Chances are you have heard the phrase “information architecture” plenty of times in the past. But, if you haven’t given it a passing glance you may want to rethink your stance. Information architecture is the semantic structure and organization of digital inventories. Since SEO is concerned with giving the search engine spiders easily understood relevant content while making the website user-friendly, information architecture is a very important aspect.

A website’s architecture is composed of domains sections, categories, pages and media, among other items. Domains are the top level of the structure, potentially housing multiple sub-domains. Sections are the organizational hubs that hold categories, and occasionally other sections. Categories are reference points for pages and media. Pages are web documents in a variety of languages such as HTML, PHP or ASP. And media are images, videos, pdfs, sound files and so on.

So what are some things you should avoid for the best SEO results on a site? Well, first of all is duplicate content. Search engines only show one version of a page so if they crawl the same thing 5 times, the time spent doing that is wasted. The same goes for print pages. With either of these you should try to use a unique URL folder structure to modify those files so the robots don’t crawl them.

Another big issue is canonical problems. These allow users to find your site both with and without the “www” before the domain name. Crawlers think these are two different websites that have copied one another and this leads to an enormous problem with duplicate content.

So, what are some things you should do to enhance your information architecture for SEO? Definitely try to make your hierarchy as clean and simple as possible. Ensure that your navigation is consistent and that it’s always in the same place on your site. This makes it easier for crawlers and humans alike. Another helpful thing to do is to use cross-linking. This is when you are browsing a site and they have suggestions along the bottom for similar things on their site you may be interested in.

Knowing more about information architecture is crucial to SEO, but it also helps user interaction. And at the end of the day that’s just as, if not more, important to the success of a site.

We’ve all been to websites with mistakes in their design. Such mistakes can make a website difficult to use, inaccessible on some computers, and/or unprofessional looking. Here are the top 5 common mistakes that website designers should avoid:

1. Lines of text wider than the screen: Some websites require users with common lower-resolution displays to repeatedly scroll left and right across the screen while reading each line. A website should be designed so that it appears properly on any screen resolution. Worse still, a number of websites have design mistakes which cause part of the page (especially common within non-scrolling frames) to be completely obscured at some resolution levels.

2. Too much javascript, Flash, etc: When a website relies upon Flash, javascript, and IFRAMEs (especially those supplied by external sites) for most of its content, search engine “spiders” find very little intelligible material when they check the website, and users with browsers that aren’t javascript-enabled won’t see much either. Having some original content is generally better for search rankings.

3. Right-click blockers: It is relatively common to visit a website that shows error messages if you try to use the right mouse button. The reason for this is to discourage people from copying the page or its images. However, it prevents legitimate right-click functions like opening a link in a new browser window, and someone intent upon stealing the content can still do so in a different way. It also makes the page take longer to load.

4. Poor color combination: One of the top website mistakes is to use a color scheme that is hard to read (or look at). Be creative with the choice of colors, but make sure the lettering contrasts well with the background (which shouldn’t be unnecessarily bright). Even the best information or offers may be ignored if they are difficult to read or otherwise undesirable.

5. Internet Explorer based design: Because IE is the top web browser, some website designers only consider how a site will appear in it. However, when the 08/2008 market share (according to w3schools.com) of Firefox, Opera, and Safari are combined, it is about 48%. Also, search engine “spiders” see a website more like text-only browsers do. Keep in mind that Windows 95 users are limited to IE 5.5, and 98/2000/ME users to IE 6.x, so these versions remain common.

Avoiding these top website mistakes is to the benefit of both the site’s users and owner. Web designers working for someone else will find that they have to correct fewer mistakes and respond to less complaints if they avoid the above-mentioned design flaws.

SWFObject offers the ability to optimize Flash files for search engine optimization. It has 2 optimized Flash Player methods that you can choose from – a markup based approach as well as a JavaScript-reliant method. Because it has been hard to optimize Flash files previously this tool is quite helpful.

Some important basics about the SWFObject include the fact that it offers a JavaScript API that intends to supply a complete tool set for embedding SWF files and retrieving Flash Player related information. SWFObject also only uses one small JavaScript file, 9.5Kb/GZIPed:3.8Kb.

