Crawlability Of Your Website

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by gregdavidson, Jan 27, 2009.

  1. #1
    One thing I was always confused about was the crawlability of your website. What is exactly is "crawlability" and how does that effect your SEO? Also, what are some ways to improve your websites crawlability?
     
    gregdavidson, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  2. vansterdam

    vansterdam Notable Member

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    #2
    Crawlability just refers to how easy it is for the search engine spiders to navigate your entire website to get all of your pages indexed. If you have a decent internal link structure, your website most likely is crawlable. There are things that can limit crawlability:
    -javascript navigation
    -flash navigation
    -drop down menu navigation
    -image navigation links only without 'backup' text navigation...this one might not be an issue anymore, but it is best to play it safe and help the search engine spiders where you can
    -severe html coding errors...if your html coding is especially weak, there may be crawling issues. It is usually a good idea for your code to be w3c compliant.
    -query string session ids
    -page redirects

    There may be more issues that limit crawlability but those are the main ones.

    If you are concerned about crawlability, sign up for a Google Webmaster Tools account and submit a sitemap. They will tell you if there are any problems indexing your pages.
     
    vansterdam, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  3. evelinawilliams007

    evelinawilliams007 Notable Member

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    #3
    How do you redirect a single page vansterdam.. I've never managed to do that.

    I'd appreciate your help.
     
    evelinawilliams007, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  4. vansterdam

    vansterdam Notable Member

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    #4
    Google something like '301 redirect .htaccess file'. It should be easy enough to find some suitable code. Avoid meta refresh redirects though. Those redirects are mostly used by spammers who use cloaking.
     
    vansterdam, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  5. hbsjcd3

    hbsjcd3 Active Member

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    #5
    I sitemap helps in "crawlability" Also each page should be able to link to the home page and to easiliy link to other pages. Not an expert in this but seems to work for me.
     
    hbsjcd3, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  6. internetmarketingiq

    internetmarketingiq Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Amen. Very good advice.
     
    internetmarketingiq, Jan 27, 2009 IP
  7. Ibn Juferi

    Ibn Juferi Prominent Member

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    #7
    You can set the Crawability rate in Google Webmaster Tools, but only after you have submitted your site there and added a sitemap.
     
    Ibn Juferi, Jan 27, 2009 IP