Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack?
Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have bigger appetites than the real-life spiders you squish under your shoe. What spiders am I talking about? The automated programs sent out by search engines to review and index websites. These "spiders" (sometimes called "bots") are looking for a reason to list your site within the database of their particular search engine. It's hard work roaming around the 'Net non-stop, and these little guys need some nourishment from time-to-time. In fact, when spiders find some hearty "spider food" (a.k.a. a site map with some meat to it), they sit down to stay a while. That's a good thing! You've probably seen many site maps. The standard ones look like the example below with each phrase being linked to the page of the same (or similar) name. ===================== Home About Us Shipping Rates Products >> Small Appliances ------- Microwave Ovens ------- Can Openers >> Dinnerware ------- Platters ------- Serving Bowls Contact Us Privacy Policy ===================== Site maps are deemed "spider food" because they can be the perfect place for search engine spiders and bots to crawl your site. Because a site map has links to every page of your site (and those link names or page descriptions often include keywords), it is extremely easy for the search engine spider to access each publicly accessible area with no obstacles and relate it to a given subject matter. (For example, a page labeled "microwave ovens" is most likely about microwave ovens.) Some site owners think that's enough. They think a page with keyword-rich titles and links is plenty for a hungry little spider to munch on. Not hardly! That's not a meal? it's just a light snack. Give Spiders A Tasty Treat If you really want to fill the spiders' bellies, you'll want to take your site map page to the max with a descriptive site map (as I like to call them). Descriptive site maps go beyond the simple list of links to pages. These special versions of the traditional maps also include a short, keyword-rich description of each page. The text only needs to be a sentence or two in length. An example is below. This is certainly not the only way to layout or design your site map. Get creative and use columns, bullets or other formatting to make it look the way you like. (The links would remain the same as in the previous example.) ===================== HOME - Home page for XYZ Depot, a home accessories outlet. ABOUT US - Account of how XYZ Depot became the world's largest home accessories outlet. SHIPPING RATES - Shipping rates and delivery times. PRODUCTS - Complete listing of home accessories offered. >> SMALL APPLIANCES - Exciting selection of small appliances to save you time in the kitchen. ------- MICROWAVE OVENS - Top-of-the-line microwave ovens from brands you trust. ===================== Descriptive site maps work well in attracting and satisfying spiders because they include naturally occurring keywords. They also place keywords in the vicinity of a link that points to the associated page. Add these advantages to those that already exist, including: · having links in the body copy of the page · overcoming complex navigation such as DHTML or Java · lending quick access to pages located several layers deep within the site · assisting with usability for visitors (especially disabled visitors) · and others and you have prepared a huge feast for the search engine spiders that is almost guaranteed to entice those hungry little critters to crawl through every available page of your site. Does every site need a site map? It certainly wouldn't hurt. Sites with less than 20 pages or sites where most or all the pages have links directly from the home page generally don't "need" a site map, per se. However, practically every site of every size can reap benefits from including a map on their site. If you're creating a site map for your site, don't stop with the basics. With just a little added effort, you'll have a four-course meal to serve the spiders that will keep them happy and satisfied and that will help get you exceptional rankings. © 2005http://www.copywritingcourse.com Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check out Karon's latest e-report "How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword
MORE RESOURCES: 25 Awesome About Us Page Examples For Web Design Inspiration Search Engine Journal Adobe Dreamweaver (2024) review TechRadar 30 Best Web Design Agencies To Partner With in 2024 Influencer Marketing Hub Are you up to build the next best website? Get started with one of these 5 web design courses Fortune Jeremy McGilvrey, A Houston Web Design Agency, Inks Long-Term Lease In Prestigious Williams Tower Office Space Yahoo Finance Why (and How) I Learned Web Development as a Data Scientist Towards Data Science BFA in Art - Graphic Design | Undergraduate Programs | Visual TWU Texas Woman's University We Need to Decarbonize Software IEEE Spectrum Moving Your Website into the Web Design System (WDS) Washington State University Web Design Companies & Agencies In Austin To Know Built In Austin TSTC Marshall spotlights online web design and development program Marshall News Messenger Top Web Design Trends 2024 Designmodo Why isn't Adobe doing web design better? Creative Bloq 9 Chicago Web Design and Development Agencies To Know Built In Chicago Web Design and Development Alumni Highlight: Jenna Smith | Digital Media Utah Valley University Jessica Sorden's Transformation from Corporate Burnout to Web Design Maestro - by Carly Winchell The Ark Valley Voice Valve and Picnik vets Hatch new idea β a no-code web design platform for 'tech curious creators' GeekWire Valpo Web Design supports NWI No Child Hungry in fight against food insecurity with new website Valpo.Life Information technology students delve into web design with capstone project University of Missouri College of Engineering Best Web Design Software in 2024 USA TODAY Valpo Web Design & Marketing helps businesses through intentional design and forward thinking Valpo.Life 5 Top-Rated AI Website Builder Tools Software Advice Sweb CEO puts AI to work for small business web design San Antonio Report Website Design Services of Pop Machine Agency: Leading Wichita's Charge in Global Web Design Trends Yahoo Finance 5 seriously useful AI web design tools Creative Bloq Valpo Web Design & Marketing | Partners Valpo.Life 6 ways AI is changing web design Creative Bloq Best web development tool of 2024 TechRadar 17 Free Web Design Tools, Fall 2023 Practical Ecommerce Grand Cayman Web Design Expert & SEO Qamar Zaman Book Build Google Knowledge Panel Offers Grand Cayman ... Yahoo Finance The best free blog websites Creative Bloq Design Studies (Minor) | College of Liberal Arts UNH's College of Liberal Arts How web design trends have evolved Creative Bloq Mizzou alumna uses web design expertise to give back to engineering, community University of Missouri College of Engineering In LGBTQ rights case, Supreme Court rules for wedding website designer The Washington Post Regulator: βHarmfulβ Web Design Could Break Data Protection Laws Infosecurity Magazine How Google perfected the web The Verge 19 Free Web Design Tools from Summer 2023 Practical Ecommerce Faculty Profile: Libby Perry (Editing for the Web, Web Design - Media Communications bachelor's) Full Sail News 6 great tools for testing responsive design for websites Creative Bloq 11 of the Best Web Development Agencies in New York + Tips on How to Choose the Best Agency Influencer Marketing Hub 38 Web Development Stats You Should Know in 2024 Influencer Marketing Hub Best SEO Web Design Companies Mastering Aesthetics & Search Influencer Marketing Hub The Supreme Court rules for a designer who doesn't want to make wedding websites for gay couples The Associated Press Wix's new web design platform looks seriously cool Creative Bloq How far does Supreme Court decision on web design for gay couples reach in Minnesota? - Star Tribune 7 Reasons Why Web Development Is Important for All Types of Businesses Business MattersBusiness Matters Supreme Court rules Colorado web designer can refuse business to LGBTQ people Colorado Public Radio |
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