ie. www/keyworddirectory
www/keyword-directory
www/keywords
www/directory ?

how should i name my pages? Thx.

Regarding your examples:

www/keyword/directory/keyword-keyword.htm
is better.

quote:

---

Don't obsess too much about this as it makes only a minor difference on some search engines - for the rest, it has no effect.

---

I'll agree with OAC to some extent, I wouldn't obsess either. But, if you are optimizing for an overall good ranking across the board, then file naming is an important factor.

Directories, sub directories, page names, image names, style sheet names, and every other naming reference should use keywords and phrases separated by dashes.

Lycos is a prime example of how this works. Do a search and pay close attention to the results. You'll see that terms in urls and file names are bolded (the ones that match your query from the Lycos Web Catalog). But, only those that are separated by hyphens or underscores!

There are others that do the same. So, use this to your advantage and develop a powerful naming system for your web sites. It does work!

mydomain.keyword.com

or

keyword.mydomain.com

Do you think this would be more or less effective than filenames or directories? I've been contemplating this approach, since it would make it easier to target keywords and phrases with these subdomains...

Of course, none of this will do much good if the site's text isn't well written optimized, but I'm hoping little "tricks" like these will help give us a little extra edge...

www/directory/keyword-keyword.html or

www/directory/directory/directory/keyword-keyword.html

[This message has been edited by JuniorHarris (edited 09-06-2001).]

2. www/directory/directory/directory/keyword-keyword.html"

1. would be better as:
www/directory/keyword1-keyword2.html

Note that I am (and was, in my above post) assuming that keyword1 and keyword2 are keyphrases eg. dvd-player

If there is only one keyword on which you are focussing for a page then this would be better:

www/directory/keyword.html

2. would be better as:

www/directory/directory/keyword1-keyword2.html

Some search engines do not index pages buried deep within a site.

Hope this is clearer

What i mean is how far do they index? or how deep is too deep? how many directories can you safely extend before your pages aren't added?

www/directory/keyword.html or
www/keyword.html

In this case, I've lost a potential keyword (directory) but i'm one level higher for the structure. is there a difference?

So, the goal would be to develop your highly optimized content (product or services entry pages) and place those in the root directory. From there, you now start building your pages that have a ranking in priority. Think of it this way:

Main Theme 1 - Priority 1
- Sub Theme 1 - Priority 2
-- Sub Theme 1 - Priority 3
Main Theme 2 - Priority 1
- Sub Theme 2 - Priority 2
-- Sub Theme 2 - Priority 3

Your pages in the root directory will be the most powerful. Be sure that you have links from those pages leading into all sub directories. Its like building an organizational chart for a business, the chain of command. Those at the top have the power, those at the bottom have less!

Main theme (Linked to) sub theme (linked to) sub theme

or

Main theme (Linked to) sub theme 1 & 2

Does it matter which way you do it? You've mentioned overall priority, but would linking in the second method dilute the effectiveness of the root page because of a less "concentrated" theme?

[This message has been edited by Sinoed (edited 04-14-2001).]

Keep in mind that certain spiders are only going to travel one to two sub directories deep. Anything beyond that and you'll need to submit those pages manually.

As long as you follow the chain of command method that I've mentioned above, you should be fine.

If your directories go deeper than lets say two, three or four levels, then you'll be forced to use the main theme linked to sub theme linked to sub theme approach. Any other way and its going to become a maintenance nightmare.

If you are using SSI's (server side includes) which I strongly recommend for navigation elements, then they might be set up like this:

SSI1 - Links to all main theme entry pages in the root.
SSI2 - Links to all sub theme entry pages at level 2
SSI3 - Links to all sub theme entry pages at level 3
SSI4 - Links to all sub theme entry pages at level 4

Be sure to include your site map link in all SSI's as this creates a linking structure that is whole as I like to refer to it as.

No matter what you do, you will still need to manually submit pages that are in sub directories that won't get spidered by certain SE's.

Best way to test this method is with Google since they do deep crawls.

Did I answer the question?

[This message has been edited by pageoneresults (edited 04-14-2001).]

I don't have any concrete proof that sub themes that deep become diluted. I say that because mostly all of my clients web pages rank highly for their target keyword phrases. There are a few that I have difficulty with but for the most part the theme theory is working very well.

I can tell you that the linking structure is a very important factor in bringing the theme together as a whole. Its like giving someone directions. You want them to get from point A to point Z in the least amount of time, hence the chain of command theory.

I think Mike-Levin can share some more insight on these theories as they seem to be working just as well for him, if not better!

Hey Mike, any comments?

[This message has been edited by pageoneresults (edited 04-14-2001).]

http://searchengineforums.com/Forum37/HTML/000210.html

[This message has been edited by secret saturn (edited 04-14-2001).]

Ok, so carrying on with the chain of thought here, we're talking about structure and the importance of themes and their strength. Overall you could have two different ways of setting up your site. Number one would be a site with tons of pages of content but a weaker overall theme. Number two would be a network of smaller sites, same amount of content but a tightly focused theme in each respective site and a weak overall theme.

I know that themes are beginning to play an important part in SE algorithms. I don't know however, which site would rank higher in this scenario. I'd like to say that the site with all of the content in one place would win out overall, but I'm not so sure. Since themes are gaining in importance I can reasonably forsee the smaller network of sites, finding its way to the top given that everything else was equal. Could it be that the overall structure of the site is beginning to play more of a major role?

What do you think about Kalei's question about using sub-domains? I'm not sure how that would fit into either of these cases. Its like a hybrid solution, a network of smaller sites, within the main domain. I'd like to say that would still fall under the "content" structure. I don't know whether this would strengthen the overall theme or not, but my guess would be that it wouldn't. My vote is still for the smaller network of sites, which might rank 30 today and 15 two months from now.

I know that we're talking about minor nuances in the way that SE's perceive the site but its interesting to see the way that this is turning out. I'm still tossing up the overall structure question. Personally, I think if I structured a site today (and knowing how long it takes to get listed in some SE's) I would be really tempted to go with the "network" style, but I'm still undecided. Thoughts?

[This message has been edited by Sinoed (edited 04-14-2001).]

Google has been my testing ground for the network theory and it has worked extremely well. So good that I'm afraid of the results! I have one client who appears in the 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15 spots for a very popular two word phrase in sports. The site maps of those networked sites appear in positions 13, 14 and 15.

The popular two word phrase is the main theme. Then we've broken it down into regions. The regional phrase searches hold the number one and two positions and more!

All sites in the network scratch each others back so to say. They are all interlinked using the chain of command linking theory that I've mentioned above. There are also sections of these sites that are in framesets. The framesets are ranking very well!

In regards to sub domains. I haven't used this approach yet as I think it might be under the umbrella of spam. I have no evidence to support that claim, just a gut feeling. If anyone else has had success with sub domains, please speak up now or forever hold your peace.

P.S. I think the theme theory has been a core algorithm with the SE's for years. No proof to support that other than top ranking websites for my clients. I've been using theme based design for almost 4 years. I read an article somewhere back then in a search engine technical archive that discussed the theory of theme based design. From that point forward I've been using it. I believe it in so much, that I even purchased the domains!

P.S.S. Read my last reply in this thread, this is the other network of sites for a different client.

http://searchengineforums.com/Forum35/HTML/000087.html

[This message has been edited by pageoneresults (edited 04-14-2001).]