The NZS.com Page Names resource contains information on naming pages and domains for search engine optimisation.
Choosing Page Names for Search Engine Optimisation
Are your page names a mess? Learn how to choose a domain name and name the pages within your site to best optimise your Web presence for search engines.
Don't underestimate the importance of choosing a domain name that will be recognised (and liked) by search engines. Search engines are the first port of call for any New Zealander navigating the Web, so when you choose a domain name consider:
- Age - search engines recognise domains that have existed for some time, viewing them as well-established and legitimate.
- History - if you do buy an existing domain, make sure you know its back-story. Has it been banned or blacklisted by search engines?
- Keywords - your URL should contain keywords that are relevant to your business. Don't go overboard though, as long or hyphenated domains will only cause confusion.
How much attention do you pay to your page file names within your website? Are you putting methodical thought into your naming, or letting your content management system (CMS) designate them for you?
In order to optimise your website as best as possible for search engines, providing precise and readable file names are a move to better keyword optimisation and can favourably direct more traffic to your website through search engine listings.
If you have a basic knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) you will know that when search engine spiders are looking over your site trying to determine its validity, they pick up keywords in your headings, subtitles and text. You may not know however, that the titling in your file naming is just as important. Here are three tips on naming your pages:
- Be specific. Instead of using a general keyword, name your pages and headings within your pages to a specified phrase. While you may be used to "yoursitehere.co.nz/maps.html", try to match search queries more closely, e.g.: "yoursitehere.co.nz/maps-of-new-zealand.html".
- Don't default. Your CMS will often automatically name pages for you in a default sequence, rendering the page name useless for search engines. Be sure to change your page names to titles (as above), do not accept "yoursitehere.co.nz/page77" as a file name.
- Hyphenate, do not space. If you put spaces in your page names, your browser needs to put "%20" in that space, which not only looks terrible but can not be processed by some systems. Instead of running words together as the alternative, use hyphens for a clearly readable filename. Also leave out non-alphabetical characters like question marks and hashes.
How many times have you visited undecipherable URLs? Not only are readable file names important for SEO, they're also important for citations when direct links are not given, just the source which can then be pasted into a browser. It looks terrible when a URL is hundreds of characters long and filled with oddities.
Search Engine Optimisation images from Flickr: La mejor calidad, Transparent Screen and Mac + Starbucks.
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