One of the requests I receive most often is to use a non standard font for the body of a website. There are a very limited number of fonts that will display on most computers. When a website is created, a font (or better yet, a font family) is specified with a tag. Tags are instuctions written into html code that are not visible to human viewers. These tags instuct the users computer how to display components of a webpage (text in this case).

Fonts need to be legible, scalable and (this is VERY important) they must reside on the receiving computer. If a font is specified that is not installed on a viewers’ computer, that computer attempts to “guess” what the font might be like or uses the default font for viewing. It is a mistake to specify typefaces that are specialty fonts not intended for body copy and best used in headlines as a graphic (like the samples of type image below).

Fonts are broken down into two main categories - serif and sans serif. Serif typefaces have the little lines at the edges of each letter. San serif are plain. Times Roman is a serif typeface, Arial is a san serif face. There are also three much less used families - Cursive, Fantasy and Monotype.

As you cannot tell which fonts are installed on a viewers computer, you can specify a font family. This tag will include a list of similar fonts and the viewers computer will use the first font in the list that it understands.

What you have to say is important - make sure that the font doesn’t interfere with your viewers ability to read your message.

There are two basic concepts in SEO world - the methods are conveniently named “Black Hat” and “White Hat”. Black Hat SEO usually violates a search engine’s guidelines (yes, there are rules - read Google’s here) by keyword stuffing, artificial linking, cloaking, irrelevent keywords etc. I should mention that although this may not be ethical, there is nothing illegal about this. The biggest problem with Black Hat is it provides a short term solution. Search engines are successful when they can supply a list of websites that provide you with what you are looking for. It is in the interests of the search engine companies (and their investors) to ferret out and remove websites that are poor quality.

Which brings us to “White Hat” or organic SEO. The focus of this method is to provide rich and original content, organized systematically for both human visitors and search engines, and driven by studies of users. Search Engines spend a lot of time and money determining what users want from their queries. Websites that deliver, based on the users desires, will be ranked high in the search returns. ”White Hat” looks to improve a site not only for search engines but for users as well.

There are guidelines to follow when creating a search engine friendly site - it isn’t magic. Whether you are selling a product or service, an effective website needs to be a resource to be successful. There has to be a reason for others to link in to your site, a reason for visitors to stay longer and return. Original content, carefully thought out and organized in a logical manner takes skill, time and effort. Specific search engine information should be included in each page and within the website as a whole.

All this is Search Engine Optimization.