In this section

How can I impact search engine performance?

So what are the things you can impact in your site content that can impact search engine performance?

What should I avoid to ensure better search engine optimization?

  • Hiding pages you want search behind logins
  • Putting content in formats search engines can't evaluate, such as Flash, audio/video, frames, etc. (although you can consider including a text translation of audio and video content)
  • Leaving out alt attributes for images (see Page Content)
  • Repeating content on more than one page of the university site (just link to the main source instead of repeating)
  • Using generic filenames for images and documents, brief, descriptive filenames are better.

Things that really don't matter

Did you know hidden pages may not show up in search?

Hidden pages should only show up in searches IF there is a link to that hidden page on a crawled page of the site. All the pages that show up in visible navigation should be crawled, but any hidden page that is linked to from a crawled page will also be crawled.

If you never link to your hidden page, search engines should not be able to find it! This can work for or against you, but it is something to be aware of!