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Understanding Optimization
The new "BUZZWORDS"
Having a great eye catching web site is fine. But what if nobody knew it was on the net for them to see?
Nowadays, as more and more sites are published to the Internet, the fight for top spots is becoming more and more complex.
Search engines are powerful web site traffic generators. More than 85 percent of Internet users find sites through search engines. And most of them only skim the listings on the first page. That's why a web site with good search engine listings may see a dramatic increase in traffic. What most people don't realize is that simply publishing a site, or even taking another step by submitting your site to search engines for listing, probably won't result in a high ranking. So, if you want to improve the traffic to your site, consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Optimizing your site means ensuring that your web pages are accessible to search engines and focused in ways that help improve the chances they will be found. It's about the overall job of improving how your site interacts with search engines, so that the audience you seek can find you. many web sites appear poorly in search engine rankings or may not be listed at all because they fail to consider how search engines work.
Many factors influence search engine rankings. For example, HTML titles , metatags , keyword placement /frequency, and link popularity are four of the most important. Each search engine uses its own ranking formula and, to our chagrin, the formulas change regularly.
Why should I worry about link popularity?
A growing number of search engines use link popularity in their ranking algorithms. Google uses it as its most important factor in ranking sites. HotBot , AltaVista , MSN , Inktomi , and others also use link popularity in their formulas. Eventually every major engine will use link popularity, so developing and maintaining it are essential to your search engine placement.
Link popularity can do a lot for your site. Not only will many search engines rank you higher, but links from other sites will also drive more traffic to you.
Not just numbers
Link popularity is much more than a measure of how many links point to a site. Search engines use far more sophisticated formulas to gauge how popular sites are. Therefore, developing quality links is more important than ever.
Different engines, different rankings
Every search engine uses its own unique formula, called an algorithm, to index and score web sites. Search engines' algorithms weigh various factors, such as a page's design and links, to rank pages in their search results. By constantly refining and improving their algorithms, search engines hope to give their visitors the most relevant results.
Many search engines form partnerships and buy technologies to improve their algorithms. They combine many factors and place different weight on each one.
Webmasters who want their sites to achieve a Top 20 position spend a lot of time studying different algorithms. Even when several search engines rely on similar factors in composing their rankings, they may still rank the same site differently. For example, imagine two search engines both use meta tags and keyword frequency as their only ranking factors. If the first one weights meta tags as 70% of a site's value and keyword frequency as 30%, and the second one does the opposite, their results will be completely different.
Understanding ranking factors
Before you can understand how each search engine scores web sites, you need to understand the various factors they consider. These factors can be divided into two categories: page-related and outside .
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