Orange County SEO™ Blog

What Can Go Wrong with Search Engine Technology?

In previous topics, we’ve defined search engine bots as these tiny and awesome secretaries of artificial intelligence, complete with beehive hairdos and pointy-edged glasses. These tiny secretary robots scour the web following the massive flotsam and jetsam of collected content in huge vats of data. From their tireless and spookily exacting meticulousness, they file and store the information until it’s “called up” by a person who has just typed something like “woolen sock knitting guide” into a search field on a search engine somewhere in a house across the planet. In less than two shakes of a lamb’s tail, the information is provided to the user, and woolen sock knitting ensues.

Of course, there are many common mistakes that website owners make, that confuse the process.

Link structures on a site that aren’t made well can stop a search engine from being able to reach the full content of a site. Another glitch is programming that accidentally fools a search engine into thinking that indexing the content is superfluous.

It is not uncommon for the mini secretary robots to be given unclear or garbled directives, so that they are left wandering around the Internet aimless, not busily filing information like they should be doing.

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Common Website Mistakes

We’ve talked a lot about the mistakes that web designers make when creating websites, you might think we’ve covered all of the potential issues, but there is still a lot more to say on the subject.  The good news is that mistakes are easily avoidable, especially when you work with professionals like OrangeCounty SEO, but you need to know what to avoid when you get started.
Here are a few more of the more common website mistakes that people make.

Make Links Clear – It should be obvious in your text when there is a link.  A contrasting color is the most common option and what visitors to your site will come to expect.  It is also advisable to underline any text links.

Watch Your Color Scheme – Using bright colors will get people’s attention, but if they have a headache after reading your site, they aren’t likely to come back.  Use colors that are easy on the eyes and match the feeling of your site.

No Pop Ups – This is a huge no no.  People don’t like when ads pop up and as more users install pop up blockers and pop ups that you have won’t get seen anyway.

Use Text Smartly – Yes, you need to have good quality text on your site, but don’t overdo it.  If your text is too lengthy people won’t take the time to read it.  Your text should be potent and pithy.

Don’t Use Horizontal Scrolling – Yes, vertical scrolling is normal and expected, but that doesn’t go the same for horizontal scrolling.  Most resolution is 1024×768 pixels, make sure you fit into those parameters.

Proofread – Make sure that you read and reread your content.  You want to make sure that you have no error, spelling mistakes, or grammar mistakes on your website.

Be Careful with CAPTCHA – Yes, CAPTCHA can help you to avoid spam and other irritations online, but many CAPTCHA systems are difficult to read.  Use a CAPTCHA that is easy to use, read, and decipher.

There are many pitfalls that you can stumble into when you create a website.  This is why working with a professional, like Orange County SEO, can make the process so much easier.  They know what mistakes to avoid and can help you to create a website that is professional, clean, and attention getting.

Too Much Information in the Age of SEO

It cannot be denied that we hit the information age not long ago, but some are debating if we’ve hit the age of too much information. Data can be described as basically anything, which means it feels like everything, which means trying to discover what you want to know about on the Internet can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a hard working turbo information finder contraption that could help us get to the content we need with little or no fuss? Supposedly, this is what search engines are trying to do. With simple questions, they usually get the answers just right. But how do you direct them to find your business or blog?

Search engines have two jobs on the Internet; one is to sift through and catalog a zillion types of media, images, documents, pages, files, news, gossip, videos and anything else you can think of in the vast network of the world wide web. The other job search engines have is seeking answers to questions from users like you and I, and the search engine will do that by checking what it has gathered from its constant sifting, and offer up the most relevant findings it can offer.  When it gives you the findings, it will also order them in what the search engine (through following a complex set of algorithms and intricate mathematical equations) deems most useful to your query.

The search engine decides what is relevant by noticing what is the most popular on the web. It’s like a line outside of a store, if over 500 people are waiting outside for whatever’s inside, it must be good! It sounds simple, but seriously, it’s honestly a modern miracle. Great whirling machines as large as refrigerators all over the world hold tanks and tanks of information just waiting for someone to ask something.

With all these complicated information-finding networks in place,  if you’re going to run a business via the Internet, it’s a good idea to invest in the process of creating opportunities for search engines to notice your products or services. By learning, understanding and implementing certain factors that guide search engines toward your site, you are taking part in SEO or search engine optimization. Orange County SEO can boost your business by giving you the tools you need to find success.

What You Need to Know About Google Link Warnings

Google caused a bit of a stir recently when they sent warnings alerting that “bad links” might lead to loss in rankings and traffic.  Unfortunately, the warnings may have caused more problems than the links themselves.

In order to understand the confusion, here is an abbreviated and annotated timeline of Google’s messages and the responses they engendered among webmasters. Read More »

SEO-Friendly URL Syntax

Your URL structure affects more than just your page’s “look.”  It can also hurt your rankings and keep your page off the best search index.  This hurts your business by causing your clients and customers to be unable to find you.

Much of this has to do with your content management systems.  Some CMS platforms do not follow the rules or take shortcuts that result in duplicate content that triggers the search engines to avoid web pages.

How can you fix your URL structure?  Here are some tips and explanation.  Make sure that you have the professional support you need for your URL structure and your website in general by talking to Orange County SEO about your website design and development. Read More »