Search Engines

[aspnetguy]

This is a topic I have struggled with for a while. I have read alot of articles and tried a lot of things.I don't have much trouble getting ranked for specific words to my sites (ie. company name) but have not had much success at getting ranked for related words and phrases (ie. real estate).What are some technics you use and how successful are they? I would really like to understand this area better and improve my search engine ranks in a broader area.

[justsomeguy]

#1 is to get linked from other sites. You may need to trade links. If people link to your site with the phrase "real estate" in the link, you'll shoot up pretty quickly. But be careful about which sites link to you, Google will dock points if a site that links to you is known to just be a link directory type of thing.

[real_illusions]

links, good incoming links from related sites.keywords splattered about your site like theres no tomorowa good searchable, well structered, valid site, bots read text and nothing else, h1 tags are placed highly, then h2, h3 etcthats about it:)

[aspnetguy]

thanks for the pointers

[Skemcin]

the thing to keep in mind about search engines is that they are very similar to word of mouth advertising. That is why, as its been stated already, that referring links are the biggest help. Think of it like this, if you are SO good at fixing cars, then won't everyone in your neighborhood refer you? Apply that to search engines and you have the idea. On the internet, link exchanges are a manipulation of true word-of-mouth advertising - again as its been mentioned be careful with those.So, to really do it right, its a decent amount of work to initially get right - but as long as you keep up with it, you should be ok. So, key points (some repeated) are referring links (I'll call them legit), keywords (unique to each page), content (legitimate, undoctored), and proper use of heading tags.Since referring links have been covered, we can first look at keywords. Each page can ahve a group (be it small) of global keywords. But each page should have its own keywords to match the content that would be found within. Far too many companies think its ok to define one set of keywords and use them on all your pages. This actually hurts you. If you have a portfolio page and a services page and they use the same set of keywords, you will have a problem. You end up discrediting your portfolio because your keywords say the page is supposed to contain other infromation - like your services information - the same goes for your services page - it should not be telling spiders that the page has something to do with career objectives or education - its about the services you offer. Again, its a little bit of work to do it right - especially with larger sites - but it pays off and I've seen it first hand on several occasions.I'll blend content and header tags together here. I've already eluded to how your keywords should match the content, so with that said, your content has to be legit - don't make up a bunch of stuff that doesn't make the page read well. You might appeal to searhc engines, but when your top ranked page is hit and no one can make head or tails out of your message - you've shot yourself in the foot. Its a fine balance. Don't do the old repeat text in the footer the same color of the background - thats gonna get you pulled completely. In your content, proper use of header tags is very helpful. First understand that the <h1> should only be used ONCE on a single page. the <h2> through <h6> tags can/should be used as often as possible. Again, this has traditionally been a pain in the arse since you have had no control of the formatting of the tag - thank god for CSS. These days, you should never (for true search engine optimization) need to use the <b> or <strong> tags - class your header tags appropriately and use them instead.Finally, figure out if you are going to use software to submit your site or if you are going to do it manually. Then learn how often the egines allow you to submit and schedule it. Most only allow you to submit it once a month - not more frequently - pay attention to these rules. Some let you post it weekly - so do it.Ah, one more thing. If you are dealing with multiple domain names pointing to the same site - stop it immediately - this is bad. If the client insists on having more than one domain name, you must set up a 301 permanent redirect. Each hosting provider has different ways of doing it - some on the server and others in the code. Here is the cold fusion code I use (for example):

<cfheader statuscode="301" statustext="Moved permanently" /><cfheader name="Location" value="http://www.newdomainname.com" />

Search engines will not accept any other form of a redirect - meta tag or javascripts are not counted. You will be pulled from the engine if these redirects are all that are used.Let me know if any other questions arise.

[aspnetguy]

thanks skemcin I apreciate your in-depth advice

[Skemcin]

your welcome - the invoice is in the mail:)

[aspnetguy]

your welcome - the invoice is in the mail:)

how did you get my mailing address? All that info is available from a simple whois search on my domain isn't it?I find it odd that the registrar can charge you an extra $10 a year if you want your info private but will display it if you do not pay. Isn't that a violation of privacy? I cannot go into a company and request their clients addresses why is a registrar different?

