HTML 5 will contain methods for a web master to segment their pages into different segments such as header, main, footer, and links. This will provide web crawlers a means of categorizing the different sections of a page and placing priority on certain sections over others. This will serve to make indexing pages more efficient.

The new article and section tags will also be introduced. These will designate that the text inside is indexable and more emphasis should be placed on this text or data. This will also make web pages cleaner, because it will eliminate the need for div tags and help to set the text within apart from the rest of the page.

A new header tag will also be introduced that can be used instead of the head element. The header tag is similar to the h1 tag in that it can contain lots of different elements including subheadings, links, and even other paragraphs of text that can be read by a search engine crawler.

The footer tag will also be new. It can be used in conjunction with the header tag and they can be placed on the same page many times for each section. They can also contain data that can be indexed by crawlers and help to segment pages that can be indexed the same as multiple URLs. This can help the SEO of a site without having to spread content over multiple pages.

The new navigation tag will also be a positive addition for SEO. The navigation tag will be able to designate and define a collection of links to other pages that can be easily followed and indexed by a web crawler.

The new “audio” and “video” tags may be the most exciting elements that will be introduced in HTML 5. They will help bridge the gap between standard HTML and the plug-in technologies such as Flash and Silverlight. The thing that makes them so exciting for SEO is that they will include clear and easily readable alt elements that can make the content of the video or audio data easily indexable by a web crawler. Entire descriptions and transcripts can be included inside paragraph tags inside these elements that are great for SEO, but will also serve to still provide valuable content to users whose browsers don’t yet support the new tags.

There’s no telling when HTML 5 will actually be adopted as a standard, but with all of the new elements being added hopefully it won’t take too long. Next generation browsers are already starting to recognize some of the tags and web masters are dying to get their hands on them so that should help to speed up the process.

Probably the biggest problem that AJAX presents to SEO is that most AJAX enabled sites don’t load multiple static URLs. Instead AJAX enables web sites to load dynamic content on the same page without ever having to load another page. This is not good for SEO because search engine bots, spiders, or crawlers don’t have anything to read since the text or data is never loaded onto the page at the same time. Often times the text is loaded from a database or an XML file that can’t be read by a search engine crawler. This can be avoided by adding the text onto the page all at once, if there isn’t too much of it, in hidden containers and then showing and hiding the text at the right time using client side javascript instead of AJAX calls. Then you can save the AJAX calls for when the client actually needs to interact with the server. Static pages can also be constructed that contain the text that is dynamically loaded by the AJAX. Even though you may never navigate to these pages through AJAX they will still be able to be indexed by a web crawler by placing them in a sitemap that can be navigated by browsers that don’t support javascript. They will have their own URL that can be navigated by the crawler.

Another way to maximize SEO on AJAX enabled pages is to serve up alternative content. If you have data or links that get written dynamically through AJAX calls try to also provide it in alternative ways that can be read by crawlers. If you have an AJAX enabled menu structure at the top of your page, try including a menu at the bottom of the page. Construct your footer menu using plain HTML that navigates to static pages containing the text that is loaded dynamically using AJAX. This will give the spider URLs and text to crawl, but it will also give the user the rich experience that AJAX can provide and provide a means of navigation for browsers that either have Javascript disabled or that do not work with Javascript.

The main thing to remember is that web crawlers need to be able traverse the links in your site and read the text contained on your pages. If they can’t do that your pages won’t be SEO friendly no matter what technology you’re using.

1. The title tag should include the most important information about your site. It should state the purpose and give some indication as to the content of the site.

2. The most significant content should live at the beginning of the page just after the body tag so that it can be quickly and easily accessed by search engine crawlers.

3. All images and other like content should have a clear and robust description inside the alt attribute so that a web crawler can read what the image is about so that it can be included in the indexing of the site’s content.

4. Don’t build your entire website with Silverlight. Instead only use it for animations or to present data in a different way, such as charts and graphs. Leave as much of the text of the website as HTML text so that it can be easily indexed.

5. Provide descriptions of Silverlight content, which the crawler cannot read, in hidden div containers that the crawler can read but that are not visible to the user.

6. Silverlight is rendered using XAML, which is just a fancy XML file really. You can outline your document source in a separate XML file and then render it into a meaningful format using XSLT transformations. XSLT is just a decoder ring for your source that transforms your XML file into something that can be rendered by the browser. By using this method you provide readable text that a web crawler can use to index your site.

7. Design your Silverlight content to fit beside or around a body of HTML text. That way your Silverlight content serves to support the text of your website as opposed to hiding it inside the Silverlight content.

8. Use alternate text stored in the object tag of the Silverlight content to dynamically render the text inside the content. This gives the user the rich UI that grabs their attention, but it also provides the content of the website in a form that can be read by search engine crawlers.

9. View your content in down-level browsers, such as text based browser like Lynx, that are not capable of rendering Silverlight content. Presenting contextual metadata and alternate text that would make your site friendly to these types of browsers will give you a good idea of how indexable your site is to a web crawler.

