SEO Tools and Tricks that Help You Think like a Search Spider - Diagnostic Tools for Achieving a Better Ranking
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Problems:
- Your code is a mess
- You have a lot of code compared with actual text (e.g., nested tables, JavaScript
Google doesn't see your Web page the way you do. Google sees the code. Most browsers have a function that allows you to view the source code of the page at which you are looking. Internet Explorer and Firefox, for example, enable you to right click on the page and "view source." Pick a spot on any Web page and give it a try (make sure the mouse pointer isn't on an image).
Not too pretty, is it? Code that is messy or profuse can hinder your search positioning. A good way to clean it up is via HTML Tidy, an open source program created by Dave Raggett and available via download from Sourceforge.net (http://sourceforge.net/projects/tidy). HTML Tidy cleans up the code produced by WYSIWYG editors or poor coders (like myself), and it's completely free.
When viewing HTML code you'll also want to evaluate the quantity of code versus actual text. Search engines like Google seem to put more weight on keywords the higher they are in the HTML document. If your text is buried under hundreds of lines of code, then you'll be at a disadvantage compared to the top-ranking and well-optimized websites that compete for your keyword. There are many ways to get around this; first and foremost is to choose your programming language wisely. I'm not a programmer, so I can't recommend the best programming language to use for SEO. I can only flag this as an issue, as it is something to consider when analyzing your Web page for SEO.
Here is a tool that simulates what a spider "sees" when it visits your site: http://www.stargeek.com/crawler_sim.php. If you're not seeing a lot of text when you enter your Web page's URL, then neither is the search engine spider. It's time to add some.
Problems:
- Your keyword density is high compared with your competitors
- You're keyword stuffing
- Your home page looks like a doorway page
The above three problems are related. If your keyword density is too high, Google may interpret this as a spam tactic called "keyword stuffing." Likewise, Google may interpret a page with very high keyword density as a doorway page. A doorway page sticks out to Google in that it is optimized for a number of terms that are only loosely connected, or not connected at all, to a site's main theme.
The best way to find out whether your keyword density is too high compared to your competitors is through a keyword density analyzer tool. I use GoRank.com or SEOChat.com's own keyword density tool to analyze the top ten ranking pages in Google for my desired keyword. I generally take an average of the keyword density of the top page and compare it to my own page. If my page is much higher than the top-ranked pages, I will revise the copy and tags (ALT, Title, Meta) and tone down the frequency of the keyword in question.
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