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Hi all,
i have a site online to promote my animation work, cv, etc but i can`t seem to get it to show up on any search engines.
initially i was using an Iframe, which i was told would affect the keywords of the content pages being searched, so i rediseigned to load in the page layout fresh each time (lots of identically laid out pages, no iframe).. the results haven`t been any better.. none of my animations turn up any search results even if i type in the exact title (well, except one, but that returns a result on a mates website who worked on it with me.. so still no good)
anyways, this morning i noticed that a particular record label i like use iframes and have NO trouble getting themselves seen. they have a "click to enter" index page and then you proceed to the iframe based content.
basically i felt the iframe was a far neater solution, loaded faster and meant i only had to modify the menu page to add new work, now i have to rebuild the menu on all the pages. So i`m considering going back to iframe based layout but haviong a "click to enter" page to hold all my keywords, etc.
does anyone have any advice on how to get yourself seen?
and before anyone starts, yes, i know "iframes suck".. but the primary concern is getting seen, so we`ll focus on reasons for/against that ;)
i have a site online to promote my animation work, cv, etc but i can`t seem to get it to show up on any search engines.
initially i was using an Iframe, which i was told would affect the keywords of the content pages being searched, so i rediseigned to load in the page layout fresh each time (lots of identically laid out pages, no iframe).. the results haven`t been any better.. none of my animations turn up any search results even if i type in the exact title (well, except one, but that returns a result on a mates website who worked on it with me.. so still no good)
anyways, this morning i noticed that a particular record label i like use iframes and have NO trouble getting themselves seen. they have a "click to enter" index page and then you proceed to the iframe based content.
basically i felt the iframe was a far neater solution, loaded faster and meant i only had to modify the menu page to add new work, now i have to rebuild the menu on all the pages. So i`m considering going back to iframe based layout but haviong a "click to enter" page to hold all my keywords, etc.
does anyone have any advice on how to get yourself seen?
and before anyone starts, yes, i know "iframes suck".. but the primary concern is getting seen, so we`ll focus on reasons for/against that ;)
Page:
FYI Works for me on IE7...
Hi all
if you`re running IE7, can you please look at my site and let me know if the videos on the individual animation pages work please?
having built the pages for my new animation and testing in firefox, i`ve just noticed that IE7 refuses to put the videos on the pages, i just get a red X.
the older versaion of IE that`s on the other house pc plays them ok, it just seems to be 7. Even "allow blocked content" doesn`t work, even when i`m offline testing the files from my drive.
it`s infuriating.
www.secondarymotion.co.uk
let me know how you get on!
thanks everyone.
EDIT - i`ve fixed this on my machine now.. something about a microsoft core popped up; i ran it and now the videos appear.
they working ok for everyone else?
if you`re running IE7, can you please look at my site and let me know if the videos on the individual animation pages work please?
having built the pages for my new animation and testing in firefox, i`ve just noticed that IE7 refuses to put the videos on the pages, i just get a red X.
the older versaion of IE that`s on the other house pc plays them ok, it just seems to be 7. Even "allow blocked content" doesn`t work, even when i`m offline testing the files from my drive.
it`s infuriating.
www.secondarymotion.co.uk
let me know how you get on!
thanks everyone.
EDIT - i`ve fixed this on my machine now.. something about a microsoft core popped up; i ran it and now the videos appear.
they working ok for everyone else?
bumping this back up with an update!
i`ve switched over and made all of my pages php files that call upon a seperate navigation page so i only have to modifiy that 1 file and the changes go throughout the site, that`s all good.
BUT, when i went to make an updated sitemap to submit to google, the generator doesn`t find any of my pages. anyone know how to get them to show up?
this is my first dabble with php so bear wth me if i`ve missed something easy.
EDIT - scratch that, they seem to be showing up now.
i`ve switched over and made all of my pages php files that call upon a seperate navigation page so i only have to modifiy that 1 file and the changes go throughout the site, that`s all good.
BUT, when i went to make an updated sitemap to submit to google, the generator doesn`t find any of my pages. anyone know how to get them to show up?
this is my first dabble with php so bear wth me if i`ve missed something easy.
EDIT - scratch that, they seem to be showing up now.
thanks for the help!!
i`ve got an XML sitemap uploaded to google already.. i`m just going to leave it at present and do some testing with alternatives.
i don`t have much spare time to work on any given project, i have to meet my deadlines and get onto the next job, so the alternatives involving the least maintainence are the most appealing, so i`ll probably switch to a layout that calls a single navigation page or go back to iframes.
the "about" page is a good plan, i`ll get onto that and the news page was always a bit of a filler.. it`s really just to show that i DO add stuff from time to time.
i`ve got an XML sitemap uploaded to google already.. i`m just going to leave it at present and do some testing with alternatives.
i don`t have much spare time to work on any given project, i have to meet my deadlines and get onto the next job, so the alternatives involving the least maintainence are the most appealing, so i`ll probably switch to a layout that calls a single navigation page or go back to iframes.
the "about" page is a good plan, i`ll get onto that and the news page was always a bit of a filler.. it`s really just to show that i DO add stuff from time to time.
