SEO Starts with the First Line of Code
Search Engines have millions of websites to trawl. So why should they prioritise yours?
There are arguments about where SEO starts (and ends). It's a bit like the chicken and the egg, but the best starting point is your first line of code.
Search Engines have millions of websites to trawl. So why should they prioritise yours?
There are arguments about where SEO starts (and ends). It's a bit like the chicken and the egg, but the best starting point is your first line of code.
This is a vital beginning that not a lot of people (including website designers) understand and which often gets overlooked.
Get these wrong and your website can take an unexpected turn. This is why:
The first lines of code provide the most basic and important information about your site including location, system or web host, template, version, date updated, active status and a hidden page description. These provide a wealth of information to search engines and directly affect how they treat and rate your website.
Over the years, we have been presented with clients whose websites have been blocked, or marked down due to the failing at this first, essential hurdle.
Besides, who writes websites from scratch these days? And how many people actually know how to read or write code correctly?
The coding aspect would outweigh the designer’s fees alone. To get around this, many web designers and marketing agencies use pre-built sites or free templates.
Unfortunately, few are good, some are just passable, and some are a complete waste of your time and money because they are full of JavaScript and nasty surprises. There can be a point where search engines stop showing an interest in your site. Or hit a line of code that prevents them from indexing your site or reaching your content.
In addition, some templates deliberately have lines of code to prevent a site from being scanned. The reason for this is to make people upgrade to a paid version, or a higher paid version, or pay a further monthly subscription.
Again, we find that that many web designers and marketing agencies do not know or fully understand the implications of this. We have had clients who tell us they are on their third, fourth or fifth new website in as many years.
Not only is this hugely disappointing, it is massive waste of time, resources and money, with the whole build and SEO process being a false economy. Some companies waste years before they consult an expert, and some fail before they find out.
Paying for a web designer is only half the battle. Once you know what you want your website to look like, it is usually best to continue on their good work and employ a web developer.
Think of it like the different skills required to build a house. A good website that lasts you years and does the web-based marketing you need it to do usually involves the skills of a number of people - a designer or branding expert, a copywriter, a photographer, a web developer and an SEO expert.
Professional websites require a raft of skills and if you skip one of these, your site is likely to fail in at least one area
Get in touch to find out more about websites that search engines love!
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- Why has SEO become so convoluted?
