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Optimizing Your Site For Younger Internet Surfers  By
Patrick Harey
An article on CNN profiles a video site aimed at younger internet viewers. For owners of websites which are suitable for all ages, it is important to ensure that websites do not have any content that may trip up search engine filters or specialized software that parents use to keep their kids safe online. Additionally, it is almost always a good idea to keep your site clean for search engines like Google, which owe part of their success to keeping adult results out of their general index. In the early days of search engines, there were quite a few ethically challenged individuals who would get adult, gambling, or pharmaceutical results to show up for just about any search term, so "relevant" results from sites like Google had a value that people may not be aware of today. The search engines are still on the lookout for sites that may be suspicious, so savvy webmasters should make sure that they don't accidentally get caught up in various content filtering systems. Here are a few tips for keeping your site in the "family friendly" category. • Avoid explicit content for General Audience type sites. This can include language, violence, and descriptions of adult themes. • Make sure forum content and blog posts are moderated prior to publication. • Avoid the depiction of gambling, drugs, and alcohol. • Don't link out to sites with adult themes, gambling, or online pharmacies. • For sites that cater to younger viewers, the ICRA offers a rating system, which is voluntary and free.
Sites that cater to children and youth oriented messaging are naturally tougher to manage than most other websites on the internet. Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo generally keep adult content away from users unless they "opt in" to showing unfiltered results. For webmasters looking to attract an "all ages" audience, Before Submitawebsite.com was purchased by Web.com, our founder developed an all-ages search engine called Stopdog.com, which is still believed to be the largest filtered search engine in the US. The development of this site gave us an inside view into how search engine placement is achieved through submission, spidering, and content classification. Even though the larger search engines use very complex algorithms, sites are still spidered and classified with the same tools, so makers of kid-friendly sites should definitely take the time to closely examine content. For anyone selling products or services that fall into the PG-rated category, it is also a good idea to avoid questionable links and explicit themes, given that most people (and businesses) default to search results which fall into the "safe for work" category. Comments
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