Search Engines

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Getting Better Ranking in Search Engines
There is no easy way to get listed near the top of a Search Results page, but taking the time to learn a few techniques and continually monitoring your placement will help. We've created a valuable resource list to help increase your chances of being listed higher in search results, and once you've gained that coveted position, there are resources here to help you keep it.

What are meta tags?
Meta tags are HTML tags that help you control how some search engines may index your site by using keywords and descriptions you provide (see example below).

Using Meta Tags
It is possible for you to control how your site is indexed to some degree by using meta tags to specify keywords and a short description that you want search engines to index. Make sure your page title and meta tags are in place before submitting your site to search engines. Try not to repeat keywords more than twice--it may keep your site from being indexed in a search engine. Can't think of keywords to use? Enter keywords in a search engine and check some of the top sites Meta tags by selecting View, Source on their page. This might help you come up with some additional keywords to use if you're drawing a blank. However, simply copying another site's keywords, page titles or Meta tags won't ensure high ranking--using their tags may not accomplish your goal when they're situated on your page, and they may have changed their code after submitting their site to a search engine. Instead, try linking to those top sites on your Web page and ask them if they're interested in linking to you as well.

Here's an example of keyword and description meta tags for a photography books page. Make sure your most important keywords are also contained in your title. Search engines sometimes prioritize by page titles.

<HEAD>
<TITLE>Kelly's Digital Photography Book Reviews & Resources</TITLE>
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Photography books, digital cameras, book reviews, digital graphic design, discounted books, photography manuals, photo editing, new technology">
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="A photography resource page including digital photography book reviews and cutting edge photography news and information.">
</HEAD>

Additional Meta Tag Help
How to Use Meta Tags <http://searchenginewatch.internet.com/webmasters/meta.html>
Advice from Search Engine Watch

Understanding Meta Tags <http://www.excite.com/Info/listing8.html>
Advice from Excite.com on why some spiders won't honor certain meta tags

Submitting Your Site to Search Engines
Submit your URL (with title & Meta tags) to the major search engines:

AOL NetFind <http://search.aol.com/add.adp>
--Web sites are indexed every two weeks. The spider indexes the full text of the pages it finds instead of grabbing small bits of it--no need to submit a list of keywords.

AltaVista <http://www.altavista.digital.com/av/content/addurl.htm>
--Web sites are available for queries in one or two days. Do not submit a description or keywords with a URL--use keyword and description Meta tags.

Excite <http://www.excite.com/Search/add_url.html>
--URLs are updated by Excite on a weekly basis. See "Getting Listed Help" for more information on submitting URLs to Excite.

HotBot <http://www.hotbot.com/addurl.html>
--An easy Add URL Form & helpful tips on improving your site's ranking.

Infoseek <http://www.infoseek.com/AddUrl?pg=DCaddurl.html&lk=noframes>
--New pages submitted are available next business day. See helpful "Submitting Tips" for more information on submitting URLs to Infoseek.

Lycos <http://www.lycos.com/addasite.html>
--An easy Add Your Site Now form. Re-submit when your site changes.

WebCrawler <http://webcrawler.com/Help/GetListed/AddURLS.html>
--It may take up to two weeks to be included in the index. Submit only the main URL for your site.

Yahoo! <http://www.yahoo.com/info/suggest/>
--The Yahoo! directory is organized by subject. Learn how to suggest your site from the appropriate category at Yahoo!

Submitting Your Site to Multiple Search Engines & Directories
Here are some online services that will submit your site to many search engines and directories for you--some have free, limited versions of their service.

PostMaster from NetCreations <http://www.netcreations.com/postmaster/>
URL Announcement Service (free limited version)

Virtual Stampede <http://www.virtualstampede.com/>
Quick Submit (submit to top search engines for free), and a step-by-step "beef-up your Web site" guide

Checking Your Ranking
After you've submitted your Web site to various search engines (it may take a few days or a few weeks to show up), these resources will save you valuable time by searching for your site and telling you how well it ranked on different search engines.

Position Agent <http://www.positionagent.com>
Monitors your Web site ranking on the top search engines for different keywords & they'll send you weekly reports as well as a Web page analyzer to help you improve your listing. (Free limited version.)

· Avoid frames and graphic-intensive pages if you can--search engines don't like them.

· Include a home page link or button on every page and the name of your site. Because of the way search engines index, some visitors may enter your site through a page that's several clicks away from your home page.