I explained the importance of Crawling, Analyzing, and Indexing in SEO and Website Optimization: An SEF website should be designed to be easily crawlable, analyzable, and indexable by search engines.
In this article I will delve into the principles of creating a Search Engine-Friendly (SEF) website.
The six criteria of Website Optimization
For a more comprehensive approach, a website should fulfill the following six criteria:
- It should be easily discoverable, analyzable, and indexable by search engines.
- It should incorporate web page elements that search engines value.
- It should offer a positive browsing experience for users.
- It should utilize structured data to enhance search engines’ understanding of the site’s content.
- Its Content Management System (CMS) should be tailored to support the above four criteria.
- It should provide content that is both relevant and valuable to search users.
Future articles will cover topics such as web page elements, user experience, structured data, and content management systems. While the last criterion primarily pertains to content creation, the first five criteria typically involve planning and modifying the website’s architecture and design, tasks more closely associated with the web development team.
In practice, there are three main scenarios: building a new website, redesigning an existing website, and modifying a website. Each scenario requires specific considerations:
Building a New Website
Creating a new website involves developing a site from the ground up.
It’s crucial to integrate SEO considerations into the planning and design phases to avoid later modifications, which can be both time-consuming and costly. Internal staff should invest time in understanding SEO to guide the website’s planning and selection of a web development agency, thereby avoiding potential pitfalls.
If learning SEO is challenging or time-consuming for the team, seeking guidance from a website building consultant is advisable. Given the importance of building a search engine-friendly website, it’s recommended to assess potential web developers based on their:
- SEO expertise and collaboration
- Experience in search engine-friendly websites
- Content Management System (CMS) chosen or completely self-developed
The last criterion is important because every CMS have different flexibility and limitations of the SEO you can implement; while a self-developed website takes much more time and efforts, it allows the maximum flexibility in SEO and Website Optimization.
Redesigning an Existing Website
Redesigning a website entails creating a new site to replace an old one.
This process is often more complex than building a new site because it involves not only constructing a new website but also managing the transition from the old site to the new one. This includes handling URLs redirects, external links, rankings, traffic tracking, and updating Google Search Console on the changes to ensure the new site inherits the SEO achievements of the old site. Neglecting these transition issues can result in the loss of years of SEO efforts.
I have seen many websites that previously excelled in SEO suffer in search rankings and traffic due to inadequte transition or underestimated the preparation and approaches before transitioning. Therefore, website operators must exercise with extreme caution.
Modifying an Existing Website
Modifying a website involves making targeted adjustments to the site’s architecture and design to facilitate future SEO efforts.
In such cases, website operators can either conduct a “website health check” themselves or engage an external SEO consultant to perform an SEO assessment, identify issues, and implement improvements.
Conclusion
Regardless of the specific scenario, adhering to the guidelines outlined in this article is essential for building a search engine-friendly website, establishing a solid foundation, and preparing for future SEO initiatives.
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