June 9th, 2010 by Susie

Search engine optimization is certainly a tricky business. Even experienced individuals can have problems with their sites on the way towards the upper reaches of the search engine ranking pages. If SEO was straightforward, there would not be the emphasis on research, monitoring and continuous campaigns. However, among the plethora of factors to consider when undertaking SEO, there are some basics which stand out and have to be got right, come what may. While SEO is only successful if it is suited to the specific site concerned, there are some basic elements which feature in a multiplicity of diverse campaigns. One such element is the basic need to get the navigation sorted out.

In the context of attempting to drive a site up the search engine results pages on a major search engine, it is clearly imperative to get the navigation of the site as correct as possible, because it can have a considerable influence on site performance. Both users and web crawlers have to get around the site with a minimum of fuss. If neither users nor search engines can find the information they crave easily, a site has a real problem. The task is to ensure that no such difficulty arises.

For the benefit of the search engines, it can be useful to position a navigation bar on the left-hand margin of the screen. Some experienced SEO professionals contend that the search engines will do their job quicker, if it is positioned in this manner, and if the links are presented as text. Practical research has indicated that this technique can help a site make the most of its navigation, and ultimately assist with its position in the search engine results pages. The utilisation of relevant keywords in links can also produce positive outcomes. However, this practice can be overdone, having the potential to aggravate users and search engines alike. The answer is, of course, moderation. Occasional inclusion of keywords in link anchor text cannot be other than a positive.

While some of the positive steps that can be taken, with regard to navigation, have been mentioned, it is equally important to draw the attention of search engine optimization novices to some of the things to avoid. An error which can have far-reaching implications, is the placing of navigation within a system which puts up a barrier, in relation to the crawlers of the major search engines. For example, if something like Flash is used, the work done on introducing keywords into the internal links will not prove to have been effort spent efficiently. If Flash has to be used on a site, or is already in existence there, one potential solution is to have links in text alongside the stuff that is culpable for the difficulty. According to a reputable source, this strategy can be of benefit to users also.

Navigation is of considerable importance when learning about the basic principles of search engine optimization. However, it can be approached from various angles. Getting it right is just one way of ensuring a site fares better in the struggle for position on the search engine results pages.

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