Many experts believe that SWFObject will eventually replace Adobes’ Flash Player Detection Kit. The program also intends to merge all existing Flash Player embed methods and provide a new standard for embedding Adobe Flash Player content. Best of all its an open source project.

There are quite a few reasons for using SWFObject. It is more flexible and optimized than other Flash Player embed methods for one. It also offers a solution for you whether you are an HTML, Flash or JavaScript developer. Additionally it uses unobtrusive JavaScript and JavaScript best practices and is extremely easy to use.

With SFWObject you can use both static and dynamic publishing methods. The only thing it doesn’t support is XML MIME types. SWFObject used to be called FlashObject. The name was changed due to legal/trademark reasons.

When using images in a website design which incorporates SEO (Search Engine Optimization), the way search engine spiders will react to them should be taken into account, as well as the most effective ways to make them appear in Image Search results. Search engine spiders cannot directly evaluate what images contain or look like, aside from their resolution and file size. However, they can read the alternative text provided for an image, which is specified by using an “ALT” attribute in the “IMG” tag for each of the images – thus, these are likely to have some impact on SEO. The words also appear on text-only web browsers, when a user places the mouse pointer over an image, or on pages where the graphics fail to load.

A benefit of using content-related images is that they give a website the potential to receive traffic through the Image Search features on search engines like Yahoo, Google, and AltaVista. Using images which are not too small, but display acceptably when reduced to a relatively small size, will likely produce a greater number of clicks. While of less significance, it should also be noted that large images are visible on search engines and directories which show thumbnail graphics next to their results, such as Alexa.com or Del.icio.us.

Some image search engines, including Yahoo, display the filenames of images below them. On the other hand, if a webpage has a caption directly below an image, this will likely be used as the caption for Google results. Google Webmaster Tools users can freely opt-in to the Enhanced Image Search feature. According to Google.com, this helps them more effectively index images on a site, partially through using an interesting feature called “Google Image Labeler”.

Words displayed within a picture will not affect the webpage’s SEO keyword density, and the page won’t appear in search results for words that only appear in the image-based text. Putting text which is unrelated to the page’s subject in an image might improve its keyword density for relevant words, which is useful for SEO purposes. Examples of such text may include contact information, advertisements, ordering instructions, or product specifications.

Using relevant images also frequently makes web content more interesting, useful, and attractive. This is beneficial to SEO efforts because it encourages people to voluntarily link to the page and makes it more likely to receive attention on social bookmarking services.

Launching a new web site with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind is less time consuming than waiting until it has been completed to begin SEO efforts. Putting an emphasis on this from the beginning will prevent the web site owner or designer from wasting time on the creation of pages which aren’t search engine friendly. Here are some tips on launching a new site with SEO in mind.

1. Web site owners who create their own sites should learn about META tags and how to achieve the best keyword density. It is also helpful to understand how search engine “spiders” (or “robots”) work, including the types of content they can and cannot read.

2. If you have someone else design your new web site, find a web designer with SEO experience who is willing to optimize the site in the process of designing it. Some designers have little understanding of SEO and create sites which are very unfavorable in this manner.

3. When initially launching and promoting the web site, be careful not to use advertising methods which are frowned upon by search engines. Such methods include posting to FFA link pages or buying links without the “nofollow” attribute/tag.

4. If the new website needs to have text-based content produced for it before launching, it is best if a writer who is skilled in SEO creates this material. This type of content may include informational articles, blog entries, press releases, or product descriptions.

5. Although it may seem more visually appealing or easier to create, designers should avoid putting paragraphs of text inside images. This is detrimental to SEO in most situations, because search engine spiders can’t read this type of text. Navigation systems should also be search engine friendly, and it is a good idea to create a site map before launching the new website.

6. Some types of SEO oriented promotional techniques can draw attention to a new web site as it is launched, while also improving its search engine ranking. These techniques include submitting the site to article directories, posting it on social bookmarking systems, or using it in a forum signature.

Keeping SEO in mind while launching a new website provides some incidental benefits as well. Sites which are search engine friendly are often less difficult to access for people who have less common web browsers or are visually impaired. Sites designed with SEO in mind also tend to have easier navigation and are better-organized.