MarketPosition (tm) Monthly
April 1998 Issue
"...because submitting to search engines is just NOT enough!"
Techniques for Search Engine Positioning to Build Site Traffic
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>> This publication may be freely redistributed if copied in
its ENTIRETY <<
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE:
- AltaVista Returns Random Results
- Warning About Double Title Tag
- New Rules at Infoseek & AltaVista
- HotBot Tips
AltaVista Returns Random Results
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AltaVista recently has been returning one of two different
result sets at random. I noticed the problem earlier this
month when customers started complaining that WebPosition
sometimes reported results and rankings in contradiction to
what AltaVista returned. It turns out that WebPosition was
correct, but only matched AltaVista's results about 50% of
the time.
For some reason, apparently a bug in their system, an identical
search done at AltaVista would return one of TWO different
result sets completely at random. If you were to hit the
search button again seconds later, you may get the same Web
site ranking, or you may get an alternate ranking. This has
caused a great deal of confusion, and has made page rankings
jump up and down recently.
The good news is that as of March 30th, the bug appears to
be fixed, with AltaVista consistently returning the same result
set again. If the problem rears its ugly head again, I'd
suggest you e-mail AltaVista about the problem at: suggestions.altavista@pa.dec.com
I'd encourage you to check your rankings with WebPosition for
AltaVista as soon as you get a chance, to verify your positions
are still where you expected them to be.
Warning About Double Title Tag
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a past issue I suggested adding TWO or more title tags to
a single page since this technique appears to help a site's
ranking on some engines. This technique seems to work quite
well on Excite. We base this assessment on some research
we've conducted that looked at the source code of high-ranking
pages as well as some other testing we've performed. If you
consider that WebCrawler now employs the very same search
algorithm as Excite, this same technique should improve your
site's search positions there too.
However, we've had at least one customer report that AltaVista
will remove your page if you use more than one title tag.
Others have told us that InfoSeek will also penalize pages
that employ the multiple title tag technique. Therefore,
use this technique with caution, and only after you've exhausted
other techniques.
New Rules at Infoseek & AltaVista
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Infoseek has posted new guidelines for submitting to their
index. If you haven't seen them, or, if you are using an
automated submission software tool that bypasses the submit
page notices, I highly recommend you review them at:
http://www.infoseek.com/Help?sv=IS&lk=noframes&pg=new_guidelines.html
Most of the guidelines and rules are not new to me, but you'll
want to pay careful attention to them in order to avoid problems.
If you're using an automated submission service or software
to submit your pages to Infoseek, you will want to consider
one warning in particular:
"Infoseek reserves the right to restrict automated
or robotic submissions through the Add URL feature."
What this means to you is that if InfoSeek decides that XYZ
service or submitting software sends too much "spam" they
can, at their discretion, reject all submissions originating
from that source (assuming they can detect the source).
If you are having trouble getting listed despite following
all the "rules", try submitting manually at the site. Also,
avoid their e-mail submission option when possible since it's
more likely to be scrutinized by an editor than their automated
submission interface. Generally, the e-mail option is the
only available method of submission on weekends. I'd suggest
waiting until Monday to submit when there should be less of
a chance that your submission will be to carefully studied
and possibly red-flagged for whatever reason.
Infoseek also warned of the following items that could get
you in trouble:
Overuse or repetition of keywords
Use of keywords that do not relate to the content of the site
Use of fast meta refresh
Use of colored text on same-color background
Duplication of pages with different URLs
Use of different pages that bridge to the same URL
I've warned about all of these items in the past or in our
report, with the exception to the last one, which is quite
vague. Obviously, many Web sites are composed of different
pages that link to a single page or each other or both. However,
Infoseek appears to be actively looking for sites that create
large numbers of "bridge" pages, all of which link to your
home page or main URL.
I don't believe there's a reliable automated way for them to
detect these "bridge pages." However, I recommend creating
different "doorway" pages that emphasize one particular aspect
or content component of your site. These *different* pages
would then target a narrow group of keywords or keyword phrases.
For instance, if you sell five products, make sure you create
at least five separate pages emphasizing each product individually.
You can't get into trouble for choosing to do that rather
than putting all the products on the same page.
If you are in the habit of creating multiple doorway/bridge
pages with few differences between them, you might start to
exercise caution with Infoseek. If you do employ short doorway/bridge
pages as a positioning strategy, you might consider pointing
them at different pages within your site, and not just your
main or home page.
Also, consider designing your doorway pages such that they
look credible as "real" sub-pages of your site. Put menu
links on them such as:
[Return to Home Page] [Product Information] [Contact Information]
I know one company who designs doorway pages with specials
on them. They believe that since these pages will be clicked
on by everyone visiting the site, why not try to sell something
there or at least wet the appetite of the visitor.
