Pluginlab Articles

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is intended to present the best possible image of a site to search engine spiders to ensure the highest possible page rank (PR) on the search engine results pages (SERPs) shown to users who query the search engine.

To this end, site designers and SEOs go to great lengths to simplify the infrastructure that forms the underpinnings of a web site. Web sites are constructed using HTML code, a simple computer code that defines how spiders assess a web site for relevance given certain search words, called key words.

But SEO involves more than just being recognized by search engines (there are more than 4,000 of them currently operating on the W3, by the way). It's just as important that an optimized site be completely and accurately
indexed by search engines. If a site is mis-indexed or partially indexed, it won't appear on the SERPs regardless of how well the infrastructure behind the site is optimized.

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In the real world we have lots of tools to help us get from here to there - maps, street signs, global positioning systems, address books and other helpful tools make navigation easy. However, that's not always true in the virtual world of the W3. Getting from Point A to Point B on your web site may not be as easy as you think.

What Is Site Navigation?

In fact, it is the digital equivalent of the maps, street signs and other means we employ in the real world to move about. And, it is a critical, often overlooked, aspect of site design. The ability of site visitors to get from here to there on any website is a key component to site success, which may explain why 94% of all web sites crash and burn. People can't find what they're looking for!

A well-considered site navigation system has an effect on everything from SEO to conversion rate to W3C compliance - all important to long-term site success.

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Too many site designers give too little thought to site navigation. Put a navigation bar at the top of the screen, a couple of drop down screens for further direction and there you have the site's navigation system. And it may work for some smaller sites that don't sell any products or services and don't want to get the site's message out there. But if you want your site to be successful, here are ten tips (actually think of them as rules for success) that'll truly enhance the visitor's on-site experience.

1. It's not about the buttons.

Site navigation is much more than buttons, navigation bars, text links and a site map. All of those are neutral, passive means to direct visitors. Good site navigation actually directs the visitor through the purchase process and through the checkout quickly, confidently and securely. A good example: Amazon.com.

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