Sometimes the menu on a website will alter search engine results because the links in the menu change the importance of the overall page, especially if the links appear before the content of the page. So, optimizing for search engines should include trying to get the actual content of the page higher up in the HTML. Doing so might affect the overall look and feel of the page, but there are ways to get around it. I think most people are accustomed to left navigation menus and expect them to be available, so by using a simple table trick, you can move the menu of a page below the content, giving the content more importance over the menu links for better ranking.
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Main Content Goes here. Even though it appears to be right of the menu when viewed, in the source this content comes before the menu... |
| This is a menu |
Basic HTML Example: Table-Trick.html (.52 KB)
This can easily be used in DotNetNuke skins to move items like SolPartMenu or modules in the "LeftPane" below the "Content Pane".
DNN Table Trick Example:
dnn-skin-example.html (.49 KB)