Understanding Search EnginesWritten by Carl Hruza
Marketing products and/or services on Internet seems to be direction taken by many of todays businesses. However, are we really prepared for what Internet has to offer? and are we equiped with tools and knowledge to exploit web and make our web based businesses successful? In most cases answer is NO. Why? - some simple statistics offer answer: 1) - only 16% of all web pages submitted for registration to Internet search engine are actually registered or 'indexed' 2) - 95% of business web sites that are indexed by search engines are listed outside of top two pages of searches returned against keywords that describe products or services offered by particular business. What does all this mean? Simple. Your site is invisible to potential customers searching for your products and you may as well not be there! Without visibility through leading search engines you must turn to other forms of marketing your presence. These are often expensive and very unpredictable. So what options do you have? The most sensible is to employ a specialsit organization to improve your search engine listing or position. This can be expensive depending on competition for your particular 'keywords', but in most cases a radical improvement in search positions can be attained. Follows is a brief summary of what search engines are and how they work. This is an essential starting point for anyone serious about Internet trading or 'E-Commerce' Search Engines And How They Work.What is a 'search engine'? It is a software utility or program that is used to find information on Internet, related to a specific subject that is being sought by user. How do I use it? You log on to a particular search engine web site, such as Alta-Vista or Excite, where you are presented with an 'input' box, allowing text relating to subject for which you are searching to be entered. The text may be inputted as a single word or a string of text. It may be with or without capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation or parenthesis. The inputted text is termed a 'keyword' or 'keyword phrase'. These keywords are used by search engines to retrieve web pages with required subject matter, which are then presented to you for selection and viewing. How do I get my site listed on search engines? In order for a web page or site to be found by search engine it must first be indexed, that is a record of it's existence made by search engine in it's extensive library or data base of pages. If your site is not indexed by a search engine, then it can only be found in one of two ways: Through direct input of URL or site address into location bar of web browser, (user must have prior knowledge of site address), or: By clicking a 'Hyperlink' or advertising banner that connects directly to site. For a site to be 'visible', it must therefore be indexed by search engines. To have a site indexed by a search engine, site URL or address must be individually submitted to each search engine. The search engines are programmed to examine pages of a site (sometimes called spidering) and record specific information about site, in a manner that permits easy retrieval of relevant pages, when called to do so during a user search. What is search engine 'ranking' or 'positioning', and how is it important? Most people or businesses that have Internet presence do so because they want to be visible, they want to inform others of their products and services. The Internet if utilized correctly is perfect medium for attracting prospective customers to your business. The most effective method of generating traffic to your site is through search engines, i.e. someone is searching Internet for a product that you happen to offer, and your web site is presented, along with others, to be viewed by searcher. The problem is one of volume. For example, if user enters keywords 'surfing in California', and a list of 20,000 web sites is returned, then 19,950 are probably going to be ignored, user will generally find what he needs in first 50 or so. In other words, if your site is all about surfing in California, and you are not positioned or ranked in top 50 of sites that are presented to user, then you may as well not be there.
| | 3 Yahoo! Submission Tips You Haven't HeardWritten by Chrisi Darrington
Tip 1 Do Not Over Sumit Your SiteYahoo! editors consider it spam when you submit your web site over and over again without due cause. What's due cause? Submit your site once, if it's not listed in three weeks, submit again, if it's still not listed do not submit again. Read following example email and request help from Yahoo! support. Taking this route will help you avoid being banned because of spamming. Support email address (only use this if you qualify to do so. Do NOT abuse this support address or you will pay a high penalty... as in they will ban you forever.) Support email address: url-support@yahoo-inc.com Dear Yahoo! Support, I have submitted my web site twice to your directory as of ______(put starting date in that blank spot) Is it possible that I need to make some changes before I qualify to be listed in your directory? My web site address is: ____(put your URL in that spot) I realize that it's also possible that with all submissions you may have missed my submission. I submitted my site on two separate occasions, _____ and _____ (place dates there) I believe I have a professional web site that is of high quality and interest. (If your web site has won any awards or you have any testimonials from pleased visitors, mention this as well.) My web site continues to receive high praise from many of my visitors. I've also won a "Hot Site" and "Best of Best" award. (Or... I've won several awards) I would very much appreciate it if you would consider my site, _____(place your site title there) in most sought after directory online. Please let me know if I need to resubmit my site and if there are any corrections or suggestions you may have. My email address is_____ and I am most happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I value your input and look forward to any comments you may have. My sincere gratitude, ___________ Reword this example so that Yahoo! doesn't get suspicious when they receive multiple inquiries with exact same wording.
|
