|
|
Search Engines 101 - Search Engines Explained
What Are Search Engines?
A search engine is a database system designed to index and categorize internet addresses, otherwise known as URLs (for example, http://www.submittoday.com).
There are four basic types of search engines:
Automatic: These search engines are based on information that is collected, sorted and analyzed by software programs, commonly referred to as "robots", "spiders", or "crawlers". These spiders crawl through web pages collecting information which is then analyzed and categorized into an "index". When you conduct a search using one of these search engines, you are really searching the index. The results of the search will depend on the contents of that index and its relevancy to your query.
Directories: A directory is a searchable subject guide of Web sites that have been reviewed and compiled by human editors. These editors decide which sites to list, and, in which categories.
Meta: Meta search engines use automated technology to gather information from a spider and then deliver a summary of that information as the results of a search to the end user.
Pay-per-click (PPC): A search engine that determines ranking according to the dollar amount you pay for each click from that search engine to your site. Examples of PPC search engines are Overture.com and FindWhat.com. The highest ranking goes to the highest bidder.
There are a few downfalls you should know about using PPCs:
PPCs can be an effective short-term solution for gaining exposure and driving immediate traffic to your Web site while you wait for full indexing, but it can become expensive if you use it as a long-term solution.
How Do Search Engines Work?:
Search engines compile their databases with the aid of spiders (a.k.a. robots). These search engine spiders crawl the Internet from link to link, identifying Web pages. Once search engine spiders find a Web site, they index the content on those pages, making the URLs available to Internet users. In turn, owners of Web sites submit their URLs to search engines for crawling and, ultimately, inclusion in their databases. This is known as search engine submission.
When you use search engines to find something on the Internet, you're basically asking the search engine to scan its database and match your keywords and phrases with the content of the URLs they have on file at that time. Spiders regularly return to the URLs they index to look for changes. When changes occur, the index is updated to reflect the new information.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Search Engines?
Pro: With the vast wealth of information available on the Internet, search engines are the most effective and efficient way to find information based on your specific search requests.
Con: Because search engines index mass quantities of data, you are likely to get irrelevant responses to your search requests.
Are Search Engines All The Same?
Search results vary from search engine to search engine in terms of size, speed and content. The results will also vary based on the ranking criteria the search engines use. If you aren't getting the results you need, try a different search engine. While the results may not be wildly different, you may get a few search results from one search engine that you didn't from another.
How Do Search Engines Rank Web Pages?
When ranking Web pages, search engines follow specific criteria, which may vary from one search engine to another. Naturally, they want to generate the most popular (or relevant) pages at the top of their list. Search engines will look at keywords and phrases, content, HTML meta tags and link popularity -- just to name a few -- to determine the value of the Web page.
About The Author
As Submit Today's copywriter and editor, Kristy Meghreblian has written online content for many successful companies, including Monster.com. She has successfully combined her excellence in journalism with the delicate art of keyword density as it relates to search engine optimization. As a result, she has helped many Submit Today clients achieve top ranking. Submit Today is a leading search engine optimization, submission and ranking company located in Naples, Florida.
10 Ways to Tackle Keyword Research and Selection
You need to be extremely careful with keyword research so that you don't miss excellent opportunities or aim so broadly that you target phrases that will never rank well. Here are 10 strategies to guide you along the way:
Search Engine Optimization :: The Basics and Why Websites Need It
We all know that the most targeted traffic we can get for our websites is from search engines. If you have a little patience and time to set websites the right way you can have a great source of excellent traffic and, best of all, you get it for free.
Keyword Targeting Strategy In Your Site
Once the keywords have been decided for the site one has to come up with a strategy to target those keywords across the site. Here is a primer on that.
The Purpose of PageRank?
I am sure the first thought provoking question that popped into your head would be: what exactly is PageRank? Well PageRank can be summed up as how vital Google considers a particular webpage. Pagerank is a value from 0-10, zero being the least significant and ten of which few obtain being the most note-worthy. PageRank is often abbreviated as PR and Google determines this PR bye evaluating how many websites link to yours, even though many of these links are missed.
