Was wondering if there were anything thing I could do to increase my presence on search enginges? Obviously having a webpage helps, but beyond that clueless.
Thanks,
Travis:usflag:
Thanks,
Travis:usflag:
I think this was the best comment.Google "search engine optimization"
To my own understanding, a 100% error-free W3c standardized code in addition to the links you speak of?[*]A Well-Coded Site
[*]Other sites linking to you
[/LIST]
There are a number of other important things, but that is a very abbreviated understanding...
Travis, here are some solid basics:Was wondering if there were anything thing I could do to increase my presence on search enginges? Obviously having a webpage helps, but beyond that clueless.
Remember that search spiders look for relevance UP FRONT. Unless consumers are specifically searching for your company BY NAME, keep your name BEHIND keywords in the browser title. (NOTE: There is speculation that search spiders quit indexing browser titles after the first 60 characters, so make the first 60 count!)Lawn Maintenance, Landscaping, Brush Removal, Atlanta GA - Johnson Landscaping Company
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<meta http-equiv="expires" content="-1" />
<meta http-equiv="pragma" content="no-cache" />
<meta name="author" content="Johnson Landscaping" />
<meta name="ROBOTS" content="index,follow" />
<meta name="ROBOTS" content="ALL" />
<meta name="DESCRIPTION" content="Metro Atlanta Landscape Maintenance Services Information, Rates, Hours, Services" />
<meta name="KEYWORDS" content="Metro Atlanta, Georgia, Landscape, Maintenance, Landscaping, Residential, Commercial, Mowing, Trimming, Seeding, Aeration, Sod, Fertilize Lawn" />
<img src="../images/myimage.jpg" border="0" ALT="Atlanta Georgia Landscape Maintenance" TITLE="Johnson Landscaping, Atlanta Lawn Maintenance">
(Notice that the important keywords are linked.)Feel free to contact us for more information about our Metro-Atlanta Lawn Maintenance Services.
In this case, "contact us" (which is linked) would be embedded with a TITLE tag so that the keywords can be indexed once the link is followed. Here's what the HTML would look like:Feel free to contact us Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM.
<a href="http://www.jlsinc.net/component/option,com_qcontacts/Itemid,87/id,1/view,contact/" title="Metro-Atlanta Lawn Maintenance Services, Mowing, Trimming, Debris Removal, Brush Clean-up"
<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; color: green; font-family: verdana, tahoma;">Metro Atlanta Landscape Maintenance</span>
<h1>Metro Atlanta Landscape Maintenance</h1>
The way that is written is far more useful to search engines than..."If you need lawn maintenance and over-seeding in Chicago, then contact Christy Webber Landscaping!
There is a "gotcha" here, though. Make sure that each page containing reciprocal links is accessible from main/public navigation menus and site map menus. Remember, search engines follow links!
The W3C validation service is far from perfect, and it fails to understand the "big picture" of a Website. In fact, you would think that companies like Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube, and sooooo many more "credible" establishments that hire six-figure, ultra-talented coders SHOULD (and do) hammer-out error-free mark-up (HTML, XML, PHP, ASP, etc.) could survive the W3C validator....but they don't. I repeat ~ THEY FAIL.To my own understanding, a 100% error-free W3c standardized code in addition to the links you speak of?
And optimized images, a solid navigation system, free of clutter.
Do that and see what happens, many small sites survive on just that alone.
While it is true the validator is not perfect, I don't know if I would go so far to say "far from". One must keep in mind it is a code validator.The W3C validation service is far from perfect, and it fails to understand the "big picture" of a Website.
Technically speaking, the validator is correct. If you can't follow the coding specifications of the doctype you are using, then don't use that doctype. For example, your point about "&" is a validator non-issue under a 4.01 doctype. In any event, improper use of ampersand can cause real issues.Notice that most of the major sites fail. Erros include stupid things like using the ampersand symbol (as in, "Lawn & Garden") in menu text as opposed to using the ampersand code (as in "Lawn & Garden"). Browsers accept the traditional "plain text" way of writing an ampersand as "&", yet the W3C code validation application considers it an "error" if you don't write ampersands as "&".
Not really a good example, this sites code is a mess, especially given there has been little effort to follow the coding standards of the doctype being used.Matter of fact, LawnSite.com's results are as follows: 637 Errors, 17 warning(s)
I agree that a multiple browser (all relevant major versions) test should be conducted in all cases, because one cannot expect all browsers to behave the same. That said, writing valid code eliminates most all issues with browser compatibility.Be careful when putting too much weight on HTML validation apps. Use them to find legit issues like unclosed tags or broken scripts, but open your Website in multiple browsers to really check your work. If your site displays properly in multiple browsers, then the nit-picky issues found by the validator app might not really be an issue.
I agree, the vast majority of "non-issue" validation errors are in embedded scripts .... which begs the question why are they even embedded? IMO, it is far more efficient to link the scripts when possible than embed them. That said, there are ways to avoid validation errors caused by embedded scripts... if you know how to properly markup your scripts (ex. wrap the code in a CDATA section or comment it out).Sorry, but you can't tell me that a validator is "technically correct" and that my choice of doctype should be changed if I don't like the validation results when the vast majority of validation errors I've are a result of how coders write JavaScript, Perl, etc. Validators validate HTML and not scripts or advanced markup, yet scripts and advanced markup use HTML in them which would look like an error in most validators.
I think you and I are on the same page overall, though.
_
Put website on all ads that are offline like yp or newspapers. Connect with other businesses in your town that have websites. Facebook, twitter. blog.Good evening,
I am new to lawnsite but not new to owning a lawn business. I have had mine about 2 years now. I also have a website @ www.caligreenscapes.com which I made myself. I was doing residentials but obtained my License and Insurance in order to do commercial properties and apartments. I have about 3 commercial properties and would like to gain more. Besides google, what other methods can I use to get my site viewed?
Thank You,
William
This is a good point. My site shows up pretty high when doing local searches, and I know it is not anywhere near as well coded, etc., as other sites. I think it has to have something to do with me posting on lawnsite.Post on LawnSite LMAO This thing has a crazy page rank !