Build it and they might come

Search Engine Optimization

Customers usually don't know much about search how search engines work nor do they want to. They just want the search engine to find thier page first. I want my site to show up first, but how many web development companies am I competing against? (According to Google: Results 1 - 10 of about 154,000,000 English pages for web development companies).

All About Search Engines

There are diffent search engines that people use (ie: google, msnsearch, lycos, altavista, yahoo, to name a few)and even though they may be structured diffently, they all do the same thing — help the user find relevant sites for what they are searching for. So how do people find you?

  1. Like Vampires, the search engines have to be invited in
    When you first post your website, no search engines will know it exists. If you left it long enough and had a few other companies linking to it, it would eventually be included in the search engines directory, but that is not an optimal technique for getting listed.

    The best way to invite the search engines in is to submit your site for inclusion. I usually do Google first — for the standard user it is the best engine to use. I then submit to Dmoz.org. Most of the other search engines draw from this extensive database of sites. Neither will guarantee inclusion or the time it takes to get listed, you just need a little patience.

  2. What happens next?
    Google sends out "web crawlers", which are automated scripts that travel the web and index sites. Once you get on the list, they will regularly crawl your site and update links and content. Dmoz, on the other hand, is a directory - not a search engine. All sites are reviewed by humans before inclusion and the reviewer determines whether the site is relevant. Although I am not postive, I don't believe they ever revisit the site after it is listed. You should never submit your site until you are sure it is ready, just in case.

  3. How do clients find me?
    When a search is performed, the search engine uses a formula (algorithm ) to determine which site has the most relative content for the words that are being searched for (key words). It takes into consideration the number of time the key word shows up (in normal text flow), the amount of content offered about the key word, the name of the page (shown in title bar of your browser) and some other indeterminate factors.

How To Rank Better

First, worry about content and structure before graphic design. Our job is to code your page for optimal search engine crawling. We may may suggestions on changing menus, content and structure to ensure your site ranks well. The following is some of the best advice we can offer on making sure your site is listed well:

  1. Use appropriate page titles. If possible, use the key words you want people to search for. On the resources page, you can see the title bar reads:Title bar screen shot
    I wanted people looking for web planning resources to find this page if possible.

  2. Use key phrases in your content. If you target key words that are too generic, the competition is too great to rank well. If you are selling widgets, you may want to target plastic widgets in Maryland as a key phrase — specificity will whittle down the competition and help you rank higher.

  3. Provide relevant content. The biggest mistake you can have is to provide too little content. It is hard to get good key word ranking and not much for search engines to list if you don't have anything to offer.

  4. Use words, not pictures. I have been to websites where all the words were "pictures of words". There is absolutely nothing there for a search engine to list. Although Google and a couple of others do have a picture search, that is not what will drive traffic to your site.

  5. Create a Google Sitemap A sitemap is a way of organizing a website, identifying the URLs and the data under each section. Google's XML format was designed for the search engines, allowing them to find the data faster and more efficiently.

Outside Resources

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