Adam Audette, President AudetteMedia Site Architecture Best Practices for Search Findability

Adam Audette, President

AudetteMedia

What is Information Architecture? Many Different Applications of IA Touches User Experience, Design, SEO, etc. Can Strongly Influence Spidering Complex Topic

Many Different Applications of IA

Touches User Experience, Design, SEO, etc.

Can Strongly Influence Spidering

Complex Topic

Search Engine Dominance 65.5% of users start with a search engine (Enquiro 2007) Google dominating search engine usage (61%+)

65.5% of users start with a search engine (Enquiro 2007)

Google dominating search engine usage (61%+)

A Salient Quote: “ We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” - Winston Churchill

“ We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” - Winston Churchill

Information Architecture (IA) IA is the most essential factor influencing search spidering, indexing, and ranking. IA encompasses labeling and navigation IA is directly related to usability and conversion optimization.

IA is the most essential factor influencing search spidering, indexing, and ranking.

IA encompasses labeling and navigation

IA is directly related to usability and conversion optimization.

What Will You Learn? Findability fundamental to project goals Allows users to find sites and sections w/in them easily Attracts targeted visitors Makes the site more navigable and easier to use Helps Googlebot and other spiders traverse the site

Findability fundamental to project goals

Allows users to find sites and sections w/in them easily

Attracts targeted visitors

Makes the site more navigable and easier to use

Helps Googlebot and other spiders traverse the site

What is Information Architecture? 1. The structural design of shared information environments. 2. The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets. 3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability. 4. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

1. The structural design of shared information environments.

2. The combination of organization, labeling, search, and navigation systems within web sites and intranets.

3. The art and science of shaping information products and experiences to support usability and findability.

4. An emerging discipline and community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape.

Peter Morville Father of information architecture Proponent of Findability

Father of information architecture

Proponent of Findability

A Simple Definition Information architecture is the semantic structure and organization of digital inventories.

Information architecture is the semantic structure and organization of digital inventories.

What is Findability? A better term than search engine optimization (SEO) Puts the user in the mix Describes a site that is easy to find in search engines A site that is easy to navigate A site that has content organized intuitively

A better term than search engine optimization (SEO)

Puts the user in the mix

Describes a site that is easy to find in search engines

A site that is easy to navigate

A site that has content organized intuitively

The Balance of Bots and Users The user is often left out in SEO Findability is less myopic than SEO Findability and IA part of every aspect of web production

The user is often left out in SEO

Findability is less myopic than SEO

Findability and IA part of every aspect of web production

People Matter Who do we create sites for? We don’t create sites for search engines, we create sites for people. Balancing the needs of a spider with the needs of your visitor is a critical distinction.

Who do we create sites for?

We don’t create sites for search engines, we create sites for people.

Balancing the needs of a spider with the needs of your visitor is a critical distinction.

Pieces of the IA Puzzle 1. Domains 2. Sections 3. Categories 4. Pages 5. Media

Domains Keep URLs as short as possible (within reason) Use hyphens to separate fields Never use spaces, quotes, ampersands or other bad ascii characters URLs are the foundation for crawling and indexing Keep session IDs in URL to minimum (2 max)

Keep URLs as short as possible (within reason)

Use hyphens to separate fields

Never use spaces, quotes, ampersands or other bad ascii characters

URLs are the foundation for crawling and indexing

Keep session IDs in URL to minimum (2 max)

http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display&pageID=2 http://crabplace.com/recipe_search.asp?Page=1&SearchString=Crab%20Salads&cat=1 http://crabplace.com/recipes/crab-salad

http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display&pageID=2

http://crabplace.com/recipe_search.asp?Page=1&SearchString=Crab%20Salads&cat=1

http://crabplace.com/recipes/crab-salad

Apache mod_rewrite Common Canonical Homepage Issue http://www.mysite.com http://mysite.com http://www.mysite.com/index.html http://mysite.com/index.html When You Want Only http://www.mysite.com /

Common Canonical Homepage Issue

http://www.mysite.com

http://mysite.com

http://www.mysite.com/index.html

http://mysite.com/index.html

When You Want Only

http://www.mysite.com /

Domains (con’t) Canonicalization concerns Set association in Google Webmaster Tools Rewrite rule so preferred domain redirects

Canonicalization concerns

Set association in Google Webmaster Tools

Rewrite rule so preferred domain redirects

Apache Rewrite 301 Redirect for Apache Write to file called ‘.htaccess’. RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^mysite.com [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mysite.com/$1 [L,R=301] Redirect http://mysite.com to http:// www.mysite.com . Affects entire domain.

