SEO and Accessibility . week two
April 23, 2010 at 1:48 am
filed under research and study questions
Tagged accessibility, SEO
1. Explain the difference between white hat and black hat search engine optimization.
White hat search engine optimization describes honest techniques used to make a website findable and search engine-friendly. These white hat techniques include the use of web standards, semantic XHTML mark up, keyword-rich content that flows naturally and retains meaning and relevance with the audience, use of keyword-rich tags and alt attributes, and other user-friendly options for navigation and searching the site.
On the other hand, black hat search engine optimization describes dishonest and questionable techniques with the goal to increase the ranking of a website in search engines. Some black hat techniques include stuffing the content with keywords; including highly searched keywords that are the same color as the background (invisible text) so they are not visible to the reader but visible to the search bots; and including a page of highly searched keywords that the search bots are led to using JavaScript (doorway pages). Although black hat techniques quickly increase your search engine rankings, the fall is hard once the humans behind the search engines discover the antics. White hat techniques will ultimately bring you the best results and will keep you in good favor with the search engines.
2. Identify the relationship between accessible content and search-engine optimized content.
Accessible content is designing, developing, and producing content that anyone can reach, regardless of limitations such as screen readers and mobile connections. Creating accessible content involves writing semantic XHTML code, separating style and presentation from content, and using alternative text for image and media elements. Accessible content naturally lends itself to search-engine optimized content. Search bots are restricted in terms of reading and seeing content. The bots read semantic mark-up to judge the importance of content elements and read alternative text for images they cannot see. Thus, if content is accessible it is one step toward being search-engine optimized content.
3. What is keyword density?
Keyword density is the amount of times keywords appear in the content. Although keyword-dense content will raise the site’s search engine rankings, the keyword flow has to be natural and the content not stuffed with keywords. Making content keyword-rich, using natural structure and well-defined XHTML information hierarchy all contribute to a website’s optimization and findability.
4. How might you go about selecting keywords for a web site?
To select keywords for a web site, examine the competition’s use of keywords on their site and utilize the keywords that are relevant to your information. To judge a keyword’s search-worthiness, use nichebot.com, wordtracker.com, or other keyword search tools (Google Search-Based Keyword Tool). These systems allow you to enter search terms and view data about how audiences are using these terms in search engines. If a relevant keyword is searched a lot but not many other sites are using this keyword, it is a good keyword to use. It is also useful to input a competitor site into the search tools to view the useful search keywords that provide results for the competitors. Although it is useful to integrate competitor keywords, the words will be more effective if they are customized based on the strengths that make your website’s information unique and that are also words that users will be searching.
Resources:
Building Findability Websites by Aarron Walter
High Accessibility is Effective Search Engine Optimization by Andy Hagans on ‘A List Apart’
Comments are closed.
no comments
RSS /