, on the other hand, are quite a bit more limited.  Despite all the effort you put into making your website’s design as attractive as possible, there are certain elements of your website that these automated programs simply won’t be able to process.

In general, the search engine spiders are limited to understanding the text and text-based features (for example, backlinks) on your site.  However, there are some SEO workarounds that make it possible for the search engines to understand and process non-text elements.  For more detail on how this occurs, let’s look at each of the different elements found on standard web pages, as well as how the search engines view and value them…

Element #1 – Text

As mentioned above, search engine spiders love text- based content.  They derive a number of different clues about your website’s theme and quality from these words, simply because text is the type of content they’re most easily able to digest.

However, that doesn’t mean that all websites are built to optimize the text-based content they include.  There are a few specific things you’ll want to watch out for when it comes to making your text as cleanly written and easily accessible as possible:

1. Make sure text is visible to the search engine spiders.  Occasionally, snippets of code, embedded content or formatting inconsistencies can cause text to be hidden from the search engine spiders.  To get an idea of what these automated programs see when they land on each of your pages, use the Webconfs “Search Engine Spider Simulator” tool.
2. Use a text-based browser to check for additional formatting concerns that may prevent the proper indexation of your site’s content.  Lynx is one example of a browser that will allow you to view your website’s content without any additional features engaged.
3. Turn off Javascript in your browser.  Even text blocks that appear to be separate from script files at first glance may be hidden underneath Javascript elements from a coding perspective.  One quick way to check and be sure your site’s content isn’t obscured is to turn off Javascript within your browser to see if any of your text disappears as well.

Element #2 – Images

The concept of avoiding images from an SEO standpoint is fairly well-established, but to review – any text that’s incorporated into your images can’t be indexed by the search engine spiders at this point.

So say, for example, your site uses a graphical header to introduce your site’s name and tagline.  Be aware that, because they’re embedded in an image file, these words are no longer accessible to the search engines, which can be a big problem for your site’s SEO.

As an alternative, you can add text to your images’ ALT tag attributes, but this is no substitute for hiding either large chunks or extremely important pieces in your images.  Instead, stick to design options and graphic elements that enhance your site without steamrolling its ability to rank for your chosen keyword phrases.

Element #3 – Flash

Flash is another content type that often gets a bad rap for having a negative SEO impact.  And it’s true – just as with image files, any text you embed in your Flash files won’t be read or indexed by the search engine spiders.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you should avoid them entirely.  When used properly, Flash videos can be a great way to engage your audience and convey important points in an interactive way.  Just be sure to incorporate them in small, subtle ways and to add any relevant content from your videos to your site as text in other areas.

Of course, this doesn’t do you any good if you have a site that’s built entirely in Flash that you won’t be able to change any time soon.  If you absolutely must use Flash in a way that hides your text from the search engine spiders, use SWFObject2 code as well.  Essentially, according to Mike Arnesen of Swell Path:

“SWFObject2 is an open-source JavaScript library that can be used to embed Flash while also offering alternative content.  Basically, when a user visits a page with a Flash object that is embedded via SWFObject2, a script checks to see if the user can actually view the Flash content.  If the user can’t, alternate content is pulled up instead.”

While Google hasn’t guaranteed that they support this alternative, it’s still a better option than simply leaving your text hidden.  (Just don’t use this opportunity to serve up alternate content as an excuse to fill your site with spammy text!)

Element #4 – Javascript

As you might expect, using Javascript on your website has a number of different weaknesses from an SEO standpoint.  Although it can add important features that make your website more enjoyable to use, it can also hide your text from the search engine spiders, preventing proper indexing from occurring.

As with Flash, it’s important to serve up alternate content in order to protect your site’s overall SEO authority.  In general, there are two specific areas where you’ll want to be sure your Javascript codes aren’t overwriting your content – in your navigation system and within any user review system you use.

First, when it comes to your navigation system, be aware that although Javascript can produce some great-looking, interactive menu bars, it’s much weaker from an SEO standpoint than building your navigation system using HTML and CSS.  Although the search engines are catching up in terms of parsing and dealing with content stored in script codes, they still aren’t perfect when it comes to accessing links stored in this way and passing authority through them correctly.

Second, if you use customer reviews on your site (which can be a good way to increase visitor engagement and add relevant keyword mentions), be sure the specific app or plugin you’re using serves up an alternate view of the text found in your reviews to the search engines.  Most customer review plugins are built in Javascript, so if you use one without alternate content functionality, you’re limiting your exposure to potent long tail keyword mentions.

Element #5 – PDFs

Contrary to popular belief, the search engine spiders can access certain elements of PDF files.  While their overall “word-for-word” translation of these documents can be hit or miss, they are to read certain tags associated with your PDF files, including the title, author, subject and keyword tags, as well as your headline and image caption tags within the document.

For this reason, it’s important to pay special attention to the keywords you integrate into your PDF files as you create them.  While it’s unlikely that adjusting these factors alone will result in higher rankings, they’re one of the few opportunities you have to guarantee that the search engine spiders will see your chosen keywords – so don’t waste it!

Image: Jeff McNeil