When using a php script to run a website which has php includes which method do you think is best (if any) for search engines. Example: include header.php include navbar.php include menu.php PAGE CONTENT HERE include footer.php or include header.php PAGE CONTENT HERE include navbar.php include menu.php include footer.php In the second example the content loads first so would that help in site indexing and seo etc? Or am I barking at the moon? MK
Thanks Diablos. The content is still in the same order on the page but loads in a different order.Would this mean that the SE's would see the content first when it crawls the page and is it an advantage?
It makes no difference what order you include the files on the server side. The search engines see only the resultant html page, so if the page structure as a whole doesn't change as a result then there's no difference for either the search engine or the end user.
As JagNet said, nobody cares about the order of includes. All that matters is the end-result. It is recommended to have the content as high as possible in the code, i'm currently still running some experiments, trying to see how much of a difference that makes.
It make no difference whatsoever. PHP includes are performed server-side. So, the search engines aren't going to be aware of the includes.
it doesn't matter which one you use but it is ideal not to use it too much on a single page. i usually try to use no more than 2 includes on a single page. it does make the server work a little harder to process the request for the content to be included in a page. after all, this is an extra step and it does take the server an extra time to process the request.
I'd go with the second option. "Supposidly" the search engines read the info from the top and go counterclockwise. I have seen many times that the menu should not be in the top left hand corner for this reason. I've created some sites that are tableless and use alot of css to try this theory out. I have seen alot of websites "description text" validating this theory... I could be wrong though..
Yes, if you don't have a unique meta description for every page, then the bots usually take first text that comes after <body>. So if you have your content after <body>, then the meta descriptions will be good looking.
As stated, PHP is not the way to do this, CSS is. You can include your header and navs last, and have that code at the bottom of the resulting HTML page; as long as the CSS tags position them properly on the page, you're good. What users will see is: Header Menus Body Footer The HTML code will read: Body Header Menus Footer
Use CSS and make of DIV to set the content to appear at the top of the codings but still appearing as normal to the users. You need to guide the spiders to read your content first.