We have compiled the following list of site owners'
typical Frequently Asked Questions. The list will
grow over time.
If you have a question which is not
included, please send it using our Contact
Form - we will research the answer and include
it here.
What is a Search Engine?
Very simply, a Search Engine is an
online tool which enables potential visitors to locate
web sites relating to specified words and phrases.
Different engines have different approaches to indexing
and ranking, so different Engines should be used for
different purposes.
Why are
Search Engines and Ranking important to me?
Search Engine users are looking for
organisations to do business with or who supply information.
They are prospective clients who do not know you yet
- but want to do business with your type of company.
Most users select sites from the
first page of results. If your ranking is low, these
customers will never see your site. It is important
for your site to be properly catalogued and indexed
to help potential customers find your site.
How do Search Engines gather
information?
They use software programs known
as robots, spiders or crawlers. A robot is a piece
of software that roams the web, automatically locating
web sites and following hyperlinks from one document
to the next around the Web. When a robot discovers
a new site, it sends information back to its main
site to be indexed. Robots identify what phrases appear
to be important to the site by noting how many times
the same phrases are used (in appropriate locations).
They also record how many times they have followed
links to the same web page and so can identify how
"popular" that site is with other sites.
This provides the key to accurate
cataloguing of your web site - which, by no coincidence,
relate to good web site design:-
- Design and Usability - pages should be scripted
and constructed correctly
- Web Site Navigation - to help robots as well as
humans to reach all the content easily
- Page Content - useful, rich content throughout
the site to make your site popular
- Keyword Placement - use words and phrases which
are highly relevant to your business
How do the search engines
know when I make changes to my site?
Robots (see above) also report changed
web sites and update existing catalogues. How up-to-date
and efficiently this is done varies between search
engines.
There are thousands of
Search Engines - which should I concentrate on?
Around 90% of searches are made using
6 engines - most searchers use Google, Yahoo, MSN,
AOL, MyWay and Ask (previously named Ask Jeeves) in
that order. Most impact can be gained by concentrating
on these. No other engine achieves more than 0.6%
of all searches - effort here produces diminishingly
small returns. Each engine claims to be "the
best", partly because they rank sites in different
ways.
NOTE : Adding your site to
many search engines used to enhance your Google ranking
by generating high numbers of links to your site.
This is no longer the case - see Links
below.
Should I use mass-submission
promotions?
You will receive mails offering to
submit your site to thousands of search engines. The
argument is that you will have a greater chance of
being found as someone must use these small engines;
also, the more sites link to your site, then your
ranking will be higher.
While this appears to be logical,
many of these engines are set up simply to have you
register; no-one does use them (see
above); they may be online only for the duration
of the promotion; they may even exist only to gather
email addresses for spammers. Paying to hand your
information to spammers? The choice is yours.
How do I get listed in the Search
Engines?
You no longer need to submit your site to search
engines - they will find you. All you need is a link
to your site from another site whcih is already included
in those engines. We create such links for all our
design and hosting clients.
How do I get my site on
the first page of results?
Not everyone can be on the first
page of results - and everyone else wants to be there,
too.
The only certain ways are to buy
a first page placement (effectively an advertisement)
or offer a truly unique service. Otherwise, skilled
use of Engine-approved techniques can only improve
your ranking - perhaps sufficiently to get that first
page position.
As an example of what can be achieved,
Focus.lu is on Google's first page for each of these
keyword phrases:-
We will continue working on a higher
ranking - as will site owners who want to be above
us. Remember - rankings change over time as web sites
compete for that first page position.
How do I improve my site's
ranking in the results pages?
Improving your web site's ranking
requires an understanding of how the Engines function.
Only then can various techniques be applied to improve
your ranking.
To start with, a well-planned and well-designed web
site helps Engines catalogue your site more appropriately
so that the site shows greater relevance to the search
criteria. (It also improves your presentation to a
human visitor.)
Here are some tips to get you started...
Domain Name
Choosing a domain name which includes
the name of your product/service or your major keyword
- if appropriate - makes your site highly relevant
to the search.
Page Title
Again, the title of a web page
can make that page more relevant.
Meta-Tags
These are features which Engines
note and use to classify your site, but are invisible
to visitors. Google and other Engines now ignore
keyword meta-tags. However, description meta-tags
allow a summary of your site to be displayed in
the results list.
Design and Usability
Web pages should be scripted and
constructed correctly. A robot is inflexible and
will be disrupted by coding errors which humans
may not notice. There are tools to report on bad
structuring.
Web Site Navigation
Enable robots - and humans - to
move smoothly through your web site so that yoru
content can be accessed and reviewed. Good site
navigation is the basis for a successful site.
Page Content
Provide useful, valuable content
throughout the site to make your site is popular
and use keywords (see below) appropriately in the
content.
Keywords
Use words and phrases which are
highly relevant to your business - in our case "web
site" and "web sites" feature strongly.
Try to identify the phrases which a potential client
would enter into a Search Engine to find a business
like yours. Make sure that these keywords are included
appropriately in your content, several times on
the same page. NOTE: Do not overdo this or your
human visitors will become hostile and go elsewhere.
Links
If other sites find your site to
be interesting and/or valuable, then they will link
to it. In principle, the more sites which link to
your site, the more authoritative or interesting
it is shown to be. If these sites are themselves
seen to be highly authoritative or interesting (and
not simply marginal search engines set up for the
purpose of adding links), then your ranking is enhanced
by their ranking. Having many links is good for
business - having "reputable" links is
good for search engine ranking as well.
Hits
The more popular your site is,
the more authoritative your site appears and your
ranking improves. But this is rather circular -
a higher ranking provides more hits, which provides
a higher ranking.
In summary, the best way to help
people find your site is to provide useful, well-organized,
well-written information in a properly-structured
design. Then bring in an expert to apply legitimate
enhancement techniques.
Contact
us for Search Engine Ranking Consultancy.
CONSULTANCY:
Search Engine Rankings
FAQ