When a web visitor views your site, they are immediately greeted with graphics, text, and possibly even videos or flash. Obviously, humans can quickly scan and read these elements and then determine what is important. Search Engines however see your site in a whole different light. While search engines are getting smarter and smarter, they ultimately rely on HTML code and content to determine what you page is all about.
Flash Killed the Search Engine Star
Many Real Estate agents like to use flash because it offers so much eye candy. The only problem is that while your music filled flash intro may be causing your site visitors to immediately supply you with all their contact information (please note the sarcasm) Search Engines just see a blank screen. Based off of some of the flash intros that I seen, I think Search Engines get the better end of the deal.
But this goes beyond just Flash intros. Many websites use Flash for important aspects such as menus, headers, and more. So how does Google see these elements? Let’s find out.
Scott Patterson, a South Florida Real Estate Agent, was nice enough to let use his website as an example.
First, Through a Site Visitor’s Eyes
While his site doesn’t have much copy on the home page, it still contains important information such as the left hand navigation menu, his contact information and a couple of featured listings. Overall, it’s nice and clean. This is what the site looks like through the eyes of a visitor.
What Does Google See?
Using a handy little tool called the Poodle Predictor, it is easy to see what Google sees. No graphics, no flash, just good old content.
This is what the site looks like thought the eyes of Google.
You may be thinking “I don’t get it. There is nothing on that page.” That’s exactly the point. Google can’t see any menu or links! To put it in perspective, let’s look at another example.
Linda Craft is a Raleigh Real Estate Agent who has a site that’s a little more search engine friendly. Poodle Predictor shows that Google is able to soak up lots of content.
Is It Just The Amount Of Text?
If you visit Scott’s site and Linda’s site, you can easily see that Linda’s site contains more text. But keep in mind, just putting more text on a site doesn’t always mean it’s easy for Google to see.
Bad Code Killed the Search Engine Star
Let’s look at two pages with almost equal amounts of text. First, take a quick look at this page and this page. As you can see, they both have lots of content so you would think that Google would easily see both pages. But just look at the results.
The Pinehurst page using Poodle Predictor shows lots of great content. Great! Google should have no problem soaking up this content. View The Pinehurst Page Using Poodle Predictor.
The SV Home Team website shows… It shows nothing! Why? After all both pages have lots of content! Here is the answer. This page uses frames! This page has missed an opportunity for lots of exposure because the page is coded using a bad practice! But don’t worry. My company is already busy at work developing a new website for him – without frames. View The SV Home Team Using Poodle Predictor.
Every day search engines are getting smarter and smarter. But ultimately they rely on your HTML code and content to determine what you page is all about.
Check Your Own Site
Ready to see how your own website measures up in the eyes of Google? Simply go to the Poodle Predictor, type in your domain, and in the results click on the Diagnostics View link. If lots of good content appears, then good for you. If not, you may want to make some changes.
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To Your Success,
Brad Carroll
Disclaimer: It’s important to note that this tool is not affiliated with Google nor do they have any inside information. The tool doesn’t actually use Google’s algorithms to view the page. It simply views the content without stylesheets, JavaScript or plugins.
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. I'm reworking my site now...
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