Dynamic page Optimization ??

[Marc]

Hi everyone,

I have a website that lists all the products to sell. Dynamic urls have been used to list the products. Now how to optimize those pages for a given keyword list.

The site uses .cfm files.

Thank You
Marc

[lots0]

Now how to optimize those pages for a given keyword list.
Hire a good SEO.

[Marc]

wow !! that's a great idea ! - just kidding
I need an alternative to that.

[Mikkel deMib Svendsen]

Dynamic websites usually have more issues to deal with than static websites - but also more options. Basically, they are far more complex. Thefore there are, unfortunately, no simple answer to your question - maybe except the one lots0 gave you :)

Honestly, if you want to go ahead on your own I really do not know any better way than to read all you can here, join the conferences and ask specific questions when you run into them. But, it will take time.

One important advise I will give you is not to take the first and the best solution you find. There are always more than one solution when it comes to dynamic websites - be sure you pick the one that will work best, long-term, for you.

This is a (very) short list of what you have to do:

1) Remove any and all indexing barriers
2) Limit spiders from indexing duplicate URLs
3) Remove all dependancies of JavaScript, Cookies etc

- Now you can get indexed!

4) Utilize your system in the best possible way to gain better rankings

[lots0]

I need an alternative to that.
Then learn to be an SEO.

Mikkel gave you some good advice for getting started.

[Michael Martinez]

Hi everyone,

I have a website that lists all the products to sell. Dynamic urls have been used to list the products. Now how to optimize those pages for a given keyword list.

The site uses .cfm files.

Thank You
Marc

Streamline your templates as much as possible so as to be able to make use of product-specific keywords in title tags and H1 header tags. With dynamic content, the key to success lies largely in how lean and mean you keep your templates. A lot of content management systems inject totally unnecessary code because the programmers think in terms of self-contained elements. They don't follow a template-oriented structure to their element generation.

[Marcia]

Magnificent thread on just this subject by rustybrick

Search Engine Friendly Ecommerce Sites from the Ground Up (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=2139&page=1&pp=30)

Actually, for Cold Fusion there are already modules and hacks available to make sites search engine friendly. Check out the Macromedia site and also, do a search for it. There were several around 2-3 years ago, so there must be even more now.

[Mikkel deMib Svendsen]

Actually, for Cold Fusion there are already modules and hacks available to make sites search engine friendly.

Well, not exactly :)
There is a solution available (Fusebox) for CF that can change long and ugly URLs into something more user, and spider, friendly. However, "ugly URLs" is only one out of many issues you have to deal with in terms of making a dynamic website search engine friendly - in fact, today ugly URLs is much less of a problem than it used to be.

Another thing is, that I personally do not think that rewriting URLs is the best solution at all if you want to fix ugly URLs - it's my second choice. First comes "fixing the base system" and as a last choice replication. The important thing here is that there are often far more solutions available to any dynamic problem then most people think of. Therefore they chose the first and the best they hear of and thats just not always the best.

[Marcia]

I've only worked with one CF site, several years ago, and no changes or adjustments were to be made, the developer wouldn't hear of it. What I did - with it being a limited niche product line - was have the site owner write good sales copy for his audience that reflected his own personality, and I added several static, optimized content pages within a /section/ that linked to each other and from the homepage with the proper anchor text. Maybe linked from more pages, it's been a while so I don't recall exactly.

Those linked into the cart, of course, and did very well across the board. Those were my first pages done specifically for Inktomi paid inclusion. It really isn't a bad thing to do at all as a starting point, while a solution for the dyamic issues are being worked out.

The important thing here is that there are often far more solutions available to any dynamic problem then most people think of. Mikkel, that's why we have you. ;)

[Mikkel deMib Svendsen]

no changes or adjustments were to be made, the developer wouldn't hear of it.

I run into this problem all the time :)
I usually bring the issue to a higher level. Most engineers have a boss and the boss have goals - he wants to make money. After I show him the numbers the engineers usually do as I say .... or, begin looking for a new job :)

Having meetings with the engineers I quite often tell them very directly: Either YOU fix this or I make sure we get someone external to fix it and then YOU just turned yourself less valuable for the company.... "Do you really think thats a good career moove"? ... It usually convince them :D

One answer I never accept is: "That is not possible" - basically because I know it's most often the lie of a lazy person! However, they usually only pull that trick once with me. I KNOW what is possible and what is not - the question most often is how long time it takes, what risks it involves and how difficult it is. The last part is often a very important factor. Engineers will allways tell you a solution is bad if they don't know how to solve it. It's the basic principle of jo-protection. It just dosn't work with me. I am evil :cool:

Engineers is a VERY important part of a web-team - no doubt about that, BUT they should NOT run the business and strategies - they shuld be part of it. They should NOT be allowed to stop the right solutions just because they feel unsecure about it, unexperienced or because they are just lazy