10. Use a meaningful application name. This will help a search engine crawler find keywords by just looking at the name of your application. For example, if your application is about the hot fishing spots in Tuscaloosa, Alabama then name your application something like TuscaloosaFishFinder.xap. This will give the crawler a better understanding of the content of your site.

Managing SEO for websites or applications built with Silverlight can be challenging. Just remember to mix your Silverlight with readable HTML content. Always keep in mind how to clearly incorporate the content of your site so that it can be easily read and understood by visiting search engine crawlers.

1. Hand code Flash content into HTML instead of using an HTML editor such as DreamWeaver. HTML editors embed Flash content into the page as binary code, which cannot be indexed by web search crawlers. Hand coding gives you options to add alternate text and hidden descriptions of images and Flash content.

2. Instead of using the same page to load dynamic Flash pages, break them out into pieces and add them on separate pages with the relevant Flash section on each page. This makes the site crawlable since all of the content is not hidden inside the Flash content. If a user’s browser can view Flash and javascript then they’ll get the interactive experience, but if it can’t then the user can still view the website.

3. Try not to embed text into images. Web crawlers cannot read text that is embedded into a binary image.

4. Include alternative text with all Flash segments and images. The alternative text doesn’t appear on the web page, but can be read by web search crawlers.

5. Search engine robots like to be able to figure out the relationship between the pages of your website. Flash can trigger page transitions that are confusing to most search engine crawlers. Try to use standard HTML navigation when possible so that the crawler will be able to analyze the links between your pages and gain a better understanding of their content.

6. Embed the same Flash movie on multiple pages, but pass variable values in the URL that tell the movie where to start so that it looks like you have different content on each page. That will help a search robot to index your site and determine page relationships and content value.

7. Use noscript tags to include the text embedded in SWF files so that it will be displayed if the user’s browser doesn’t support Flash. This will also allow a web crawler to read the text and index your site to determine page rank.

8. When testing your site for SEO you can disable javascript in your browser and view your pages. This should give you an accurate representation of what a web crawler will see so that you can determine the effectiveness of your SEO strategy.

9. Use SWF content to add visual interest to your site where it makes a difference, but not where it might hamper the usability of your site or burden the search engine’s task.

10. Avoid pop-up windows. For example, don’t include a button that the user can click to launch the Flash version of your website because search crawlers can’t see them and will ignore them.

Flash websites provide design elements that are very useful in engaging users that visit your site, but they also hamper the exposure of your site if it can’t be seen by search engines. Utilize the 10 tips above to maximize the visibility of your website so that you can drive users to your site and then keep them there with your Flash content.

Any website can host your articles, but to get the most bang for your buck you need to use websites that are already established and that consistently produce high page rankings. Some examples are Squidoo, HubPages, Quizilla, WordPress, and BlogSpot just to name a few. These websites specialize in hosting short articles or blog type posts.

Okay, so now we know the definition of link wheels and how to build them. Now, how do we use them to their full potential? If you’re trying to promote a particular website then most likely you have already developed a set of keywords that most closely describe the content of your promotion site. Most often you can write one or two solid articles containing your keywords and then just rewrite them or spin them to basically make the same points and arguments, but that don’t say the same thing word for word. These supporting articles will make up the spokes of your link wheel and then they will link back to your promotion site or hub page.

After constructing your link wheel, you will need to make sure that its exposure is maximized. One very effective way to do this is to use social bookmarking sites. Social bookmarking sites are places where people go to construct lists of sites that interest them and that they want to bookmark in case they want to return to them later. These bookmarks are also viewable by other users, which can generate visits to your link wheel. The bookmarks are also easily indexable by web search robots. This will get your articles included in web search results, which is what you are ultimately after. This is the main way that a social bookmarking site can really help to drive traffic to the site that you are promoting.

The results of your link wheel vary depending on the exposure of the articles that construct them. Their exposure often depends on the strength of the keywords that you have selected and how they are promoted. If you have used strong keywords and maximized the exposure of your articles, you should start to see your sites show up in search results and hopefully increase in page rank in around 60 to 90 days. Link wheels take a little time to become established, but after that they can really start to pay off by driving traffic to your promotion site. Link wheels are a very effective tool for any long term SEO marketing strategy.

Flash is widely used to dress up the appearance of websites. The problem for SEO is that Shockwave (.swf) Flash files are compiled down into elements that can be challenging for search robots to access. Some more sophisticated robots have been programmed to extract links and other text from them, but it’s the exception and not the rule. This lack of access makes Flash much less effective than a static HTML page. One way to make Flash more visible to web crawlers is to include the text content of a
Flash movie in a hidden field somewhere else on the page. That way it can still be indexed by web crawlers. Another method is to hand code Flash components to make the text and links inside more visible instead of using a content development tool such as Dreamweaver.

AJAX is another web 2.0 technology that is not easily accessible by web search robots. The problem with AJAX is that it is mostly comprised of client side javascript. This creates a problem because the java scripts only fire because of some sort of user interaction. Most web search robots are not capable of clicking a link or other HTML element so they can’t directly access the dynamic content being returned from the web server by an AJAX call. This limits the exposure to search engines of sites containing primarily AJAX. There are a few ways to increase the search engine visibility of an AJAX website.

