 A search engine is a type of software that creates indexes of web sites based on the titles of the web pages and the content of the web pages. It creates a database of web sites by searching the web with a program called a spider. The search engine has an interface that allows users to search its database by typing in words or phrases related to what they're looking for. The search engine returns results based on something called an algorithm, which is a very complex formula that determines the order of those results.
HOW DO WEB SITES RANK IN THE TOP TEN ON SEARCH ENGINES?
That's what I can help you with. Here are some factors in how search engines rank web sites:
YOUR DOMAIN NAME:
Pick a domain name that contains an important
key phrase. Many search engines will assume your site is relevant
just because it contains the keyword. Of course, you can also
choose something that resembles your business name, and use
that for print ads, business cards, etc. It's okay to have two domains pointing to one web site. An example of a key phrase
rich domain name would be "bestgiftbasketsonline.com".
THE RIGHT KEYWORDS / KEYPHRASES:
If you know how people find you or your
competition, you can improve your rankings in the search engines.
Each page in your site will then focus on one key phrase. Keywords
are many times found already in your current marketing materials,
brochures, installation instructions, spec sheets or other
company documents.
How do you get into the top ten on a search engine? Pick the
right key phrases that people will type in that don't have as
much competition. For example, if you sell real estate, trying
to get your site listed in the top ten for the search phrase:
"real estate" is basically impossible (Google lists a total of
960,000,000 results!). Focus on a niche that works for you and
you'll get visitors from search engines. To follow this example,
I would find words for you like "realtors in palm springs" or
"new home listings in rancho mirage area".
OPTIMIZING YOUR SITE'S PAGES ("ON THE PAGE FACTORS):
A procedure called page optimizing is done on every page in your
web site. Each page is analyzed for:
- content - how many words in your page's body, title, heading
tags, etc.
- meta tags (keywords, description, alternate tags embedded within
pictures)
- keyword density - how many times the key phrase is included
and where
LINK POPULARITY: how many sites recommend your
site? A site with dozens of well ranked sites approving a site
by linking to it means a great deal to search engines. They look
for
- how many links
- how important are
the sites linking to you
- what the text says within the links
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