May 12th, 2010 by Susie

The right content forms the heart of a website, and there are many ways to create and display it, with varying effects on search engine optimisation. Although some content properties can directly alter the way a site fares in search rankings, others have secondary effects by attracting, or discouraging, human visitors, and all their associated benefits, over a longer period of time.

Everyone who has the slightest inkling about search engines and the way they function has probably grasped the main fact that content must be unique. This is important for visitors as well, because it can be exasperating to read the same old lines on site after site, especially if the words were uninspired to begin with. Even videos and audio files should not be duplicated elsewhere, and one might consider adding transcripts so that all visitors can access the content, including search robots. There also needs to be a substantial amount of text on a page, or search engines will judge a site as poor, leading to lower search rankings.

At the other end of the scale, many experts advise that it is a mistake to place long pieces of text on web pages, stating that readers like to flit through content, taking in only a small section at a time. The idea behind this is that reading words on a screen is tiring. There is probably a lot of truth here but that does not mean that there is no place for the occasional longer article, especially on a well-designed page that makes reading more comfortable.

Marking up search engine optimization content meaningfully within the HTML code of a page helps search robots to work out which are the most important points, and keywords should be thoughtfully placed inside titles and headings in order to show what is relevant. Properly written page code is trimmer, and less bloated page files will load faster, pleasing visitors. Also, search robots are able to decipher smaller files in less time, enabling them to get round the whole site.

Page appearance is critical, as a thoughtless design can spoil a website, detracting from all the work put into SEO. Content should be easy to read, and that depends almost as much on the page design as on the words themselves. Sans-serif fonts are accepted as being more legible on screen, and dark text on a light background is always preferable. In fact, black on white is an unbeatable combination for easy reading, and any larger pieces of writing should ideally be presented in this way.

A clever designer can accentuate the meaning of content by drawing attention to certain points using headings or adding whitespace around specific areas of text. The interaction between text and other page elements, such as images, can also lead the eye. If a beautiful page is produced which provides a pleasurable reading experience then visitors may well return in increasing numbers and link to the site.

As an SEO company we can make sure the content of your website works to best effect.

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