Tuning your website to the Google Search
Engine
Google is the dominant player on the web.
Google is FREE to
list and a good ranking on Google goes a long way to
obtain general search engine recognition.
The dominant
Search engines such as Google, MSN and Yahoo use Crawler robots to gather information about web
sites. The information is collected and taken back
to a database. Once this database is updated it
starts to show the results of the crawl.
New websites have to be crawled and the data retrieved is displayed on the Google Search results.
The time frame
from a new site to be crawled and when it starts to
show varies from 4 to 8 days.
New
domains with sites with that have no links to
them. Your new sites will rely entirely on your own
promotional efforts during this period. More promotional tips
Getting
Google to catalogue your site quickly
Search engines come out with paid advertising
schemes - this advertising has to be approached with
caution so you get a return from your investment.
Google does offer paid advertising in the form of
Google Adwords
You can read up on
Google Adwords
The exact method of
how Google reads a webpage is a closely guarded
secret.
In fact, Google
"shifted the goal posts" (altered the algorithm) a
number of times and continues to do so. Your
rankings will vary because of this.
For Small
Businesses on the web, the level playing field has
been altered constantly.
Large
established websites with lots of internal and
incoming external links are favoured. This means
portal or reference sites get more weight.
New and small
websites have to battle for rankings by ensuring
their sites are optimized for Google.
Here is a summary
of what the Google robot prefers.
(Googlebot -
the program that continuously gathers web
information and stores it on Google's Database - you
can check visits by Googlebot by looking at your
site statistics)
-
Text is
king.
Googlebot cannot read images or Flash (Some Flash and
Java Scripted links cannot be crawled.)
-
The more
links from other websites to your site the
better.
-
The Title
tag should contain key phrases.
-
Meta Tags
especially the keyword tag are given little
importance.
-
Headers
with descriptive paragraphs are recommended.
-
Complimentary key phrases on all Title Tags
of internal pages.
-
Pages updated
with new content on a regular basis.
-
The use of
frames is not beneficial.
-
Plain Text
links to the rest of your website.
-
A site map
page
Basic Principles from Google
-
Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as "cloaking."
-
Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, "Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"
-
Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.
-
Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our Terms of Service. Google does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.
Specific Guidelines from Google:
-
Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
-
Don't use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
-
Don't send automated queries to Google.
-
Don't load pages with irrelevant keywords.
-
Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
-
Don't create pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other badware.
-
Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
-
If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.
No cheating, no hidden text,
links, redirects, etc, just plain old text
information about your product incorporated the key
words you wish to rank on.
|
 |
There are hundreds of scams
in the name of Search Engine Optimizing (SEO)
targeted at businesses desperate to increase
their rankings and sales. Good results on an
obscure search phrase that nobody is likely to
type is pointless. It is better to start
correctly, using the criteria above, to achieve
a reasonable result. |
|
Given
time, you CAN get ranked
with Google - Generic Results
Check these Small Pond Web
Sites - no addwords here!
Sites have been constructed exactly as the
advice above ! |
|
Search
Phrase |
Rank |
Site |
Test |
|
Dive
Queensland |
1 |
divequeensland.com.au |
test |
|
child head
protection |
1 |
headbumpa.com.au |
test |
|
Rescue
Medical Technician |
1 |
firstresponseaustralia.com.au |
test |
|
Len Zell |
1 |
lenzell.com |
test |
|
Underwater
Film and Television |
1 |
numa.com.au |
test |
|
Cheap hosting
Brisbane |
1 |
smallpond.com.au |
test |
|
Kitchen
Builder Brisbane |
1 |
rodskitchens.com.au |
test |
| Cairns Marriage Celebrant |
3 |
cairnsweddings.com.au |
test |
| Publications Port Douglas |
1 |
odysseybound.com.au |
test |
| Used Caravans WA |
2 |
abbacravans.com.au |
test |
| Australian sapphires |
1 |
australiansapphires.com |
test |
| Granny Flats Melbourne |
4 |
elpor.com.au |
test |
| Termite inspections South Sydney |
2 |
termiteinspector.com.au |
test |
| motorcycle escorts |
1 |
motorcycleescorts.com.au |
test |
New information is placed on the web all the
time so keep your pages updated. "Setting and
forgetting" a web site will allow your site to
slip in visibility
Lastly a
cautionary note. An improvement can be made on
your ranks if the above is applied to your page.
If Google arbitrarily decides to alter criteria
again, we have to start again. It is an ongoing
process.
Check links to your sites by
entering "link:http://yoursite.com" in Google's search
box.
|
|
Unsolicited Overseas Call Centre phone calls claiming to be Google Adwords should be handled with caution. Some clients have had their websites disappear from the Google Database after declining the Adwords offer. The only way to get the site back is to contact Google to reconsider the site. Handy Links :
Banned Site Checker: Enter in the Google search box:
site:mydomain.com.au
If no result, a polite request to Google:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/reconsideration |
Search Engine Popularity :
Which engine is the most used ?
Taken from:
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=5
June 2011
Total Market Share
Google - Global 83.34%
Yahoo - Global 6.32%
Baidu 4.96%
Bing 3.25%
Ask - Global 0.73%
AOL - Global 0.42%
AltaVista - Global 0.05%
Excite - Global 0.02%
All the Web - Global 0.01%
MSN - Global 0.01%
Lycos - Global 0.01%
Microsoft Live Search 0.00%
© SmallPond 1998 -
2011 |
