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September 2004 Monthly Newsletter :: Anduro Marketing Inc. Got a Dynamically-Generated Website? Get Searched! In a dynamically-generated website, rather than a traditional collection of static pages, the web pages are generated on-the-fly from information held in a database. When a browser requests a page from a dynamically-generated website, a script generates a page and sends it back to the browser to be displayed. Think of a website that gives you television listings schedules, or daily product availability information, for instance. While there are good reasons for using dynamically-generated websites - for example, keeping information in a database up to date is easier and less prone to error than continually revising many static web pages - many search engines cannot read dynamically generated web pages . What does this mean? There is a lot of information about your company and products that are not being indexed and can't be found by people using search engines! Anduro Marketing is experienced in making dynamically-generated websites search engine friendly. Here are some suggestions: 1. Make use of comprehensive individual page names so that the database is readable to search engines Look at the address box at the top of your browser. If you see a '?', 'jsp' or similar characters in the address box, then the web page you are viewing was probably generated dynamically from information held in a database. It is important to make sure dynamically-generated web pages are given readable URL addresses (page names in the address box). Otherwise, important information can be locked or hidden away from potential customers as search engines cannot enter any parameters to find information within databases. To work around this restriction, all URLs for product or topic searches should have an individual name that is easily followed by search engines. For example, if your company sells dozens of different products, your dynamically-generated web pages must use a unique URL for each of the product and informational pages, and each URL should have a name that reflects the individual product name. To see an example of this, please refer to the Haskayne School of Business: http://www.haskayne.ucalgary.ca/programs/undergrad/bcomm. Although this page was dynamically generated from a database, it was created in such a manner that the visitor can save and copy the URL. A quick test: if you can bookmark a page, the page has a readable URL and has a chance of being found by a search engine. 2. Make the pages on your website linkable and traceable Readable individual page names are a good start, but search engines will also need to be able to find links and corresponding pages within your site. The use of a site map can help to ensure that this happens. 3. Create a Sitemap Each page that is important for the search engines to index should be linked from a sitemap. This gives the search engines links to follow easily (and also makes it easy for visitors - once they arrive - to navigate your site and find what they are looking for). To see an example of a site map please go to: http://www.haskayne.ucalgary.ca/sitemap. 4. Exploit what a Search Engine Result will display Type "site:www.haskayne.ucalgary.ca" into Google and you will see search result listings that have blue, black and green text. Blue is the text the web designer enclosed in the page's title tag. Black is from Google's keyword search within the page content. Green is the URL. Most people will decide whether to click in and visit your site simply by scanning the search results text. By properly designing and implementing the site, we can influence what text a search engine result will display, generating qualified traffic to the site. 5. Understand the online buying process A website should have the appropriate information for potential buyers at each stage of the buying process. Use keywords relevant for each stage, with special attention to keywords closer to the actual purchase stage. For example: the buying stages of a hockey helmet purchase might include awareness of injuries, safety testing results, sizing and price. Excellent information at every stage in the buying process combined with a well functioning eCommerce back-end is the best way to convert buyers who may be on the fence about buying online. Anduro Marketing We are a company that encounters dynamic websites that rely on a database and administrative back-end all the time. Such sites offer great manageability, functionality, and delivery of up-to-date information, but often does not work well with search engines. Our company can help to make your website more search-engine friendly through implementing our eSignPost Marketing Pages.Contact Anduro Marketing or visit our website at www.anduro.com today for more information on making your website search-engine friendly. Industry News: Online Sales up 40 % in 2003.
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