SEO in 2009

As we head into 2009 we need to review the performance of our sites and ensure that we are getting the best possible performance. Watch this space for a selection of top tips.

SEO for client sites

Increasingly companies are using open source systems to design their early sites and then finding their search engine optimisation is not as effective as it might be. A recent article in The Telegraph highlighted a site owners plea for help. There are certainly many companies who will part clients from their money and in several instances we have been both surprised by what they had charged for the service and bemused by some of their tactics.

There are many factors affecting search engine positioning, but the "black hat" techniques tend to ultimately damage reputation rather than enhance it. Keeping the techniques "above board" never harms a site.

Search Engine Optimisation should really be one of the first things considered when laying out the design of a site and deciding on the appropriate platform. If this has not been done there are still factors which can be improved, both on and off the site, but they do require some active monitoring and a programme of regular updates to maximise the opportunity.

Whilst Google does not focus on meta tags, other browsers do and it will not harm your site to set down the accurate basics:

1. Check that your site contains keywords (preferably not single words) that people are actually searching on

2. Don't use too many keywords (or too many characters in the keyword meta tag)

3. Keep the description meta relevant to the page content.

Keep those colour palettes co-ordinated

Whilst there is no definitive rules for colour palettes, there are good tools to suggest combinations that work together. One such tool is the Kuler project from Adobe. There are numerous submissions and you can select from the most recent or popular or colour hue etc. There are user comments on style sets and it can highlight alternative sets.

read more | digg story

Kuler Palette

Keep those palettes clean with Adobe Kuler. Some good new colour combinations and you can see what is currently popular. Subscribe to the RSS to keep up to date.

Google Analytics Tracking Code Issue with Contribute CS3 - _gat is not defined,

You may have noticed in Google Analytics that there is a new code and a legacy code. We recently experienced an issue where a client updating their content using Contribute CS3 repeatedly got script errors on their pages as soon as they published changes. The site reported that there was a closing issue with the script and it added ")); below the footer on each published page. The site was written using the new Google tracking code:

The solution, after trying several alternative template changes, seems to be using the legacy analytics code as it seems to work without issue with Contribute CS3.

Please note: the legacy tracking code is urchin.js and the new tracking code is ga.js

There is a much longer explanation of the issue, but for now, the simple fix saves lots of time.

Web design glossary of terms

An easy reference list for those looking for a quick guide to some of the much used web design terms

read more | digg story

The omega2 web design blog ...

The omega2webdesign blog goes live. We will keep you up to date on everything we think you will find interesting in the world of web design. Keep coming back and we will develop the content into a useful resource.

Our main site is omega2 web design