If the design of the page is consistent with rest of your site
it is less likely to be considered a "bridge" page by Infoseek.
This is especially true if you create links to that page from
within your site - adding further credibility to the idea
that these pages are "real" pages and not a bridge page. By
taking this additional step you will have done everything
possible to avoid your page being flagged and penalized as
a "bridge to another URL" by Infoseek.
No need to get too paranoid though. Do a search on Infoseek.
You'll find plenty of pages that could easily be considered
"bridge" pages that have not been banned, and probably won't
be unless they flagrantly violate a rule on the InfoSeek list
of "no no's" or a competitor reports them as not playing fairly.
Do all these same rules apply to the other engines? No. Infoseek
appears to be taking the strictest stance, followed by AltaVista.
You can read AltaVista's latest warning and submission tips
at:
http://www.altavista.digital.com/av/content/addurl.htm
The goal of the search engines is to return the pages most
"relevant" to keyword queries. If you have good content on
your site relevant to a keyword or phrase, there's nothing
wrong with you working to organize your pages such that they
score better for different searches. Many engines even give
tips on how to do so!
The best insurance against having your pages pulled is to create
GOOD CONTENT on your site. If the search engine's watchdogs
visit your site and determine it contains nothing but "junk"
cluttering their index, they won't think twice about removing
your pages. However, if your page offers some really great
content, attractive design, and is spell checked, they're
more likely to overlook any perceived or slight breaches of
the latest rules.
Problems arise when people abuse the system by flooding search
engines with duplicate pages, or pages optimized on keywords
that don't apply to the site's content. Doing this will just
get your site banned and will result in stricter rules that
make it harder for everyone.
If you'd like to share your experiences with these engines,
good or bad, be sure to drop me a line. I always enjoy hearing
from my readers.
HotBot Tips
~~~~~~~~~~~
You're probably tired of stories and tips about Infoseek and
AltaVista every month. How about a couple tips for improving
your positions on HotBot?
It's often challenging to earn a top ranking for certain high-interest
keywords on HotBot. You'll definitely want to follow the
tips on keywords in last month's issue to improve your odds
by targeting specific areas.
HotBot is unusual in that it doesn't pay much attention to
the Title tag the way other engines do. Instead, you should
put your most important keywords first in body copy and in
your meta tags. Putting your keywords near the top of the
document or near the beginning of sentences is called improving
the "prominence" of those words, and will help your ranking.
In addition, HotBot currently favors shorter pages, so keep
your copy brief, then point to a more descriptive page or
include links to additional information.
As always, you can learn even more tips in our recently revised
110 page "Secrets to Achieving a Top 10 Position" guide.
You can order a copy of the guide at:
https://www.webposition.com/order-report.htm
Or, for a limited time, the $79 report is included free with
your purchase of WebPosition - a software tool you need anyway
to continuously monitor your Web site's search positions.
If you haven't already, download your copy of WebPosition
software or upgrade your trial version to a full working copy
for just $99 (remember, this includes the $79 special report
"Secrets To Achieving Top Positions):
http://www.webposition.com/easy-order.htm
LAST MONTH:
~~~~~~~~~~
Last month I talked about several important topics such as:
- Building Traffic Starts with the Keywords
- Double Your Visibility with Longer Keywords
- So, who's the biggest after all?
- WebPosition Awarded 5 Star "Editors Pick" from ZD Net
- NEW: 112 Page Report all about Search Engine Positioning
- FrontPage Fix Correction
If you missed these or other key discussions, you can find
the back issues at:
http://www.webposition.com/newsletters.htm
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I certainly hope you find this newsletter of value in your
marketing efforts. If you have any suggestions, tips, or
other comments, just REPLY to this e-mail.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MarketPosition is written by Brent Winters, President of FirstPlace
Software, with editing and contributions by Frederick Marckini,
President of Response Direct, Inc.
OTHER RESOURCES:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FirstPlace Software produces several products including WebPosition,
the first software program to report your search positions
on the major search engines and to help you in optimizing
those positions.
You may download a FREE trial of WebPosition at:
http://www.webposition.com
You may call us at 1-800-962-4855 if you have questions not
addressed on our site. You will also find an array of additional
tips and techniques for improving your search positions in both
the WebPosition Help File and the Reports it generates.
FirstPlace Software also offers a complete report on search
engine positioning entitled "Secrets to Achieving a Top 10
Position". This 110+ page report compiles all the latest
information about the major search engines and how you can
improve your positions in each. Currently, as a special bonus
offer, this $79 report is included FREE with your purchase
of WebPosition.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
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>> This publication may be freely redistributed if copied in
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(c) copyright 1998 FirstPlace Software, Inc.
