css drop down menus : do they affect SERPs descriptions ?

[nikoska]

First of all i would like to greet all fine members of SEW forums since this is my first post.

I am fully convinced about the css drop down menus' advantages . But i wonder how do they affect the descriptions used by the search engines on the SERPs (since my keywords will be included there for the first time)

[Anthony Parsons]

CSS drop downs are completely readable, and as such are completely indexed, URL and anchor text. It is read, thus will be used to describe what each page is going to contain. Yes, it does its small part towards the onsite SEO effort.

[Robert_Charlton]

But i wonder how do they affect the descriptions used by the search engines on the SERPs (since my keywords will be included there for the first time)

Hi nikoska - Welcome. You make an excellent point. The snippets are often grabbed from the first instance of a word on a page, and that includes the context of the word as included a CSS drop down menu. This doesn't make for a very attractive site description.

For a number of reasons including this one, I sometimes try to get my clients to avoid drop downs....

- Global drop downs also become global site maps, and, when using them, you lose the ability to prioritize PageRank distribution.

- They are often end up being a substitute for intuitive navigation. Clients simply assume that they can throw anything into the pulldowns, and that users will eventualy find what they want if they mouse around.

I still tend to prefer having my top links as graphics... have the clients call them whatever they like... and I put my optimized text links either in paragraphs on the page or in the footer section.

[Anthony Parsons]

This doesn't make for a very attractive site description.
I disagree with this point, in that absolute positioning with CSS is exactly what this is for. While it looks like its up the top, its down the bottom in the code. Quite easily achievable within most CSS structures.

[Robert_Charlton]

I disagree with this point, in that absolute positioning with CSS is exactly what this is for. While it looks like its up the top, its down the bottom in the code. Quite easily achievable within most CSS structures.

Good point, Anthony. I've got to confess, though, that I haven't been brave enough to use absolute positioning yet... still use tables.

A couple of years back I witnessed the VP of marketing for a large corporation go apoplectic when one of the company's sites (that had used absolute positioning) showed overlapping text in his browser. It wasn't a pretty scene. He was using a Mac, probably with an old browser, but that wasn't relevant at that moment. Absolute positioning will probably be the last feature of CSS that I'll use.

Also, I often don't build the sites I optimise, but I generally recommend, where it's my recommendation to make, that tables be used for positioning. Eventually, I know I will change over.

[Anthony Parsons]

Yer, I think the complexity of the layout really defines that. Honestly, if I can get a page to fit the theme of CSS nowadays, I will. Just makes it easier in the long run for WAP, PDA, etc etc, compatibility. Most client sites I will redesign within the SEO process. The template plays a big part IMO. It all plays to the user with loading times, browser compatibility, etc etc.