Search Engine Listing Tips

Search engine listings can be tricky, especially since some of the top search engines don't exactly tell you how they calculate a Website's ranking. There are a few simple rules that most search engines use on some level. Keeping these things in mind you can build a Webpage that's get great ranking on a search engine results page.

Links

One of the most important factors in getting a good search engine listing is to have good incoming links. Incoming links are where other sites link to your site or page. It is also important that the links pointing to your site be on Websites relevant to your page. Getting other sites to link to your site is usually best done by asking for the link directly.

Relevancy

The first thing you need to know and focus on is relevancy. To get good search engine rankings, your site must be relevant. If you want people to be able to find you by searching on a certain subject or keyword, make sure your site focuses on that topic and keywords and related topics. If you have too much unrelated information on your page, your ranking will be that much lower.

Graphics Vs Text

Search engines look at text and do not see graphics. You should avoid using images when unnecessary and not rely on them to make your point. Make sure you use alternate information for graphics that include an accurate description of the text because search engines will use the alt tags in considering your listing.

Don't overdo it

If you saturate a page with one word or phrase over and over again, the search engines will detect this and give you a lower ranking or block your site all together. You should also not try to use tricks to hide catch phrases or key words in your Webpage.

Submission

The easiest thing you can and should do to get a search engine listing is submit your site to each search engine. Each search engine has a page where you can submit your site. Google and most other search engines will find your site eventually, but submitting your site directly to them will help speed up the process.

You can also use some Websites that will submit your site to many search engines at once. Some of these sites are free, but most offer a paid version that will submit your site to hundreds or thousands of search engines.

References

• Henry Amon; Information Systems Specialist; Salisbury, Maryland

Resources

• Add a site to Google's listing

[mardev]

on 7/19/2009 Solid tips on what to consider for web site search engine listings! The Alternative text [alt tags] ability is something many web designers overlook. Using these tags will help increase search engine visibility and improve accessibility for users. 5*s and a tweet on http://twitter.com/cyberthoughts