Website Sitemaps - Google, Yahoo & MSN - Sitemaps.org

Google has got together with Yahoo and MSN to come up with a cohesive system that will allow all website owners to create one website map that will work on all 3 search engines.

Website maps are basically XML, TXT or RSS files that contain all the URLs that you would like the search engines to index. Website maps do not impact on your rankings within the search engines but they do tell them what pages you would like them to index.

For example, Com.Motion has a Google website map and the pages that Google has indexed can by found by copying the following into the Google browser and clicking search - site: www.com-motionuk.com

Google, Yahoo and MSN have come up with a unique website that explains all about website map creation and this can be found at the following location www.sitemaps.org .

It explains all you have to know about website map creation and submission and is not to be missed. Further information can be found at Web Pro News (video file) who has interviewed Vanessa Fox from Google on this hot topic.

From the Sitemaps.org website

Sitemaps are an easy way for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their sites that are available for crawling. In its simplest form, a Sitemap is an XML file that lists URLs for a site along with additional metadata about each URL (when it was last updated, how often it usually changes, and how important it is, relative to other URLs in the site) so that search engines can more intelligently crawl the site.

Web crawlers usually discover pages from links within the site and from other sites. Sitemaps supplement this data to allow crawlers that support Sitemaps to pick up all URLs in the Sitemap and learn about those URLs using the associated metadata. Using the Sitemap protocol does not guarantee that web pages are included in search engines, but provides hints for web crawlers to do a better job of crawling your site.

Search Engine Optimisation Part1

Does the text on your homepage start with “welcome to my website”? This article will explain how text like this can negatively impact upon your search engine rankings, leaving customers with no hope of finding your products or services on the web.

Over the next few newsletters, we will discuss search engine optimisation and the different areas businesses should consider in their online marketing activities.

This month we will discuss one main area of search engine optimisation - web page optimisation. Com.Motion will demonstrate how to optimise individual Web pages on your website so that your products and services are found by potential customers. Com.Motion will use an existing client and one of their products as part of this example:

The Business – The Funky Group
Website Address – www.thefunkygroup.co.uk
Product – Pink GHD Straighteners – found on http://www.thefunkygroup.co.uk/cat-3-subcat-9-product-481

Focusing on one product I can identify the areas that make up the product’s page and highlight how search engines, such as Google, spider or index it.

Web Page Optimisation
Each Web page contains a number of areas that can be managed to help increase online visibility for search engines. These include:

1. Title Tags
2. Description Tags
3. Webpage Body Content
4. H1 Tags
5. Alternative Text Tags

Title Tags
The title tag should be about 60 character long including commas, spaces and full stops and is the most important of all tags for search engines. The title tag can be seen at the top of the screen depending on which web browser you are using. All websites should have unique title tags for each individual Web page, as this is a fantastic opportunity to market your business brand and the specific product or service your company is offering. Therefore, title tags should include your brand, product or service and key search terms and should highlight the page you are trying to promote. For example the Funky Group has labelled their GHD Pink Straighteners page as follows:

If you search using the following terms, you will find this product ‘GHD Pink Straightener’ on page 1 of Google for the business The Funky Group.

• GHD Mk4
• New MK4 Styler
• GHD New Mk4 Pink
• GHD Mk4 Pink
• Pink Mk4 Styler
• Pink Mk4 Straightener

It is imperative to use your chosen keywords near the start of the title tag i.e. GHD Mk4 Pink. There are many other searches that a customer could use to find hair straighteners and these other terms could be incorporated into the title tag and webpage. However, based on research, these terms were considered the appropriate keywords and phrases to use at the time of this product launch in October 2006.

If you have a website that incorporates many Web pages, consider the following for your title tags.

1. Create a unique title tag specific to every single page of your site
2. Use the most important keywords early in the tag – GHD Mk4
3. Use your company name in every tag - towards the end for branding
4. Think about key search terms or phrases (what are people going to search for)
5. Avoid sales pitches and slogans

Description Tag
The description tag is not displayed anywhere on the web page itself and is hidden in the website code; however some search engines index it. A description should be around 150 characters long and should be a simple sentence that includes the specific keywords of the product or service that you are discussing on the specific page. The description tag for the GHD Pink Straighteners is below:

META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Buy GHD New Mk4 Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler & Straightener from The Funky Group online shop"

Webpage Body Content
Body content is the actual written content on the web page itself. The Web page body content should discuss the product or service that you are trying to promote within the first two or three sentences. Below are the first three sentences from the GHD Pink Straighteners Web page body content:

“GHD Mk4 Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler & Straightener - the Holy Grail of Hair Styling Tools. These are the brand new MK4 GHD Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler's, what are you waiting for!

