Don't Use Frames. Period.

Want to have your Web site show up on the first page of Google? Then you need to make sure that your site does not use frames.

What are frames? Frames are an outdated method of building a Web page. They don't do well in search engines. You shouldn't use them. That's really all you need to know.

How do you check to see if your site uses frames?
Look at your site in a Web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox or Netscape or whatever. Now go to the View menu at the top of the browser window and select View > Source (or View > Page Source).

Next, go to the Edit menu and select Edit > Find, or press Ctrl 'F'. Type 'frameset'. (Click 'Find Next' in Internet Explorer.) Is the word 'FRAMESET' or 'frameset' on the page somewhere? If yes, your site uses frames.

You might find the word 'frames' in a string like: 'parent.frames.length'. This does not mean that the site uses frames, however. If you see this, don't worry about it.

If your site uses frames and you want your site to show up on the first page of Google (or just do better in Google), then you need a new Web site.

If you want to test this assertion, type the keywords you would like people to be able to use to find your site into Google and see if any of the sites that show up on page 1 use frames. If so, send me a note! If not, there you have it.