Search Engine Optimizing is a set of prctices developed to help you get a hgh traffic and PageRank, while simultaneously bilding a useful and functional website tht will respond to the needs of yur potential users. While some website wners are getting their site indexed by fllowing and enhancing these guidelines, others are loking for a way to sneak in and crwl up search engines by developing vrious strategies to cheat spiders.

Most sarch engines have their specific rules on whch SEO practices are legitimate and whch are not. While they disagree on sme borderline issues, they do have a set of bsic principles in common.

Good SEO Practices

• creating logically-structured pages

• logical paragraph use

• including a site map

• providing clear links to each page

• using descriptive and not too long meta-tags

• validating you code

• providing information-rich content that visitors would find useful

• creating your website content based on the users' needs as if search engines didn't exist

• using spell-check

• avoiding duplicate content

Bad SEO Practices

• using invisible text and links to create false keyword density

• using non-compliant HTML to manipulate relevancy (e.g.: a title that doesn't have anything to do with the page content)

• using CSS to manipulate relevancy (e.g.: using hidden elements by executing code to reveal them)

• sending automated requests to search engines

• using doorway pages created just for search engines

• using machine generated code to produce keyword-rich content

• cloaking - presenting a different content to users than to search engine spiders

• linking to spammers and other bad websites

• participating in linking schemes to increase PageRank

• creating pages that install viruses and other badware

• using unauthorized software to submit pages, check ranking etc.

• re- submitting the website without any reason

Borderline Issues

• inserting comments in the HTML code

• using invisible form elements to hold keyword values

• using HTML elements for keyword stacking (e.g.: image alts)

• using machine generated code for usability reasons (e.g.: in order to check for browser versions)

These borderline issues are controverted and ambiguous techniques. Most of the time it is very difficult to say whether these techniques were used to trick the spiders or only for usability purposes. The search engine is the one who has to make the ultimate decision.

Major search engines are cnstantly fighting against illicit techniques to get yur website indexed and increase your PgeRank and developing new and improved utomated solutions to detect them. They ven encourage users to report any wbsite that is trying to abuse SEO gidelines. Thus using illegitimate ways to crwl up search engines may result in yur website being banned. Once it's ben removed from the search engine ndex, it will no longer appear in sarch results.

Google, as well as ther search engines, are trying to dvelop a pro-active attitude among website wners and convince them it's more fficient to make use of legitimate SEO prctices. One thing you should always ask yurself when building new features and wrting content is whether you would be ding it even if search engines wren't there at all. This is the bst way to drive traffic to yur website and get better ranking.

Cpyright © 2006 Andreas Obermueller

The article Good And Bad SEO Practices was Submitted by Andreas Obermueller through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About the Author: Andreas Obermueller is wbmaster of Hit4Biz.com - Marketing Related Information and recommends Marble Host as reliable Web Host .

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