Guilty :)
Thought a sitemap was an XML document, so was curious how you'd written it. FYI, sitemaps have been adopted by Microsoft and Yahoo now, www.sitemaps.org/.
Oh, and Very_Metal, I would have suggested a site map previously, but I completely forgot about them, sorry :)
Thought a sitemap was an XML document, so was curious how you'd written it. FYI, sitemaps have been adopted by Microsoft and Yahoo now, www.sitemaps.org/.
Oh, and Very_Metal, I would have suggested a site map previously, but I completely forgot about them, sorry :)
NB. I see someone (on a SKY connection) just tried looking for a sitemap.htm on my 'play' website www.hmmm.ip3.co.uk ;¬)
FWIW This site is purely for fun so I don't use any SEO techniques on it! But nice to see someone's paying attention...
FWIW This site is purely for fun so I don't use any SEO techniques on it! But nice to see someone's paying attention...
Results might not be stable yet, but for me Google has cached your home page, showing data from the 16th November - which is a good thing. It can take quite some time to achieve good results, so you have to be patient.
Site Map and Webmaster Tools
I like to include a "site map" for my sites - name it sitemap.htm and link to all your content - Google likes these pages. More guidelines from Google: [URL] http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769[/URL]
Google have recently launched Webmaster Tools (all free) where you can see what Google thinks of your site etc. Shows when they last crawled it and more. They also have their own sitemaps process - see Google for details.
Google Sandbox
Sometimes new sites enter the Google 'sandbox' - so even when indexed will take a while to achieve good placings. Some SEO's (Search Engine Optimisers) believe the sandbox acts like a 'quality filter'. Once Google is happy your site is not a spammy fly-by-night site it starts to trust you more and give you better placement. Search for Google Sandbox for more info.
Good luck...
Site Map and Webmaster Tools
I like to include a "site map" for my sites - name it sitemap.htm and link to all your content - Google likes these pages. More guidelines from Google: [URL] http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769[/URL]
Google have recently launched Webmaster Tools (all free) where you can see what Google thinks of your site etc. Shows when they last crawled it and more. They also have their own sitemaps process - see Google for details.
Google Sandbox
Sometimes new sites enter the Google 'sandbox' - so even when indexed will take a while to achieve good placings. Some SEO's (Search Engine Optimisers) believe the sandbox acts like a 'quality filter'. Once Google is happy your site is not a spammy fly-by-night site it starts to trust you more and give you better placement. Search for Google Sandbox for more info.
Good luck...
Since nobody else has answered...
The impact that iframes has on search engines is that it effectively splits your content and thus gives each page less value. A search engine will view it as 2 separate pages, the page containing the iframe and the actual contents of the iframe. Then you have associated problems such as the iframe content pages not having the menus to link it to the rest of the site. Yes you can solve that with javascript etc. but it doesnt help a search engines view of the site.
You can compensate for all of the above but extra work of course and given you're looking at iframes as a solution to reduce your maintenance perhaps not the best idea.
Just having a quick look at the site. I'd add an about page, and make sure all your animation descriptions have plenty of animation related keywords (more technical descriptions of what you did perhaps). The news page its too generic. A whole news entry about CSS/IE on an animation portfolio isnt what you should be doing, stay focused on the topic.
It wouldnt hurt to submit your site http://www.google.com/addurl/ here either. Its clear google has visited your site, seeing if you can give them a little push to speed up indexing the rest of it wont hurt.
The impact that iframes has on search engines is that it effectively splits your content and thus gives each page less value. A search engine will view it as 2 separate pages, the page containing the iframe and the actual contents of the iframe. Then you have associated problems such as the iframe content pages not having the menus to link it to the rest of the site. Yes you can solve that with javascript etc. but it doesnt help a search engines view of the site.
You can compensate for all of the above but extra work of course and given you're looking at iframes as a solution to reduce your maintenance perhaps not the best idea.
Just having a quick look at the site. I'd add an about page, and make sure all your animation descriptions have plenty of animation related keywords (more technical descriptions of what you did perhaps). The news page its too generic. A whole news entry about CSS/IE on an animation portfolio isnt what you should be doing, stay focused on the topic.