[Skemcin]

how did you get my mailing address? All that info is available from a simple whois search on my domain isn't it?I find it odd that the registrar can charge you an extra $10 a year if you want your info private but will display it if you do not pay. Isn't that a violation of privacy? I cannot go into a company and request their clients addresses why is a registrar different?

I have issue with the way things are right now and I am working with connection I have to influence a change. I see no reason why this information should be public knowledge. The registrar should make money from the folks that want to see it. I think you information should be hidden by default. Then, anyone who wants to see it has to pay $10. But you can pay $10 to make it private even from that.But yes, I can see all your information just as you can see mine. I know there is a Spurr Brothers Farms Ltd down the road from you and your east off of road 360 between 221 and 101. In fact, your kitchen window is cracked open right now, you might want to lock it.

[boen_robot]

I have issue with the way things are right now and I am working with connection I have to influence a change. I see no reason why this information should be public knowledge. The registrar should make money from the folks that want to see it. I think you information should be hidden by default. Then, anyone who wants to see it has to pay $10. But you can pay $10 to make it private even from that.But yes, I can see all your information just as you can see mine. I know there is a Spurr Brothers Farms Ltd down the road from you and your east off of road 360 between 221 and 101. In fact, your kitchen window is cracked open right now, you might want to lock it.

Haha... good one. And where am I (my street adress I mean)? You are a mod, so you should be able to see my IP . Then again, my ISP shows its information (their office and the such) instead of the ones of it's customers, but who knows .P.S. I'll become one heck of a paranoid person if you guess the adress correctly from the first time .

[Skemcin]

Haha... good one. And where am I (my street adress I mean)? You are a mod, so you should be able to see my IP . Then again, my ISP shows its information (their office and the such) instead of the ones of it's customers, but who knows .P.S. I'll become one heck of a paranoid person if you guess the adress correctly from the first time .

Yeah, your ISP seems pretty small. I doubt you live on Avgust Str., but obviously somewhere in here:http://get.info.bg/visit/maps/Detailed_Map_Plovdiv.pngYou're probably paying 576 euro for your internet connection. I'm not gonna reveal your address but lets just say that, if you wanted to, you could walk to the futball stadium on the west side of the city.

[aspnetguy]

I have issue with the way things are right now and I am working with connection I have to influence a change. I see no reason why this information should be public knowledge. The registrar should make money from the folks that want to see it. I think you information should be hidden by default. Then, anyone who wants to see it has to pay $10. But you can pay $10 to make it private even from that.But yes, I can see all your information just as you can see mine. I know there is a Spurr Brothers Farms Ltd down the road from you and your east off of road 360 between 221 and 101. In fact, your kitchen window is cracked open right now, you might want to lock it.

good one, I didn't know my street (bridge street) was highway 360! As for the window...it has never been open...it was painted shut when I bought the house. LOL

[boen_robot]

Yeah, your ISP seems pretty small. I doubt you live on Avgust Str., but obviously somewhere in here:http://get.info.bg/visit/maps/Detailed_Map_Plovdiv.pngYou're probably paying 576 euro for your internet connection. I'm not gonna reveal your address but lets just say that, if you wanted to, you could walk to the futball stadium on the west side of the city.

Nope. I've never even heared of this Avsust (in English "August" btw) Str.Of course it's somewhere in Plovdiv. Never hided that to begin with .576 euros? That's interesting and new. Didn't know my ISP pays that much. But I certanly don't. I pay about 20BGN which is about 10 euros. And for that, I get (time for a little indirect advertising ) my own public IP, a local traffic of 100MBit/s (average of 2MB/s but capable of up to 12MB/s) and international of about 10-20KB/s.Well, thanks for letting me know the ISP keeps personal information personal . I mean, the nearest stadium is definetly not a western one (there are 3 stadiums in that area). If it's for walking, I can practically walk the whole city if I wanted to (though I would never). It's not as big as New York for example .