Be the first to own GHD's new MK4 Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler in sizzling new hot-pink. The 2006 GHD pink styler comes in an exclusively designed roll-mat with all new packaging. With a funky new sleek design, rounded barrel for improved curling and styling, auto adjust for international voltages, stronger cable and a new sleep mode which turns itself off after 30 minutes!”

Highlighted in bold are the product and search terms that potential purchasers of this product might use in their search on Google, Yahoo, or MSN. Additionally, this page discusses and promotes only one specific product which is key for promotional activity.

Header Tags
Header tags are another important area to include keywords in. Header tags are normally displayed on a web page as a section heading. For the Funky Group, you will find that a header tag reads as the following:

H1GHD New Mk4 Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler & Straightener/H1

Alternative Text Tags
When browsing a website, search engine spiders cannot read image files unless they have an alternative text tag - “Alt Tag”

The use of an ALT tag provides a text description for images on a page. This feature works when:

• The mouse hovers over the image
• The visual images don’t download
• A screen reader is used

The Alt tag of the image on the GHD Pink Straighteners webpage is the following, keywords in bold.

ALT="New Mk4 Pink Professional Ceramic Hair Styler & Straightener"NAME="ProductImage"

Alt tags are important for two reasons:

1. Search Engine Optimisation
When “crawling through” a website, search engine spiders only understand what an image is displaying if it has alternative text associated with it. Businesses have the opportunity to include key words in their alternative text descriptions, increasing the chances of their website getting found when a customer types in those keywords into a search engine. To achieve the best results on search engines, alt tags should contain of maximum of 70 – 80 characters.

2. Website Accessibility
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, businesses have a legal responsibility to make their product or services accessible to everyone. This includes any products and services promoted online. Failure to do so is potentially discrimination under the Act.

Search engine optimisation is a huge area and this article demonstrates only one aspect of this wide ranging topic - web page optimisation. However, the next article will dicuss other areas of search engine optimisation and why they are equally important to your online strategy.

To discuss other aspects of web page optimisation, please feel free to contact us.

Google Maps - A free advertising opportunity

You have probably heard of Google Maps and might have even used it to look for a specific business or to find an address. However, have you actually listed your business there?

Google is offering you the chance to advertise the physical location of your business for free. When you register, a map will appear of your home city along with a marker identifying your business location with a comments ‘balloon’ that provides directions, a contact telephone number, fax, web address and email address.

Once online registration is complete, Google sends you a letter by post with a unique code that is used to confirm and verify your physical business location. You log on to Google Maps, input the code and presto, you're listed.

Why consider Google Maps:

• It won't cost you a thing - you can create and display a business listing for free.
• Once your address is fully verified you have full control over your listing. You can add or delete non-address information at will.
• You'll reach qualified prospects - there's a very good chance that lots of people are currently searching on Google Maps for the products and services you offer. Why not make it easy for them to find you?
• You can offer coupons for free - displayed in your listing on Google Maps. Coupons can reward loyal customers and attract new ones. (USA only at the moment)
• You have full control over your listing - With Google Maps; you don't have to worry about publishing deadlines or outdated content. After Google verifies your address, you can edit your listing whenever you like. You'll see your changes reflected in the search results within six weeks.
• You can add all of your business locations from a single account
• You can manage listings for businesses of any size - Whether you have one business location or one on every block, you can manage your listings from a single account. (If you have more than ten locations, you can make updates by sending Google a data file.)

Google Maps Example – Edinburgh Zoo

In terms of organic search engine optimisation, Google has not indicated if being listed on Google Maps will have any impact on the visibility of your website. However, you never know if this might change in the future.

To register follow this link for Google Maps.

Do you have a Google Account?

The Google search engine is the most popular in the United Kingdom and in order to stay on top Google is offering a whole host of add-ons to keep the customers happy.

Google accounts allow you to unlock the world of Google. With just your email address and chosen password, you can access numerous Google services, including some of the following:

• Froogle - a free shopping directory. Something you have to consider if you have an e-commerce website as it is free to list your products.
• Google base - a place where you can post content about your company, product and services. By listing your company here can impact on you visibility on Google web search.
• Google calendar – create appointments and share them online with colleagues.
• Google mail – Fantastic web based email product.
• Google images - searches purely for photos or image files.
• Google video – The world’s first open, online video marketplace.
• Google spreadsheets – store your spreadsheets on the web for others to access and update.
• Google analytics – software that allows you to analyse the performance of your website in detail.
• Google talk – make telephone calls over the Internet to your friends for free.
• Google earth – marketed as “a globe that sits inside your pc. Zoom into a satellite image of anywhere in the world and then fly along to your next destination.
• Picasa – free software that allows you to find, edit and share images

Our favourite is the ability to customise the Google Desktop with content that you’re interested in such as the latest BBC news, RSS feeds or celebrity gossip. This is a great way to keep you up to date on what is happening in the world, as the Google Desktop updates on a daily basis.