1. Make sure that all links, menu items, and other structural content work with or without AJAX.
2. Make sure each page that you wish to be crawled has its own URL instead of each page dynamically loading on the same URL.
3. Load the basic content and text of the site statically if at all possibly instead of loading them dynamically through an AJAX call.
4. You can even take snapshots of dynamic pages and publish them as static pages with their own URL.
5. Strongly consider if the use of dynamic AJAX content really increases the usability of your site or if it just provides unnecessary visual appeal.

One way to compensate for technologies that aren’t strong as far as SEO is concerned is the utilization of an RSS feed along with your Flash and AJAX content. An RSS feed is comprised of an XML file, which at its core is just a text file surrounded by tags that define what the text between the tags actually mean. The text inside the tags can be easily indexed by web search robots. This is not a complete solution, but it can help to compensate for the use of other technologies that aren’t SEO friendly, but that you want to include in your site because of the functionality or appearance they add to your website.

General Manager Kevin Shea had this to say, “Our Saved Search and Buzz Graph products were created for our users. And they also have a lot of value for anyone tracking brand conversations.” These Buzz Graphs allow a visitor determine the popularity of a range of terms within a community space online. You can also filter terms by category and then share those results. This is fun and interesting for an average web browser, but for a brand manager it offers insight into what’s being said about different products and companies.

Twenty-eight percent of U.S. consumers read online forums compared to 25% that read blogs according to Forrester’s North American Social Technographics Online Survey, Q2, 2007. Additionally, 18% of those contribute to forums, while 14% do the same for blogs. A lot of online conversations are happening in forums.

Twing offers multiple search options plus advanced filtering and sorting tools so people can effectively search forums in ways not available until the advent of Twing.com. The company also seeks to build even more awareness of the online forum space. Twing.com is easily used by entering search terms to quickly locate specific discussions and/or topics. Visitors can register – for free – to become a Twing.com member, participate in Twing.com’s forums and take advantage of current and upcoming personalization options.

You have to opt in to the service and once you do you can find it in your site stats navigation under the “Visitors” section. In this section there are a variety of charts that show your site’s traffic in blue compared against other sites, which are shown in gray. This allows you to see data such as if visitors stay longer on your pages versus other pages in markets similar to yours or you can compare your daily traffic changes with that of your industry to see if your ups and downs are occurring across the board.

The entire program is anonymous and therefore the information you se is an aggregated total rather than just information from one site. Google is hoping that this data, which was a commonly requested thing, will provide insights to users that have been previously unseen.

This benchmarking has at least one stipulation though. It only works if companies chose to share their data with the system. For that Google also introduced a new data-sharing setting page. If you chose to share your information it isn’t shown individually at any point. It’s simply collected and shared anonymously as was previously mentioned.

When you use twitter updates are displayed on your profile page as well as delivered to any users that signed up to receive them. So, if you wrote a blog post you could twitter about it and everyone in your twitter network would be updated that you’ve just posted something. Which works well if you have a lot of followers on twitter.

If you don’t have many twitter followers don’t fret. Everyone starts with zero. A great way to meet new people interested in what you have to say is to send a message to track a specific keyword. You’ll receive posts on that keyword which will introduce you to some of the people in your field, people who may be interested in what you’re talking about.

Twitter also allows you to “nudge” people. A nudge in Twitter-speak is a friendly reminder to update a twitter account. You can also set up an auto-nudge to remind yourself to update your Twitter account every so often. Sending out nudges to your social contacts will likely make them feel special because you are taking the time to notice what’s happening in their lives. Auto-nudge is helpful because it allows you to continuously update your account with the important things you’re doing.

A final way to successful network on Twitter is to share your friends with others. If some of the people you follow are a good match for those following you can share their bookmarks to their Twitter feeds. Another option is to showcase some of your favorite Twitter members in a blog. Perhaps the people you showcase will return the favor.

The key thing to remember in social networking is the social aspect. Humans have a tendency to be curious and occasionally a bit voyeuristic. Twitter allows us to indulge that side of our personalities while meeting potential colleagues in our fields.

According to a blog posted on the Live Search Webmaster Center the http compression will allow the search engine crawlers as well as browsers to compress files before downloading them. The revised msnbot will support gzip and deflate as defined by RFC 2616 (sections 14.11 and 14.39). Additionally Microsoft will provide a tool to check your server’s compression.

The second new feature, conditional get, allows the crawler to ask a server if the page has been changed since the last request. If the content hasn’t changed, a server that supports conditional get returns a 304 response (not modified). When the crawler gets this response, it doesn’t download the page contents (and continues to use the version already downloaded).

Basically, this just means a more efficient way search bots crawl and index your sites, as long as your servers support the new features. Many servers do support http compression. If you need to figure out how to configure this instructions can be found in the Live Search blog entry. Additionally, the Live Search team has a page where you can test whether your site and/or server support these two new features.