Search Engines 101:
Optimizing Your Site's Rankings

Finding sites using a search engine is easy. Getting your site noticed is much harder-and a lot more important to your business. After all, when was the last time YOU bothered to look at the second or third page of results from Google? How about the fifth or ninth page? Placement is vital, so here are some practical tips to help maximize the prominence of your online presence.

The Worldwide Web is immense and what gives it utility are the search engines and directories that allow people to quickly locate the information they're seeking. Without search engines the web would barely function, and certainly could never have become such an essential service so quickly. Has there ever been a system that allows such rapid access to so much information? Experienced researchers know that there are techniques to improve the results they derive from searches, but most people rarely use those. Typing in a simple word or phrase usually does the trick and produces something useful.

That's why placement and rankings are so vital. The promotional advantages of appearing in or near the top 10 results can't be overestimated. When a query is entered, the sites that show up on the first page or two will be the ones that get most of the hits. True, more specific search terms can elevate a particular site's prominence, but many searchers take the path of least resistance and use common terms to find what they're looking for. Using the right keywords (search terms) can make the difference between being visited or never seen.

How can a site's ranking be improved? That varies by search engine, because each one uses somewhat different criteria to produce its results. There's usually a page somewhere on each site explaining the process in a general sense, as on the Google Information for Webmasters page (www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html), but don't expect any trade secrets to be revealed. Mostly there'll be general advice about page design and content. But that's still a good place to start, because without those elements in place no amount of clever keyword insertion will help your site.

First of all, you should offer worthwhile and interesting content, arranged in a well-ordered structure. People need a reason to visit and efficient ways to navigate through the site. A good site attracts favourable attention, while a poor effort won't. That's not just some polemic statement about wooing repeat visits or hoping each visitor will tell two friends and they'll tell two friends. It's important because popularity (in the form of referring links from other sites) is one of the factors that affects rankings. By and large, the Net is a meritocracy and search engines are designed to reflect that standard.

Keep the code on your pages simple. The Microsoft Small Business Center's excellent Search Engine Optimization Tips page (www.submit-it.com/subopt.htm) makes the point that frames, dynamic URLs, Flash, navigation schemes that employ scripting or clickable images can all cause problems with "spiders", the software that indexes web sites for search engines. Remember that only text is indexed-words on a graphic are not. Additionally, use descriptive files names for images, along with a text summary of the content depicted-that does get indexed.

There are a few dozen insights of this nature that contribute to better search engine rankings. Some reflect simple common sense web design principles, but there are more than enough important quirks and technical twists to make visiting Google's and Microsoft's pages worthwhile. Once that's all squared away, it's time to get down to more elaborate techniques.

Keywords. Keywords are, well, key. They should signify the content of a page and match the terms people will use to search for it. The more matches, the higher the site will rank in that search. Microsoft recommends thinking of them as "specific keyword phrases" not "keywords". If your phrases are too general, "it is very unlikely you will rank well in the search engines. You stand a far better chance to rank well for specific phrases where there is less competition. The resulting traffic, since it is more highly targeted, should also be much higher quality too."

Keywords are also ranked according to where they appear on a page. One of the most important spots is within the Title Bar, the text that displays along the top of a browser window. Don't waste this space. Use a couple of your most important keyword phrases here, but be warned-if you jam in too many the page could be ignored for keyword stuffing-an early ranking trick that supposedly no longer works. Because the title text will usually appear as the link in search results, it should be a readable sentence, or at least be comprehensible.

Another prime keyword location (again, one that's not a completely effective solution on its own) is within Meta Tags, hidden text that only the indexing program usually sees. They are best used to reinforce the content on a page by providing synonyms and alternate phrases that are relevant, but may not actually appear in the main text. Use them, but don't overuse them, or your page could be ignored as possible spam.

Brainstorm a list of keywords, but also research what your competition (or similar sites in the case of non-commercial ones) is already using. Think about how you conduct a search, and what draws you to some sites over others. Use the plural and alternate forms of words whenever possible, too. The Spider's Apprentice offers A Helpful Guide to Search Engines (www.monash.com/spidap.html) with lots of advice on how searches are performed.

Use your keywords in your page text, especially near the top. Page location and keyword frequency (within reason) are given extra weight. For that reason tables and javascripts are bad to rely on-the way they are analyzed by web-crawlers means that content will appear to be further down the page-and less relevant-than it looks onscreen.

Don't use irrelevant keywords in an attempt to attract visitors-once they discover they've been deceived they might get angry, and could even report you to the search engine company for misleading or fraudulent listing practices. This can get your site blacklisted (as can other attempts to spam the system like keyword stuffing).

Know the differences between search engines and directories, and recognize that people use each of these resources differently. Someone has to search Google to get results, but a directory like Yahoo! also lets people browse through categories.

Don't be scared to spend some money. Consider paying for placement, buying a manual ( Search Engine Optimization for Dummies by Peter Kent and Search Engine Visibility by Shari Thurow are recommended reading for beginners and more advanced Webmasters), or hiring a firm that specializes in boosting search scores. The expense might be worth it compared to trying to develop the same expertise in-house.

Promote your site constantly by including your URL on all your promotional material, from letterheads and cheques to fridge magnets and print advertising. If people can simply remember your site's name, they won't need to search for it. Sometimes, if your site is a small player in a crowded market segment, building a brand familiarity can be accomplished easier offline than by competing for search engine placement positions.