Building Link Popularity with Topical Articles
One of the important factors in ranking high in search engine results is link popularity. It is not enough to just have the best website in the world--other sites have to point back to you. The thought is that if your site is good enough for others to link to you, then you must have a great site.
Search Engines from a Webmaster Perspective
By now, virtually every webmaster has heard or read that the major search engines are responsible for 80% or more of the traffic received by most web sites and that most searchers never look beyond the first 20 - 50 search results. Not surprisingly, an entire industry devoted to search engine ranking and search engine optimization (SEO) has sprung up to capitalize on these well known facts.
Free Search Engine Advertising: 10 Secret Ways To Indirectly Race To The Top Of Search Engines
Do you have a website that has little or no rankings in the major Search Engines: Yahoo. Msn, Aol, Netscape, Alltheweb and Google?
Recommended Tools When You Put On The SEO Cap For Your Web Site
The name of the game is search engine optimization and there are 20 winners and a million losers. It is a massive game that is conducted each and every minute by the top search engines. The fun is the referee of the game tries to modify the format each minute, to make the game useful for the spectators, in this case the folks who search. This is a high stakes game with billions of dollars at stake and the rules change daily. The playing field changes daily and the folks who compete constantly change. Wow what a fun filled game this is. This game has consistently shown that the folks with the right tools win consistently and the ones' who don't but with good ideas win at random and like shooting stars fade out real quick.
Google Gunning For Directories?
Why is it that webmasters are so quick to blame Google if their website falls down the search rankings, or out of the rankings altogether? Can it never be their own fault?
Optimizing Your Website
Search Engine Optimization, optimizing your website for it to be visible in the search results of a search engine's query or in a search result of a directory.
HTML Title Tags Dictate Your Rankings
There are a lot of things in Search Engine Optimization when done to your site that can increase you rankings. But one aspect that always comes up and that always affects your rankings in a huge way is altering the title tag.
PageRank and How It Gets Assigned
We know that each and every website page is assigned a Google Page rank, based upon a mathematical algorithm. Pages rank on a scale of 0 (zero) the lowest, and 10 (ten) the highest. Linking between websites both internally and externally pass a value or Page Rank.
Website Copy-writing for Higher Sales and Higher Search Engine Ranking
Why, you ask? Mainly, because search engines want to provide their users with good content. How do they find it? By surfing the web for it. However, search engines don't view websites with human eyes, instead they use "spiders" (also known as crawlers, or robots), a "spider" is an automated program used to browse the web in a methodical manner.
SEO Deadly Sins - Mistakes That Hurt Web Page Ranking
The following are a list of mistakes can ensure that your site maintains a low ranking with the search engines. Avoid at all costs.
A Real Example of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Success
The term, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), refers to a set of techniques by which web sites and web pages are constructed for maximum recognition and ranking by search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search. Using the right techniques can guarantee top listing positions for keywords and keyphrases that are related to a site.
Search Engines Are Going to Love You for This
What's the most potent free traffic source on the web?
Googles Good-Writing Filter
I was recently struck by the fact that the top-ranking web pages on Google are consistently much better written than the vast majority of what one reads on the web. Yet traditional SEO wisdom has little to say about good writing. Does Google, the world's wealthiest media company, really rank web pages based primarily on arcane technical criteria such as keyword density, link text, or even PageRank?
New Free Online Tool for Keyword Research
I came across a new website the other day and was quite pleasantly surprised.
Five and a Half Ways to Amp Up Your Search Engine Optimization
Statistics show that 85% of pages visited on the Internet come from people who have gotten there from a search engine. Statistically, people look first at the top of the first page of the regular search results, then the bottom, and then they go to the sponsored listings.
Search Engine Visibility - The Mantra of Corporate Profitability
The corporate fundamentals are par excellence! The product is unsurpassable and the website is a web designer's dream in creativity and design ? but there is a vacuum ? of potential online customers! ? The website lacks the basic ingredient of success ? Search Engine Visibility! ? which is what search engine optimization is all about.