If Jesus Had A Website

We've probably all done this before. Ya know, make a link that nobody knows what its for until they click it, like if you write "you should really read this" or "try this". I know I have on many occasions.

And one of the first rules of optimizing web sites for search engines is that if it isn't clear to people, then it won't be clear to a program.

The problem with the kind of links used above is that they don't benefit the linker or the linkee. The person making the link doesn't make it clear to their readers or search engines how the link relates to the rest of their content. The person being linked to may get some traffic, but the search engines actually get less of a feel for the content of their site because there is no key text within the link. It would be better to write something like "hey, I found this great sports site" instead.

However, you can go too far with adding keywords to a link. For example, if I told you that I found this great article about the Yankees being beaten by a rookie pitcher last night over at ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports which is a great site in my opinion, if perhaps a little busy…well, actually the site is better for it's updates and videos than most of it's content, but it's useful nonetheless, that might be a little much. At that point, there are many words thrown in there that do not even relate to the link in particular, leaving your readers wondering if you know what you're doing, and watering down the accuracy of the search engines understanding of the linked page.

In the end, it's best for everyone involved to keep your links clear and concise. Not only is it more clear and useful for your visitors, but it helps for good search engine optimization as well.

When it comes to site design, oftentimes one of the most overlooked aspects of the site is the pieces of which it is made. While there are usually numerous ways to get a certain look for a site, they often have different reflections when it comes to how they are perceived by search engines. One great example of this is the set of header tags.

Header tags (h1, h2 and so forth) are designed to highlight titles and sections in your page, much like different headings are used in a written report, essay or book. You've probably seen them used in this way before, and they help the human eye and brain determine key points and the flow of the writing. They're designed to serve the same purpose in your web pages.

However, the problem often comes when people use header tags for display purposes instead of content organization. For example, someone may want to have all of a certain type of text, like an e-mail address, displayed in a certain style. However, instead of using a proper CSS class for a link tag, they use a header tag because it's easier to write and follow for them. They don't think anything of it because the page displays the way they want.

The problem with this approach is that search engines give these header tags more weight than other text. Therefore, they could have a whole page about their VBS programs, but a search engine may see that page as being more about e-mail addresses than VBS. Therefore, their page isn't identified as relevant to VBS searches, meaning the page is less likely to be visited through a search.

The general lesson here is to use HTML tags for what they are designed for, and this lesson may not be more applicable than when it comes to header tags. Use them to highlight page and section titles, and you'll likely see the benefits when it comes to the search engines.

Wow, where have the last two weeks gone? Errands, exercise, work, and everything else in life has gotten in the way, and the site has kinda fallen on the back burner. Sorry about that, but I'm sure you've experienced the same.

Anyway, I hope to get back in the swing of things in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for new material!

Well, for the first time, IJHAW got hit by a rush from StumbleUpon. Saturday, IJAHW was hit with nearly 20x the usual traffic. I guess you use the word "engineering" in your title, and all of a sudden a lot of articles come up as relevant.

Have you ever had a site of yours get a similar bump from StumbleUpon, Digg, del.icio.us, or any other linking site?