It wouldnt hurt to submit your site http://www.google.com/addurl/ here either. Its clear google has visited your site, seeing if you can give them a little push to speed up indexing the rest of it wont hurt.
Before I go on, I'll just say that you've got the site up and running, and it's new, so is likely not listed because the search engines haven't got around to it yet. If you're happy with using the
==>
Yes, that is how I meant. You could copy your navigation code in to a separate file, calling it for example, nav.htm (or nav.txt, nav.php, etc) and then where the nav code used to appear, call for the nav.htm file, for example:
Currently:
PHP'd:
.. and then whenever you wanted to update your navigation code, you could do so via the single nav.htm file, with the web site taking the new nav content as soon as you upload it.
You would have to rebrand your HTML files to PHP files though, so index.htm would need to become index.php. My one concern with doing this now would be with Yahoo, as it's already got you listed, so deleting the HTML files may affect your result placement for a little while, though not completely, as it can follow on from the domain name and get back on track.
If you go to Yahoo and search for your site via keywords, rather than the domain name, see if you get good placements, and if you do, perhaps hold off on changing things around to see if Google catch up. If you don't get good placements, then you won't be shooting yourself in the foot. I'm only saying this as I don't know search engines in and out, and don't want to be the cause of any good results disappearing :)
But trial it out first on a test page or two, don't alter the live site, just in case it doesn't turn out like you'd want. You may find using the PHP way is more hassle for you, and to be honest, I don't think Google and the like give any negativity to sites using an
The reason I suggested letting the content area fill its own space is because I'm on an 800 x 600 screen, and currently the site produces two scroll bars; one on the main browser window, and the other on your content window; and it can make using a scroll wheel a bit fiddly. It doesn't make the site unusable, however.
And for the record label site, how did you come across it in the search results? Looking for the site / company by name directly, rather than a general search term or keyword will usually bring it up, weather or not it uses an
<iframe>, I'd just stick with it an concentrate on other things. It is part of the HTML spec after all. :)==>
Yes, that is how I meant. You could copy your navigation code in to a separate file, calling it for example, nav.htm (or nav.txt, nav.php, etc) and then where the nav code used to appear, call for the nav.htm file, for example:
Currently:
<h1>site header</h1>
<div>navigation code</div>
<h2>sub header</h2>
<p>content</p>
PHP'd:
<h1>site header</h1>
<?php include("[B]nav.htm[/B]");?>
<h2>sub header</h2>
<p>content</p>
.. and then whenever you wanted to update your navigation code, you could do so via the single nav.htm file, with the web site taking the new nav content as soon as you upload it.
You would have to rebrand your HTML files to PHP files though, so index.htm would need to become index.php. My one concern with doing this now would be with Yahoo, as it's already got you listed, so deleting the HTML files may affect your result placement for a little while, though not completely, as it can follow on from the domain name and get back on track.
If you go to Yahoo and search for your site via keywords, rather than the domain name, see if you get good placements, and if you do, perhaps hold off on changing things around to see if Google catch up. If you don't get good placements, then you won't be shooting yourself in the foot. I'm only saying this as I don't know search engines in and out, and don't want to be the cause of any good results disappearing :)
But trial it out first on a test page or two, don't alter the live site, just in case it doesn't turn out like you'd want. You may find using the PHP way is more hassle for you, and to be honest, I don't think Google and the like give any negativity to sites using an
<iframe>The reason I suggested letting the content area fill its own space is because I'm on an 800 x 600 screen, and currently the site produces two scroll bars; one on the main browser window, and the other on your content window; and it can make using a scroll wheel a bit fiddly. It doesn't make the site unusable, however.
And for the record label site, how did you come across it in the search results? Looking for the site / company by name directly, rather than a general search term or keyword will usually bring it up, weather or not it uses an
<iframe> or not.
php is a bit beyond me sir, i can put a basic site together but i`ve not been really involved in web design for some time.
i`m not really wanting the main window to resize at all, hence the scrolling content, as i`d like the layout to be kind of a screen where my work gets shown, so for consitency it stays at a set size.
why is nothing ever easy? ;)
the site i was looking at is www.hevydevy.com
edit - looking at your example, do you mean i can build the navigation and main layout, then use PHP to simply call on the file and put whe specific content in teh right place?
i`m not really wanting the main window to resize at all, hence the scrolling content, as i`d like the layout to be kind of a screen where my work gets shown, so for consitency it stays at a set size.
why is nothing ever easy? ;)
the site i was looking at is www.hevydevy.com
edit - looking at your example, do you mean i can build the navigation and main layout, then use PHP to simply call on the file and put whe specific content in teh right place?
Page: