Replies: 2 comments

You can turn this to your advantage. One thing which many web site owners focus on immediately is 'we must be top of search engine results'. So, when they start commiting the design crimes which Sean's pointed out, point out what effect it will have on search engine 'findability'. It's worked for me once or twice.

Posted by Alan @ 09/20/2001 04:10 AM EST

True, many companies lack sound search engine strategies, but the problem has little to do with META tags. Common problems include frames, splash pages, JavaScript navigation, Flash, cryptic titles, and incoherent site structures. There is a significant overlap between search engine factors and usability factors. The biggest problem, however, is a lack of meaningful text. It is either trapped in images and other spider-unfriendly formats, or it is straight out of dack’s b.s. generator (i.e. nobody searches for a “proud leading seamless end-to-end solutions provider”).