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 Once you have your new beautiful website, how do you get found by your target audience?
It's time to optimize your site so you show up high enough in the search engines. To get the best results, it helps to know how they work and what they are looking for.
Search engines send out web crawling robots to find, read and index websites.
Here's how they work:
- Search engines usually read the first 500 words of each page
- They look for consistency and relevance in page content, so unique, quality content is best
- They look for keywords on your pages in context, some evaluate keyword density as well
- They read page titles, and meta tags for hints about how to "index" your pages
- They look at each page's relationship to other pages in it's database, whether yours or from another site
- They follow the links on your site the way a user would to browse your pages
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As of the dawn of 2003, search engines are mostly using formulas that combine information from:
- Page Titles,
- Meta Tag Descriptions,
- Meta Tag Keywords and the
- Content on your pages.
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They are looking for a high degree of relationship between these different points of data.
Ah, but that's not all. Your site will also be evaluated by "link popularity" and "internal link architecture"
- Link Popularity: the number of other sites that link to your site, AND the context of the links. If the context is not relevant, it can be a detriment rather than an enhancement. They also evaluate the importance of the sites linking to you. The more popular the sites you associate with, the more "popular" your site will be.
- Link Architecture: Search engines follow the links in your navigation and on your pages just like a user would. They usually will not look at pages that are "orphaned" meaning they are hidden within your site.
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All these factors together are then pulled out of the search engine hat as a "page ranking" and search engine position for your website listing. At least that's the method currently being used.
What's coming? Search engines are getting more sophisticated. They are currently developing the ability to read an entire site and evaluate it for a "theme" of consistent content that will effect your pages' rankings.
:: First a Little Research ::
Ask yourself these questions:
- How will your target audience use search engines?
- What would be logical search words?
- When you search with those keywords, what are your results?
- What other sites might they visit looking for resources?
- What newsletters would they subscribe to?
- What online user groups might they participate in?
- What niche category does your business fit in?
- And what competitors are currently ranked highly in these categories?
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Users search with phrases like:
Canon D-60 digital camera body
1965 Shelby Mustang
The search engine then tries to match that query with the most relevant web sites in it's database. This knowledge can help you plan your keywords.
:: Ready to Optimize? ::
Step 1 is Content: Write or rewrite your content for maximum effectiveness. Search engines are interested in dense, unique relevant content. Luckily, so are your visitors. Write content that is keyword rich, IN CONTEXT, and matches your page title and description. Remember, search engines read at least the first 500 words of each page.
Step 2 is the Page Title: Make your titles descriptive of the page, use relevant keywords when possible and use a maximum of 70 characters.
Step 3 is Meta Tag Description: Concise, declarative statements that will describe content in the search engine listing. This is your chance to give the facts as briefly as possible and make searchers want to see more. Use a maximum of 250 characters.
Step 4 is Keywords: Create keywords with how users search in mind. Know your niche and buzzwords of your industry. Don't repeat words more than 3 times. Think of what phrases the words will make and use a maximum of 250 characters.
Step 5 is Internal Link Architecture: Test your site for ease of navigation. Can you get to every page in a logical way? Are any pages "invisible" or "hidden"? Create links or improve the navigation to make an intuitive flow, allowing the user to get around your site easily.
Step 6 is Link Popularity: You are judged by the company you keep. If high profile sites link to you, you will be elevated by association. Whenever you leave a footprint, leave a link to your website in your signature when possible. This might be ads in online boards, or a message on a forum with high traffic.
(A word of caution, make it relevant. Using a can of digital spray paint to plaster your site url all over without content or out of context will result in your being seem as a spammer and actually reduce your ranking or even get you deleted from search engines. Again, they are interested in quality content.)
Consider advertising within your niche market. Write an article for another site or online newsletter on a subject that relates to your site and service. The smart thing to do is have unique and quality content that will result in other sites linking to you.
:: Are We Done Yet? ::
Almost. Now that you have tweaked each page to perfection, you must submit your pages to search engines. (there are hundreds of engines, see a partial list).
Some search engines will let you submit multiple pages from your site, some will penalize you for "over-submitting" since the web crawler will find the sub-pages. Fortunately, each site will have fine print with instructions for submission.
Paid services for automated mass submissions tend to be less effective than taking the time to hand submit your site. It will often take 4-6 weeks to show up in the search engines unless you pay to be listed in one of the "express services." Google is still free and draws it's submitted urls from the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) which will penalize you for submitting sub pages or multiple submissions (it's considered spamming). You can also hand submit your site to be added to the lesser know free search engines.
The online marketplace is still evolving and the days of paid inclusion are upon us.
Yahoo offers an "express service" for $299/year for a business "directory" listing.
Google allows paid "ads" to be shown at the top of the search page results and "pay-per-click ads" to the side. This is a strategy that is being added to more and more sites.
Inktomi has begun a pay for inclusion policy. They are charging $39 for inclusion for the first page and $25 per additional page. This listing will include several search engines that are associated with Inktomi.
Search engines will continue to crawl the sites they have indexed, usually once a month. Resubmitting when you have significant site updates is recommended.
:: Anything Else?? ::
Well, I think I should mention that dynamically generated web pages (pages created from database content) can be invisible to search engines and will not be indexed. This is beginning to change and Google claims they are now indexing dynamic pages. In the meantime, work with your web developer to implement one of the work arounds or coding techniques that help search engines recognize your pages.
Good luck!
1/5/03
Feel free to link to this article. If you copy it to post on your site in full or in part, please include a link to MediaZeal Web Design.
Related Articles:
The New Search Engine Rules
How to Develop Your Online Marketing Strategy
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