301 Redirect for Apache

Write to file called ‘.htaccess’.

RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^mysite.com [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mysite.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Redirect http://mysite.com to http://

www.mysite.com . Affects entire domain.

IIS (ASP) Rewrite Use ISAPI: http://www.isapirewrite.com /

Use ISAPI: http://www.isapirewrite.com /

Permanent (301) Redirects Always use 301 redirects Redirect permanent /old http://www.newdomain.com/new

Always use 301 redirects

Redirect permanent /old http://www.newdomain.com/new

Crawling & Diagnostics Tools Monitor site in Google Webmaster Tools console Use other tools for diagnostics Xenu (free): http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html Web Link Validator (paid): http://www.relsoftware.com/wlv/

Monitor site in Google Webmaster Tools console

Use other tools for diagnostics

Xenu (free): http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html

Web Link Validator (paid): http://www.relsoftware.com/wlv/

Redirects Strive to use 301 permanent redirects where possible 302 (temporary) redirects do not pass PageRank And that brings up PageRank™

Strive to use 301 permanent redirects where possible

302 (temporary) redirects do not pass PageRank

And that brings up PageRank™

PageRank™ Fundamental to Google’s ranking algorithm Misused and misunderstood Visible and invisible Read more: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html

Fundamental to Google’s ranking algorithm

Misused and misunderstood

Visible and invisible

Read more: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html

Sections and Categories Entry points into deeper content Hubs for users to find their way (waypoints) Orient users and crawlers with breadcrumbs

Entry points into deeper content

Hubs for users to find their way (waypoints)

Orient users and crawlers with breadcrumbs

Sections and Categories Bridge shallow pages/root domain High importance in internal linking Label them with relevant terms

Bridge shallow pages/root domain

High importance in internal linking

Label them with relevant terms

Basics of Site Architecture

Keyword Tools Google Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal Site Analytics (useful for site search too) Apply keywords to critical areas Title tag Meta data (description for snippet) Cross links Page headers and content

Google Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Site Analytics (useful for site search too)

Apply keywords to critical areas

Title tag

Meta data (description for snippet)

Cross links

Page headers and content

Pages Standards-compliant code Semantic structure Title tags under 70 characters Descriptions under 155 characters Relevant, focused, keywords used Accurate header tags Use of bulleted, numbered lists Bolding for emphasis (with <strong>)

Standards-compliant code

Semantic structure

Title tags under 70 characters

Descriptions under 155 characters

Relevant, focused, keywords used

Accurate header tags

Use of bulleted, numbered lists

Bolding for emphasis (with <strong>)

Pages Meta keyword tag May be used by Yahoo! Totally abused and nearly worthless Add 3-4 keyword modifiers here Is often misused When in doubt, remove it!

Meta keyword tag

May be used by Yahoo!

Totally abused and nearly worthless

Add 3-4 keyword modifiers here

Is often misused

When in doubt, remove it!

Pages Aim for W3C standards-compliant code Search engines like accessibility too: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/03/tips-for-making-information-universally.html Alternate text attributes Keep code external js files in includes CSS external Header tags (h1, h2, etc) should reinforce title tags and body content

Aim for W3C standards-compliant code

Search engines like accessibility too: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/03/tips-for-making-information-universally.html

Alternate text attributes

Keep code external

js files in includes

CSS external

Header tags (h1, h2, etc) should reinforce title tags and body content

Internal Linking Main index page is entry point Passes most value Use plain text links with relevant keywords Create HTML sitemaps (link from each page) Ensure sitemap link is above link threshold Shallow pages indicate importance Deep pages indicate lesser importance

Main index page is entry point

Passes most value

Use plain text links with relevant keywords

Create HTML sitemaps (link from each page)

Ensure sitemap link is above link threshold

Shallow pages indicate importance

Deep pages indicate lesser importance

Internal Linking Deep linking from home page Where possible and visitor-centric Anchor text matters Link to pages with relevant link text Never use rel=nofollow on internal links An SEO technique Link Thresholds

