Saturday 11 October 2008

What's in a (file) name?

Let me start by sharing a very simple but useful tip. If you are serious about communicating online, some simple rules of consistency and naming can be very useful.
When naming a file, please
use a dash "-" instead of spaces or underscore characters. If you want Google to understand the file name as you intended it, just replace the spaces by a dash.
E.g. use "company-product-widget-name.jpg" instead of "company product widget name.jpg" for the name of a visual.

I can hear you think,
why should I do that? Well, once you start communicating online it is very likely that you will be using visuals in one way or another. If you want Google (Images) to understand what your visual is relating to, well then it makes sense to use for example your company name, the product name and what it relates to in the file name. But, for the Google crawlers to know which characters are separate words, just use a dash.

Just have a think about what is important to your business? Your company name, a brand name, the product names, the problem it solves? Once you've done that, please be consistent when naming files, all files.

Just make it a habit and not only will it be much easier for your internal communications, but you will also have optimised your future online potential.

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