| Chapter
1- 9
Link
Menu Keyword Themes
Because
site menu links are so numerous and prominent in a page, it is wise
to use your targeted keywords in those links as this diagram demonstrates:
Digital
Cameras
Digital
Cameras
Digital Video Cameras
Cassette Video Cameras
Digital Accessories
Monthly Specials
The beauty
of this simple approach to menus is that both users and search engines
can see that this particular page has something to do with digital
cameras. And the pages the links point to might also be about digital
cameras. The search engine will follow the links and determine that
these pages are also on the topic of digital cameras, etc. The search
engine then has some validation that either one of these pages might
be good for searchers to see. If there are many other Web pages
also pointing to either of these pages, then they may rank very
highly for the key word phrase digital cameras.
If only
things were this simple. The truth is, your site and your pages
will need to provide more validation than that. The search engine
might also appreciate a hypertext link within your html title tag,
your body copy and your page filename. Now if you have the above
example menu placed on each of the five pages indicated and you
have have copy using the words digital cameras, the search engine
will determine that your site is strong on the theme of digital
cameras. Your Web manager may not want copy related to digital cameras
on every page, but you may need that kind of key word support to
get good rankings.
Your Web
manager and your client may want the menu links to say something
else like Kodak cameras or Yashika cameras. If the menu button must
say “brand name cameras,” then there are workarounds
for this conflict.
Search
engine robots do not follow or can’t read certain types of
coding such as JavaScript and links inside Flash movies. If you
want to establish a site menu for users that has the right appearance
and feel for them, you can put whatever you like in these menus.
They’ll be invisible to search engines and those links won’t
be followed.
To give
the search engine the right message and allow it to visit and index
all your pages however, you have to have a simple hypertext menu
available. It is wise to use your keywords within this menu for
best results. You should also have text links in your body copy
in the page.
If you
have an all graphics page, you’ll need to attach simple hyperlinks
to the graphic buttons and use the html tag called the alt tag.
This technique is not as good as a text link but if it’s all
you’re allowed, use it. It’s usually better than nothing
at all.
Text menu
links are often placed at the bottom of the page and look like this,
Digital
cameras | Digital Video Cameras | Cassette Video Cameras | Digital
Accessories
They can
work very well (particularly if your pages don't have the relevant
keywords in them elsewhere). In fact, you might want to put them
in what’s called a heading tag, which is a tag search engines
pay attention to.
<< Previous | Next
>> |