Deep linking from home page

Where possible and visitor-centric

Anchor text matters

Link to pages with relevant link text

Never use rel=nofollow on internal links

An SEO technique

Link Thresholds

Final Considerations Relevant keywords in file names Where possible and visitor-centric XML Sitemaps Excellent for control over crawling Add directive to robots.txt Sitemap: http://www.mydomain.com/sitemap.xml

Relevant keywords in file names

Where possible and visitor-centric

XML Sitemaps

Excellent for control over crawling

Add directive to robots.txt

Sitemap: http://www.mydomain.com/sitemap.xml

XML Sitemap Syntax <?xml version=”1.0” encoding=’UTF-8’?> <urlset xmins=’ http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9 ’> <url> <loc> http://www.mysite.com /</loc> <lastmod>1987-05-25</lastmod> <changefreq>monthly</changefreq> <priority>0.8</priority> </url> </urlset>

<?xml version=”1.0” encoding=’UTF-8’?>

<urlset xmins=’ http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9 ’>

<url>

<loc> http://www.mysite.com /</loc>

<lastmod>1987-05-25</lastmod>

<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>

<priority>0.8</priority>

</url>

</urlset>

XML Sitemap Locations Default Locations Search Engines Look for Sitemaps http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml.gz http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.gz Visit http://www.xml-sitemaps.com / for a free sitemap

Default Locations Search Engines Look for Sitemaps

http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml

http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.xml.gz

http://www.mysite.com/sitemap.gz

Visit http://www.xml-sitemaps.com / for a free sitemap

Excluding Content Exclude areas that can trap crawlers Common Robot Traps Input Forms Excessive session IDs in URL Pages Restricted by Cookies Frames Logins

Exclude areas that can trap crawlers

Common Robot Traps

Input Forms

Excessive session IDs in URL

Pages Restricted by Cookies

Frames

Logins

Robots.txt Syntax User-agent: * Disallow: /account_private/ Disallow: /privatefile.html User-agent: Googlebot/2.1 Disallow: /user_account.php

User-agent: *

Disallow: /account_private/

Disallow: /privatefile.html

User-agent: Googlebot/2.1

Disallow: /user_account.php

Robots.txt Syntax Robots.txt recognizes wildcards Disallow: /*?zv=*

Robots.txt recognizes wildcards

Disallow: /*?zv=*

Other Stuff No ODP Search engines use title/descriptions Control your snippets meta name=“robots” content=“noodp” Never use meta tags like: meta name=“robots” content=“index, follow”

No ODP

Search engines use title/descriptions

Control your snippets

meta name=“robots” content=“noodp”

Never use meta tags like:

meta name=“robots” content=“index, follow”

Link Development Internal Link Development Relevant departments and services External link development Government branches Partner organizations Local non-profits

Internal Link Development

Relevant departments and services

External link development

Government branches

Partner organizations

Local non-profits

Internal Linking Consistency Link to pages within site consistently Use descriptive link text where possible Aim to stay below link thresholds Refrain from using rel=”nofollow” on internal links Link to deep pages from shallow pages when possible Cross link deep pages

Link to pages within site consistently

Use descriptive link text where possible

Aim to stay below link thresholds

Refrain from using rel=”nofollow” on internal links

Link to deep pages from shallow pages when possible

Cross link deep pages

Shallow and Deep Pages

Diagnostic Tools Check server headers wget -S http://www.mydomain.com/page.html Live header status: http://livehttpheaders.mozdev.org/ Charles web proxy: http://www.charlesproxy.com/index.php Wireshark: http://www.wireshark.org/

Check server headers

wget -S http://www.mydomain.com/page.html

Live header status: http://livehttpheaders.mozdev.org/

Charles web proxy: http://www.charlesproxy.com/index.php

Wireshark: http://www.wireshark.org/

Diagnostic Tools Web Development Firebug: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 Developer Toolbar: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60

Web Development

Firebug: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843

Developer Toolbar: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60

More Reading: http:// www.audettemedia.com/nagw This presentation Links and resources Book list My contact information

More Reading:

http:// www.audettemedia.com/nagw

This presentation

Links and resources

Book list

My contact information

AudetteMedia www.audettemedia.com Founded in 1997. Managing over $4M in Media annually. Lead by Internet marketing pioneers . Active speakers at leading search marketing conferences. Featured in international articles and publications on SEO.