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The Relationship Between the Search
Engines, and Ways to Get Listed When all Your Past Attempts
Have Failed.
Summing it all up - How this Information
Pertains to you
The first thing I want to make perfectly clear, if you haven't
already figured it out, is that the direct approach isn't
always the best approach. Depending on your page topic, there
may be some search engines out there that are so saturated
with your type of pages that you stand a slim chance at getting
your pages indexed. Further complicate that with the reasons
your page may not be indexed, and the outlook doesn't look
so promising. But by taking a "back door" approach,
at times, you stand a better chance of accomplishing your
goals.
The big players to get indexed with are definitely DMOZ and
Google. But as you have learned, if you can index highly in
DMOZ's directly, you have the chance of killing two birds
with one stone. Listing with DMOZ won't be easy because of
the human element, but the benefits in the long run are worth
it. Keep in mind that there are some engines that DMOZ can't
help you to get into, and there are some engines that the
only way to get indexed is through paid inclusion. Your course
of action will depend on a number of factors.
Do not forget that getting indexed, if your site can make
the final cut, is usually a 6 to 8 week process. So you need
to make sure you give yourself enough lead time if your goals
are time constricted. Planning ahead will help make sure that
your page is indexed when you need it to be. There are quick
fixes out there that will get you some hits, but the search
engines are the long term hits goal you should shoot for.
Visit the target engine site and learn all you can about their
indexing process before you submit, and when possible, before
you build your page. Learning their requirements and "don't
do's" will improve your chances of attaining your indexing
goal.
Remember that the net is a global and highly competitive
place. Just because you attain a high rank on a search engine
does not mean you will keep it. A number of factors contribute
to this. New sites being added, page owners that continually
optimize their pages to keep their position, and sites linking
to you are just a few of the variables that come into play.
Search engine positioning is not a do and forget type of game,
especially not if you want to win that game.
Understand that search engine positioning has gotten as tough
as it has because of unscrupulous page owners using unethical
practices to attain higher rankings and manipulating search
engine intent. Remember that search engines will change algorithms
and filters to defeat those page owners attempts at manipulation.
It is in their best interest to do that as a means to keep
their search results relevant. It is their way of ensuring
that their results remain high quality and keep their visitors
coming back.
Unethical practices that hurt both the visitors and honest
page owners are practices the search engines deem spam. These
practices include invisible text on pages only seen by the
spiders and bots, pages that redirect the visitor and are
usually changed after the search engine indexes them, cloaking
where one page is shown to the spiders or bots and another
page is shown to the visitors, and a number of other things.
To be sure you are not using such practices, visit the target
search engines site and look at their inclusion policies.
By working hard, creating original content, and using ethical
search engine optimization practices you will ensure your
indexing goals and provide the content to keep visitors coming
back to your site.
****At the writing of this article, there were some changes
going on with Google and the relationships between the other
search engines. For example, Yahoo seemed to be dropping Google
search results. We have invited the search engines to review
this article and provide feedback. Stay tuned as we update
the article based on future email communications from them.****
Afternotes
In a reply email from Angelin Tan in Overture's Marketing
Department, she points out a valid ommission from the article.
A new search engine marketing offer pertains to paid search
listings. A quote from her email -
"Paid listings are those that are ranked the highest
in search results, and are labeled "Sponsored Results"
on many search engines. The model is based on a bidding
system. The higher an advertiser bids on a keyword, the
higher they are ranked in the Sponsored Results."
This differs from paid inclusion because paid inclusion guratees
you no specific ranking. Bidding on paid listings, however,
guarantees you a top spot in the search results with the branding
of "Sponsored Results". She also hints at future
plans at Overture.
"While Overture will offer a Paid Inclusion product
starting next month (this is actually the Inktomi technology,
which we own through our parent company, Yahoo!), you completely
leave out mention of paid search listings in your article.
This is the core of Overture's business, and huge for the
online marketing industry."
Thanks Angelin for the input.
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About the Author
James R. Sanders is the owner of Sanders
Consultation Group Plus. He has been a webmaster and website
designer since 1997. He has also been involved in self employment
ventures since 1992. He is presently a contributing author
of NewbieHangout. His writing is targeted to webmasters, would
be webmasters, website designers, would be website designers,
self employed, or those researching information looking for
solutions to questions associated with design, business operations,
and promotion today. His goal is to provide practical information
based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website
designers, and self employed people achieve their goals in
today's competitive global market. You can subscribe to his
free newsletters at SCGP
- Newsletter.
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