The best thing about Google accounts? They are free.

Google launches Google Apps for Your Domain

Google launches Google Apps for Your Domain Business Services

Google Apps for Your Domain lets you offer communication and collaboration tools to your entire organisation — customisable with your branding, colour scheme and content through the administrative control panel, and with no hardware or software to install or maintain.

To get started, you have to sign up at this location - Google Apps for Your Domain. Thereafter, your domain is approved; you'll be able to access the Google Apps for Your Domain control panel to:

• Create user accounts
• Select the services you would like to activate i.e. Google Mail, Google Calendar etc

That's it — there's no complicated hardware or software to worry about. Users can go online to start using these hosted services.

Google Site Maps

What Are Google Site Maps
Google offers a fantastic new tool called Google Site Map or Webmaster Tool that allows you to tell Google what WebPages from your site you would like to include in its index. The idea of the Google Site Map is to make your website more Google Friendly i.e. for their search bots to index your website.

How does Google See your Website?
By creating a Google Site Map, you get an idea of how Google crawls and indexes your site! You can tell Google which pages of your website are the most important and how often they change. Additionally, Google will tell you about any specific problems they have experienced when accessing your website.

Google Site Map are easy to create by using simple text editors such as notepad or by creating one using XML. There are a number of free online tools that will create both TXT or XML site maps for you. Unfortunately, we can't recommend any to you but we found this one really interesting and it is worth checking out - XML Sitemaps.com.

Thereafter, upload your site map to your web server and verify it by adding a simple Google file! That's it, your done!

The added bonus is that Google Website Maps are Free! So get one now!

Why Web Accessibility is so Important

We at Com.Motion Consulting have had many questions on the subject of Website Accessibility, so we thought we would take some time to explain what it is and why it is important.

What is Website Accessibility?
Website Accessibility is providing unhindered access to your organizations website for disabled users online. For example, website owners may and should consider the following disabilities.

• Visual – Users of the web, who are blind, color blind or have poor eyesight
• Motor - Users of the web who have problems using a mouse or keyboard.

Why is it important?
Website accessibility is important is because there are over 10 million disabled people in the UK who by law should have unrestricted access to your website. From an ethical and a business point of view, it makes sense to take steps to address accessibility issues with your website.

Website accessibility can and should be seen as a huge opportunity for organisations to make their websites, products and services available to an audience of potential customers who do not have access at this time. By meeting accessibility standards, organisations are covering themselves legally, disabled users will be able to browse their website and they are potentially capturing new customers as a result.

The Law
Website accessibility is important because it is a legal requirement that organisations should be aware of and should be catering for on their organisations websites. The law requires organisations to make online information accessible to disabled people i.e. "reasonable steps” to make sure that you website is accessible to all.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - Consider the these Guidlines
Priority 1 (A) – Your website must satisfy this checkpoint otherwise some groups of people will find it impossible to access the content on a web site and it i.e. A compliant

Priority 2 (AA) - Web Developers should satisfy this checkpoint otherwise one or more groups will find difficult to access information on a website. The British Government is aiming for Level AA on its own sites i.e. AA compliant

Priority 3 (AAA) - If Web developers satisfy these checkpoints the majority of users will be able to access most of the information on a website.

Please click on the link below that provides a report from the Disibility Rights Commission on web accessibility for disabled users.

• The Web - Access & Inclusion for Disabled People

What should and can you do?
There is a wealth if information freely available on website accessibility and as a starting point, check out the W3C Website Accessibility Imitative website (WAI). The WAI has developed a range of literature, strategies and guidelines to assist you with your web accessibility issues.

• WAI - Introduction to Website Accessibility
• WAI - Guidlines & Techniques
• WAI - Quick tips to make Accessible Websites

Additional Information on website accessibility can be found at the following websites.

• Royal National Institute of the Blind
• Section 508.gov (USA)

Website Accessibility Cases
Have a look at this website accessibility cases involving Bruce McGuire and the Sydney Olympics Committee.

• Bruce McGuire’s Case & Sydney Olympics

Website Accessibility is a huge area and cannot be covered in one article. If you have any further question or concerns regarding accessibility, please contact us directly at Com.Motion Consultancy. If we don’t know the answer we will be able to refer you to someone who does.

Links

• Google News


• Seo Hints & Tips


• Com.Motion Consulting