Search Engines
Search Engine Optimization & Crystal Balls
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
Crystal Balls And Search Engines
Search Engines and Internet Directories attempt to be the registers of every website upon the Internet. Search Engines and Directories must know about your website before it can exist on the World Wide Web. This extract discusses the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and how to maximize your ranking within internet searches.
There is a good deal of confusion amongst webmasters (eggspurts) as to how they achieved their rankings, so this extract is based upon personal experience ... and "proof of the pudding".
All of our websites optimized pages - worthless or not - show up "mostly" within the first 10 listings of an internet browser search - and "always" within the first 50 listings of any Major Search Engine or Directory in the World.
The philosophy of Search Engine Optimisation has changed dozens of times in the last 13 years. It is a grey area where even the "experts" can be totally mystified by how Search Engines operate. Each Search Engine has it's own modus operandi to list our websites, and a different algorithm (a computer mathematical term as deeply intriguing!) to record data from our websites.
Algorithms are closely guarded secrets, left for us to work out ourselves ... and can change without warning, in an instant!
Today, with over 1.4 billion users, there are a swarm of new marketing technologies plus an explosion of Search Engine Optimization specialists who will do ANYTHING to beat the search engines, so optimizing for high ranking has become much tougher than it was 5 years ago.
The art of successful search engine optimization is no longer a competition with search engines, but the combating of unscrupulous SEO tactics of our competitors.
I do not have the time for constant experimentation with SEO, so tap into the news digests of those who do. These specialists I trust and totally recommend Sitepro News and Webproworld. If you are keen to understand SEO at it's highest level, then you should incorporate these, and other digests into your daily life.
In Australia we are mostly exposed to around three major Search Engines plus a few local Search Engines. Often we don't see what our International counterparts see.
Working with several products and services that Splash markets overseas, I have to ensure that I can see what my International Clients are seeing, (which is no mean feat!) and submit to search engines and directories that we are rarely exposed to in Australia. It can be tricky because browser content is controlled by user locality.
When you use your "Search" button on your browser, you only gain access to the Search Engine facilities that the creator of your browser, and/or your ISP Service have determined. This strategy has allowed the various monopoly's that have gradually taken shape in the last 5-7 years. Through your browser, you my friend have been "captured" and herded into a certain set of internet services. (Moo!)
Alas, This is not an entirely bad thing, as it has at least created some unity and manageability over the web, but it means we are missing large chunks of the internet ... What's happening in Europe, China, Indonesia and the USA? and how do we get to see it?
Establishing where you want exposure will also determine which Search Engines you submit your site to. The type of domain address you choose also becomes extremely important at this point, as Local Engines may not list, or give priority to, a website that includes another countries web address extension.
For example - it is highly unlikely that a .com.au domain address will rank well in China!
By the same token, it is also highly possible that unless you operate a business name and address in the country that you wish to register a local domain, you may not be permitted to do so (like Australia).
When I first began writing this extract in 2000, there were around 200 Search Engines and thousands of fledgling Directories, but now there are only 3 major search engines, plus their local international branches, that it is recommended to submit your website to.
The Global Directories will take their search results from the search engines, so it seems pointless to visit them directly to submit your site as well - unless you have loads of time on your hands.
You have already learned how to optimise your copy, now it is important to "optimize" your web pages code so that the Engines know how to list your site.
The manner in which your Web Site will be registered is determined by the individual Search Engine or Directory and the processes can differ quite substantially. There are a number of free and paid submit services that will submit your website to all search engines, however the most effective method to gain inclusion is to Submit Your URL Yourself.
Google, Yahoo and MSN now offer a Site Verification Service where you will be provided with some code to add to your website to verify it is a genuine site. This speeds up the process of having your site registered and viewable in the search engine results.
Main Search Engines DMOZ (Open Directory) | Australian Search Engines MSN Australia |
| There REALLY is a need for a new Search Engine Anybody up to the challenge? | |
The search engine optimization challenge is to have your website appear as high as possible in the search engine rankings.
We accomplish this by catering to the needs of all Registers by ensuring that we have incorporated the following:
- Meta Links
- Hyperlinks
- Key Words & Key Phrases
- Doorway, Sitemap & Index Pages
We will now move to the next section of Search Engine Optimisation to discuss the important back-coding of your web pages.