By Dawn Rowlett
Certified Search Engine Positioning Specialist

What Is A Web Site Theme?

A theme is nothing more than a topic or main idea. Your Web theme is simply the topic of your site.

Why Is A Theme Important?

• Relevancy
  When an engine or directory editor sees that a site that is completely centered around one main focal point, the site receives boost in relevancy with the thinking that if every page of the site is focused around the same idea, it must contain good information about a single topic.
  
• Keyword Focal Points
  If your entire site revolves around a single main idea, variations of that idea can be used throughout the keyword phrases used throughout the site, placing an important focus on all of your search terms.

How Does A Search Engine Spider Determine Your Web Site Theme?

There is actually a complex mathematical system that the engines will use to evaluate your sites theme, but it is nothing to concern yourself with. Your sites theme will be determined based on your incoming and outgoing links. Themes will also be determined by the keyword phrases that you use throughout your entire site. Make sure that all of your keyword choices are related to the same general theme.

How To Identify Your Theme

• Ask Questions

  • What products are you offering?
  • What services are you offering?
  • What kind of information are you offering?
    
• Name Your Phrase
  You should be able to name the theme of your web site with a 2-3 word general phrase that will express the main idea of the entire site.
  
• Walk Through Your Site
  You should find that all of your products, services and information can be related to the 2-3 word general phrase that you chose to describe the main idea of your web site.

What Happens When A Theme Can Not Be Established?

• Re-think Your Strategy
  If your web site is promoting so many idea's that a single general phrase can not be used to describe the contents of the site, chances are, it is going to be difficult to establish high search engine rankings for any particular set of keyword phrases.
  
• Decide What IS Important
  Think about everything that you have to offer in your web site. What is it that you REALLY want to promote?
  
• Be Ready To Make Changes
  Everything in your site should revolve around what you have decided is important. Eliminate anything that is not related to what will become the focal point of your web site.
  
• Build Content
  There should be a lot of information that surrounds the focal point of your site. Take a look at some of the top ranking web sites in the major search engines. Most of them contain a lot of information within a large web site based around their main idea.
  
• Consider Additional Web Sites
  If you feel that everything in your site is important and do not want to eliminate anything but you can not establish a specific general idea, consider building additional web sites in which each WILL present the general idea of each product, service or information that you are offering.
  
• Last Resort
  If you simply must promote a wide range of ideas on a single web site, at the very least, organize these ideas into separate sections of the site. One section would promote one set of general ideas while another section would promote the next set of general ideas and so on. This is not your best option and will decrease the relevancy of any one specific theme.