Posted by admin in By Jenna Ryan – October 2007 – The Marketing Shop.com
If I had a dollar for every broken-hearted person I’ve spoken to that is upset about the current rankings and results of the high-dollar website they bought for thousands of dollars, I’d be richer than I am right now.
This is a great example of how it takes more than money to get results in this world. Money helps, but only when the right brains are behind it. Not to say that beautiful websites that cost fortunes aren’t useful. They serve a very useful purposes for many types of businesses. But if you’re a company that depends on something that people would use the internet to find, like a real estate agent or similar, then you can’t afford to waste high dollars on a fancy smancy website that gets you no where. And there’s no need when you have us (shameless plug).
Okay, cut to the chase will ya? Here’s the 10 Reasons that a fancy website can be bad for SEO:
1. It takes a lot of large images and graphics to make a website fancy. Fancy websites are usually loaded with images, that’s what makes them look so good. Problem is, search engine crawlers can’t get diddly out of images or graphics, so it’s like having a big, expensive, blank website. The equivalent of a pretty face with no substance.
2. It takes a lot of Javascript and Flash Code to make a website fancy. All the dynamic movement on a really fancy website is built using Flash and /or Javascript code. This code can impede not only website usability but also search rankings. Search engines can’t read Flash or Javascript, and studies show that people find too much of it annoying. Unless your visitors are gamers, they are likely more information hungry than anything.
3. Fancy websites have no text. The designer look of most fancy websites is achieved by using lots of images, lots of code and minimal text. Text isn’t pretty, text isn’t fancy. Designers of fancy websites are usually very accomplished and great at what they do. Chances are good that these web designers aren’t too concerned about what the site has to say. This is a big problem for those trying to achieve top rankings on Google and Yahoo though because text is the way that search engines find you. Not to mention, people are usually hungry for information, not a bunch of fancy design. Remember, form follows function.
4. Fancy websites use fancy navigation. Most fancy websites use fancy navigation based in Flash or Javascript rather than keyword text. This is a problem because search engine crawlers determine the relevancy of your website by the text links within it. If you don’t have a strong showing of text links in your navigation, your giving up alot in terms of SEO for a fancy, showy website design.
