Search Engine Optimization - Part 11
Article ID: KB101562
Once again change is in the air at some major search engines and
some of these changes have caused me to rethink the tool
recommendations I had in mind for this newsletter. I was planning on
covering some of the better site submission and search engine
optimization products -- nothing flakey, just solid products with a
good track record of successfully helping web developers promote
their sites. However, upon reading
Google’s Information for Webmasters and the excellent editorial
Comments on Google's SEO Policies and Recommendations in
Planet Ocean's December 2002 Search Engine newsletter, I decided a
change of plan was in order.
I applaud Google for making heroic efforts to fight spam in their
index, as this is one of the main reasons their search engine is so
successful. Not too long ago, on many search engines, you could
search for almost any keyword and the top results returned were
almost invariably porn. Google has done a fantastic job of returning
highly relevant search results to net users without all of the "spamdexing."
In order to do this they have had to defeat some of the search
engine optimization techniques that have been very successful in the
past.
The creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by
using redirects and the placement of "doorway" pages loaded with
keywords are two techniques favored by many search engine
optimization programs and now formally frowned upon by the "SEO
Cops" at Google. Until all of this shakes out I would recommend that
you be very conservative in your use of products and services that
promise "top search engine placement in one easy step." Even if you
legitimately have multiple sites you might want to heed this warning
from the December Planet Ocean Newsletter:
Considering the fact that a 'mistake' – real or imagined –
can be cause for a site's excommunication, we think it prudent
and wise for any given company to own multiple domains, spread
out over several web hosts, with a variety of DNS servers on IP
blocks that are not closely related – and even list some of them
under alternate subsidiaries so if actions are misconstrued, a
death sentence doesn't befall an entire online company in one
fell swoop.
Yahoogle
As I mentioned last month, achieving and maintaining "first page"
ranking at Google is more important than ever given the changes at
the most highly trafficked site on the net: Yahoo. Run a search at
Yahoo and you will see that the default search results are no longer
Yahoo's... they're Google's.
While the Yahoo categories are still available you have to drill
down into the directory to see the "old" index. This does not favor
sites listed at Yahoo that do not have good Google ranking. Users at
search portals have a distinct tendency to accept the default
results a search service provides and are reluctant to "drill down."
If it was not for the fact that a Yahoo listing gets your site a 10
out of 10 relevancy rating in Google’s site ranking formula I would
see very little value in the $299 per year fee.
So, what are you to do in this environment? Once again, take
stock of your current search engine placement or planned program and
gather as much information as possible. I highly recommend you get a
Planet Ocean Newsletter subscription. Next, look for opportunities
that your competition may be missing. I think your best bet is
utilizing the Overture pay-per-click system in combination with
going back to basics and building the most search engine friendly,
relevant and keyword dense site possible. You can continue to build
relevancy by having other highly trafficked and relevant sites link
to you.
When it comes to keyword density there is a tool I can recommend:
Wordtracker.
Wordtracker helps you find all keyword combinations that bear
any relation to your business or service - many of which you might
never have considered.
Defining the best keywords and key-phrases for your site will not
only help you with your search engine ranking but your pay per click
campaign at Overture as well. In the past there have been some free
tools that accomplished this mission. However, Overture has modified
access to its system and sites like Jimtools can no longer deliver
keyword analysis. Sometimes you have to pay if you want to play, and
such is the case here. I’ll be back next month with another article
on the ever-changing world of Internet search and site optimization.
Next: Dramatic Search Engine Changes
Contributors
Greg Snow:
Greg is the CEO of Advantrics LLC, which is the parent company
for PixelMill and
Vivid Office. Greg has an
incredible background in FrontPage Development and Research, and
keeps up to date with the latest Search Engine News. He is the
author of the Search Engine article series from the PixelMill
newsletter.
Greg Snow, PixelMill Newsletter, Volume 2 - Issue 12 : 12/01/2002
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