Search Engines
Search is the killer application that has transformed the web. Library catelogues help readers find information, and search engines have catelogued the web, enabling people to search for information, products and services. Unfortunately, in the same way as email was hijacked by SPAMMERS, the web is littered with junk websites. Google and other search engines want to optimise their search results to deliver good website content.
How does Google index the Web?
Google uses automated robots to index the World Wide Web. The robot crawls from one webpage to another, adding information to its extensive database. It does not index every website and there many websites that are never indexed.
Why are websites not indexed by Google?
The main reason why many websites are not indexed by Google is that they are not coded to comply with programming standards. Developing a website using tools like Frontpage and Dreamweaver or by cutting and pasting word documents into a website template, results in 'garbage code'. Website code needs to be edited to be reasonably compliant to XHTML standards in order to be Google friendly.
The second reason, is that Google regards the Web as a complete entity, webpages linking together to help users find information. Many websites are standalone electronic brochures that link to no other websites and have no links from other websites.
How do you get good search results on Google?
Good search results on Google are determined by a number of variables; website content, good HTML code, proper title tags, metatags, keywords, page structure, links to your website(page rank) and links from your website to other web sites. Other factors like choice of domain name will also impact on your ranking for certain keywords and will determine whether you will appear in Google's search of Australian websites. Hosting on free or cheap webspace may also have a negative effect on your search engine rank. All these variables are important and periodically Google will change the weighting of each variable to its algorithm, to prevent search engine optimisation companies from hijacking the web with junk websites.
Google's founders regard their application as revolutionary. It has certainly made the web extremely useful and revolutionized the way information is managed. So if you are a business that wants to get high search engine position for keywords unrelated to your business, you are no better than SPAMMERS that litter email. Anything that damages search, damages the internet.
What is search engine optimisation? The goal of search engine optimisation is to get as many people who are looking for your product, service or website information to your website. Many website optimisation companies are fraudulent charging hundreds of dollars a month and claiming, we can get you the top hit for a phrase like 'shower mat australia'. They focus on one key term but the reality is that searchers type in many different terms and combination of terms to find the products and services they are looking for.
Fraudulent Search Engine Optimization
Uses doorway pages, cloaked pages, hidden text, URL forwarding, linking programs that create and ask for links from unrelated websites.
These methods may have some immediate short term gains but your website can just as easily be banned from Google's index altogether and it is very easy for your competitor who sees your fraudulent tactics to report your website to Google.
Click here to report websites that use doorway pages, cloaked pages and hidden text.
Final Notes
Remember that the web is about information and community. If you want to do well in search engines, produce good information for your customers and website visitors, make your links relevant and link from relevant websites, choose to develop with a developer that has an understanding of SEO techniques.