| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 24/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 18 |
| Copyright: Other |
the net result
this week: search engine secrets
In today’s Net Result, we’re talking about search engines, what they are, why they matter and what you can do to get more out of them.Search engines are Web sites that allow you to type in a particular topic you’re interested in and will then search for relevant sites that match your query, coming back with multiple options in a matter of seconds. The most popular search engines include Yahoo, Excite, Altavista and Ask Jeeves and Internet consumers use them very frequently to find the material they are after.
In today’s Internet marketing, you can’t fail to appreciate the importance of search engines. Ignoring them can have a tremendous effect on your business and can mean losing valuable free Web site traffic.
Knowing as much as possible about them when preparing your search submissions is vital but this information can also help you at the design stage when you’re planning your architecture and navigation. Small changes to your plans can influence the degree to which you have success.
It’s reported that as many as 60% of people type the URL, the Web site address, straight into their browser having seen it in an advert or on some literature or by working out what a company’s Web site address is likely to be from its name.
However, there are still many people who don’t and who need direction, so ignore them at your peril. If you were looking for one piece of data from a huge library of information, it would be important to know how the data had been categorised and filed so you could know where to start looking. Similarly with search engines, if you know how they do their filing and how they organise themselves, you can categorise your site in a way that will improve your chances.
There are two principal kinds of search engines.
Search engines read pages and sites automatically, sending spider robots out to crawl through the Web and see what’s available. They only read the textual information and not graphics so make sure you have enough content on your site.
Directories depend on information provided by humans to categorise the sites. To see both of these in action, go to www.altavista and type spa holidays into the search field. The response has the search tab at the top of the page but you can click the directory tab next to it to see the different approach. Best thing is to bear both in mind and try not to give preference to one.
Also check out www.GoTo.com, a US search engine that’s coming to the UK this autumn. Not only is this a good search engine but it also shows you the cost to the advertiser so you can see the relative strengths and weaknesses of each company’s positioning.
Fine-tune your own site descriptions and headlines to target specific audiences. With www.altavista.co.uk, when you type spa holidays in, you will get a listing that is delivered based on their popularity with customers.
When planning your submission, try and think of the top 10 phrases you would like your company to be associated with. This is what you will use as part of your submission process.
Don’t use single words, make each entry on your list at least two words long and know that each word works independently, for example “spa holidays are also part of holidays”.
For your own submission process, select your top three search terms and write descriptions 15-25 words long.
The descriptions must include your key selling points and be the plain simple facts, not marketing text. For example, “buy spa holidays on-line, relaxing holidays, pampering breaks, de-stressing packages” would be much more successful than “we are the UK’s leading spa tour operator and we have the best prices guaranteed.”
There’s no easy way to handle your search engine submissions. It all takes a long time, it’s complex and both the rankings and methodology used change regularly.
If you can afford it, outsource it to a specialist on a performance-based contract or, if not, focus some serious attention to it internally. Above all, the results you reap will be as great as your investment.
Attention to detail: search engines’ methodology needs scrutinising
ABC of search engine techniques
n Descriptions: Choose your search terms and write your descriptions based on key facts rather than marketing text.