Conclusion

To get the best search engine visibility, web designers should follow the Five Basic Rules of Web Design, which state that a web site should be:

• Easy to read

• Easy to navigate

• Easy to find

• Consistent in layout and design

• Quick to download

By following these rules, you are building your web site to satisfy your target audience. The added benefit of following these rules is that both directory editors and search engines are looking for these same characteristics.

The following design components help form the foundation of an effective search engine marketing program:

• Text component

• Link component

• Popularity component

Web pages that contain the words that your target audience is typing into search queries generally have greater search engine visibility than pages that contain little or no keywords.

The way your web pages are linked to each other also affects your site's search engine visibility. If search engine spiders can find your pages quickly and easily, your site has a much better chance of appearing at the top of search results.

If two web sites have the same text component and link component "weights," the site that end users click the most will usually rank higher. Sometimes, a popular web site will consistently rank higher than sites that use plenty of keywords. Therefore, building a site that appeals to both directory editors and your target audience is very important for maximum search engine visibility.