SALES SERVICES CAPABILITIES NEWS KNOWLEDGE BASE
Understanding Search Engines
OVERVIEW
Most Internet users access the Internet through portal sites and locate information using search engines. Their popularity makes search engines the most cost-effective means for increasing traffic to a web site. Understanding the criteria of search engines and diligently submitting your web site will determine if your clients are directed to your web site or to your competition.

There are approximately twenty major search engines and over fifteen hundred minor or topic specific search engines on the Internet. The use of search engines is quite fragmented. While Yahoo does hold a compelling share of the search engine industry, ignoring half of the potential Internet user base is not an effective means of building traffic. Each search engine operates independently, and a web site must be submitted to each search engine in order to get maximum coverage.

Search Engine Use


Source: http://www.statmarket.com


UNDERSTANDING SEARCH ENGINES
Search engines may be divided into two categories: directories and spiders. Directories such as Yahoo utilize people to review and categorize web sites. Spiders use programs or 'bots' to search the Internet and automatically categorize web sites. In general, directories focus on the information supplied when the site is submitted to the search engine and spiders utilize the content of the pages found on the site.

Search engines use a variety of techniques for categorizing and rating Internet web sites. Automated systems generally use a variation of keyword identification and indexing. Keywords are matched to the searches submitted by clients to generate lists of hits for the searcher. Directories categorize web sites into a hierarchy of topics that are browsed by the client.

SUBMITTING A WEB SITE
Submitting a web site to search engines is easy to do, but difficult to do well. The goal of submission is to have the web site appear in the first page of displayed hits for the keywords that a user will enter to find your web site. Submitting a web site involves several identifiable steps.
  1. Keyword Identification: Identify the search phrases and keywords that would be used to find the web site. Create a working list of keywords. Think of how the web site would be listed in the telephone book. Add the words that identify the different products and services that the web site provides.
  2. Keyword Testing: Test the list of keywords in the major search engines and see what sites are listed in the results. Some of the keywords may be too general to be useful. Other keywords may have alternate meanings that don't reflect the web site.
  3. Tag the Site: The site needs to contain the keywords for targeting the content. The keywords must be in clean text in order to be recognized by the automated search engines. Search bots do not view the images on the site. Add meta-tags to the site that identify the keywords.
  4. Clean the Site: Make sure that the web site is appropriate for the search engines to which it will be submitted. Many search engines are not able to process frames or page redirections.
  5. Submit the Site: Submit the site to the search engines. An automated program or service is recommended for submission if more than the top few search engines are targeted.
  6. Check the Results: It is important to verify the results of the submission. Keep track of the position of the web site in the listings based on the keywords.
SERVICE
Sanctuary Software Studio provides search engine submission service. We can help your company increase traffic through effective search engine placement. Our experience will help your web site improve its hit location and maintain its position in the future. Our tools automate the process, allowing us to perform your submission quickly and cost effectively. As your multimedia design studio, it is in our interest to maximize the value of your Internet investment.
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