Do Not Use Frames

Frames are an outdated way to display website information. Instead of giving each webpage its own URL, frames navigation systems allow users to look at multiple pages from the same URL. For example, the Suitcases for Kids website uses a frames menu. Each of the nine internal webpages listed in the left-hand menu bar display the same URL in a web browser.

Frames cause all sorts of problems, even beyond poor Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results. If your website uses frames, web surfers will have trouble bookmarking pages they enjoy and will find it difficult to email links to each other. Your visitors also won't be able to promote your individual webpages on social networking sites such as Digg.com.

Worse still, an arriving search engine user may get "stuck" on a version of your website stripped of navigation links, unable to go to other areas. As a result, websites that use frames are not search-engine friendly.

The bottom line is: do not use frames. If your website is already using frames, your first SEO priority should be hiring a programmer to take it out of this format.