Web site owners needn’t be lost out in cyberspace

Almost everyone who has a Web site wants to be found among the top 10 hits of an Internet directory or a search engine. But if there are millions of top-level domains, how does a single Web site crack the top 10?

The answer is not simple.

The first thing to know is that every search engine has its own formula, or algorithm, to index and score Web sites. These algorithms often change in an effort to provide visitors with more relevant results. Such changes generally go unnoticed except by those who research search-engine optimization.

One company, GoRank — an online keyword tracking system — recently released a report that analyzed and compared the algorithms of Yahoo and Google. GoRank reported that Yahoo prefers more occurrences of exact keywords than Google, Google prefers more text links than Yahoo, Yahoo prefers the use of bold text, and the page title and meta description (a tag in HTML code that tells search engines information about your page) are important for both.

Translated, this means that there is little overlap in major search engine databases. A Web site found in one search engine’s top 10 results doesn’t guarantee that same site will be found in the top 10 on another search engine.

Search-engine placement, then, is not a science. It’s more like magic. However, with a few hints, you can — and should — compete for better search-engine placement. Here’s how:

• Select effective keywords and key phrases (words or phrases that people use when trying to describe your product or service). Then, use at least two of those keywords in your meta tags. Using single keywords lowers your odds for successful placement.

• Replace unnecessary images with strong text. Search-engine spiders, used by search engines to index Web sites for their databases, are blind. They can only read text, not images. If your site incorporates a lot of graphics, include a text description in the “alt” tags, which provide alternative text for elements such as images. If your site uses Flash animation, it cannot be indexed at all. Remember, too, that words used as part of a graphic image are still a graphic image.

• Use your keywords or key phrases often and in the crucial locations on your Web pages. Add keywords to your page titles, meta tags, headings, and links. Since search engines pay more attention to certain areas of your site, words there carry more weight. Keywords should be given more prominence in those areas.

• Get other sites to link to your site. Search engines may regard sites with many links pointing to them to be more important than others, and links from popular sites will give your site a higher rating. Linking to other sites that offer the same product or services may also improve search engine placement.

• Avoid frames. Frames were intended to make navigation easier by keeping one part of a site constant while opening links in another part. However, search engines cannot follow frame links. If you are using frames, make sure there is an alternative method for search engines to index your site.

• Submit your pages. Most search engines will index pages from your Web site by following links from a page you submit to them. But sometimes they miss, so it’s a good idea to submit the top two or three pages that best summarize your Web site.

• Be patient. With so many people submitting Web sites to search engines, some may take up to six months to list your site.

• Resubmit. Anytime you make significant changes to your site, resubmit it to the major search engines. Doing so will help ensure your listing is kept current.

After all of that, if your site isn’t listed in the top 10, remember there were no guarantees that it would be. Search engines may be a primary tool for people to look for products or services on the Internet, but they’re not the only one. People also find sites through traditional advertising, word-of-mouth, or newsgroup postings.

So, is it possible to follow every tip and still not see any improvement in your placement or in traffic to your site? Oh, yes. Have you wasted your time? Definitely not. You’ve learned a valuable lesson: you should concentrate your efforts in non-search-engine related areas as well.