SEO Research

I need the hear some opinions/ideas/answers, from you guys about this questions:

Which technologies are better for SEO?

Are there any technologies which are not good for SEO? (Flash is certainly one. What about - CSS, JavaScript etc?)

How do file names/URLs affect SEO?

What is the best way to optimize dynamic pages?

What affect does drop-down/pull down menus have on SEO?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Gil
Webmaster

Welcome stargate!


It does not really matter what technology you use to create your web pages as long as they produce readable HTML for the search engine crawlers. PHP, ASP, JSP, Coldfusion, doesn't matter.


Flash can actually be indexed by some search engine crawlers now (most notably GoogleBot) so it is not all bad. It should be used sparingly though.
Some Javascript can read by search engine crawlers but again use it wisely, Using it for navigation purposes is risky and you can usually achieve the same effects with standard text links and CSS.
Using Java applets is generally a bad idea as search engine crawlers do not have the means to index them yet (not to my knowledge anyhow)


You can place targeted keywords into URLs/filenames also. They increase your keyword count slightly. For example if you offer web design services then it is not a bad idea to call the page listing your services 'web-design-services.html'. Use hyphens though in filenames, not underscores as these are ignored by the search engine crawler.


Try to get rid of session IDs in dynamic urls. Also do a search on Google for mod_rewrite. Use mod_rewrite to create more search engine- friendly URLs.


It depends on how you implement them. If you implement them in Javascript, it is risky. Java applets are a no go. The safest way is do implement them using standard CSS. Read this article for more info http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dropdowns/ Remember though you can practically implement them however you want if you give the search engine crawlers another way to crawl your site i.e. a site map.

Hope this helps you on your way.

Thank you very much for your reply & cooperation, of course I also expect for opionions & ideas from more experts on this forum.

Regards,

Gil

I beg to differ. I think you have it backwards.

Slap on the wrist for me!! Yes you are right Shawn. Got them mixed up I'll re-edit my original post.

good answers tho gardenstew

thanx

Damn, I had no idea. My entire site, from pages to images, uses underscores.

Arrggghhhh!

The answer to all your questions can probably be summed up in one statement .... Robots like plain HTML

Which technologies are better for SEO?
plain HTML ... have you heard of K.I.S.S. ?

Are there any technologies which are not good for SEO? (Flash is certainly one. What about - CSS, JavaScript etc?)
just about everything NOT HTML

How do file names/URLs affect SEO?
just one of the 100+ factors used in ranking sites ... minimal effect

What is the best way to optimize dynamic pages?
return plain HTML

What affect does drop-down/pull down menus have on SEO?
NOT plain HTML

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Now for the reality check ....

If your site deals with technology, artistic, leading edge, or sci-fi subjects then throw all of the above out the window!!!

Your customers will expect you to demonstrate future technologies.

In that case use a lot of <noscript> and text links for the robots to follow.