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The Real Scoop on Search Engine Optimization
"Search engine optimization" is a phrase that has been bandied around a lot recently; a Google search for the phrase yields over 23 million results. Why all the hubbub? In an increasingly competitive online world, small retailers and merchants have come into a fray previously dominated by corporate giants. Search engines play a significant role in generating website traffic, business exposure and sales.
According to a 2003 survey, over 40% of consumers use search engines to research purchases. And this figure is likely to double by 2006. So, search engines can mean serious business for your business.
So what is search engine optimization (SEO) and what does it mean for you? In brief, search engine optimization means making a site search-engine friendly so that it will be listed as a relevant search result and thus draw more visitors. And since the majority of web users rely on search engines to find what they are looking for, being search engine friendly is an important consideration.
But can a search engine really be optimized? It can't, says Mike Grehan in his article SEO Jargon: Real Beef or Just Baloney. What? Well, I mention this as a word of caution about industry buzz words; optimization is really about the structure and content of a web site. Leave search engine functionality to the folks at Google. So, by applying a few basic principles and using good copy (text), one can achieve, more correctly, site search-optimization (SSO). In the following sections, you will learn why to be wary of the SEO industry, with its linguistic faux pas and aggrandizement of basic concepts.
Search Engine Introduction
Search engines work by “crawling” the web, indexing pages, processing queries and ranking the results. Web “crawlers,” sometimes referred to as spiders or (ro)bots, are automated programs that move through the web. Pages are indexed, meaning stored in a database, so they can then be retrieved when an internet user enters words/phrases for a query (search).
During the processing of a query, pages that contain the search terms/phrases are scanned and a mathematical calculation is performed to determine the ranking and position of a page in the search engine result pages. Site search-optimization involves a focus on each of these core areas.
How the spiders move through a site, and what is indexed by the search engine, are influenced by navigation, design decisions, site components, and file size. These are the technical aspects of SSO. Assuming a page/site has been indexed, whether it is to be included in query results, how it is ranked and its position on search engine result pages is more a measure of the quality of the content, such as the degree of relevancy of the copy and whether other sites link to it. These are the marketing aspects of SSO.
It is important to distinguish between the technical and marketing aspects of site search-optimization because a site designer/developer has a much greater degree of control over technical considerations. This is because the specifics of how search engines calculate relevancy and page rank is a secret known only to insiders of companies like Google.
So although good copy-writing can have a significant and positive impact upon visitor perception, a designer/developer/site optimizer cannot guarantee the number or quality of external links that point to a site or its page rank. Be wary of companies that offer guaranteed rankings, because when “tricks” are used in an attempt to deceive search engines, the site could be banned by the search engine and removed from its index. See why in the next section.
The Nitty Gritty of Search Engines
The basic functional premise of search engines is that they return results solely on the basis of quality and relevancy, unbiased by paid placement and other manipulation. If that were not the case, what would it mean for consumers? On their web site, Google states:
“there is no...manipulation of results, which is why users have come to trust Google as a source of objective information.”
In fact, one of the best places to look for optimization guidelines are the search engine sites themselves, such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. It is at these sites that you will also find warnings and a list of things not to do. Search engine providers have taken steps to ensure that search results remain objective and this includes intervening when any deception or manipulation of results is attempted.
Page Rank and Relevancy
Search engines rely on complex mathematical calculations, or algorithms, to perform their tasks. For example, Google uses hypertext-matching analysis and PageRank(TM) to determine the results of a query. Hypertext-matching analysis is a method of determining how relevant a page's content is to a particular search. The entire content of a page is considered, including the exact position of each word, as well as the content of neighbouring pages.
PageRank "uses an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms" to examine the link structure of the entire web and determine page ranking, or quality, by considering the importance and number of links that point to a particular page.
So, if CNN decided that a page on your site contained valuable information and linked to you, that link would have a much greater impact on your page rank than a link from, say, the local general store. Why? Because of CNN's quality of content and the large number of quality sites that link to it.
Debunking SEO Claims
The methods used to determine search results vary across search engines, but generally speaking, relevancy and ranking are primary considerations. In light of the complexity by which search engines determine search results, how do optimization service providers attempt to influence a page’s position in results? Well, there are several common claims made by these organizations which need to be addressed.
Submitting Sites to Search Engines
Many companies make statements about submitting a site to a multitude of search engines and making multiple automatic submissions. The premise is that this will increase the likelihood of a site being indexed or its popularity. It will not. First of all, 98.4% of all searches are performed using only four search engines: Google (37.3%;, driving AOL's 9.6%), Yahoo (29.7%), MSN (15.8%) and Ask Jeeves (6%) according to a recent Comscore survey, so there is little advantage to submitting a site to hundreds of search engines.
Additionally, Google makes clear that “multiple submissions won’t improve the likelihood of your site being added or accelerate the process” and, that due to the number of site submissions received, it is more likely a site will be found by their web crawler before any manual submission is processed. It certainly won’t increase a site’s popularity.
If you should wish to take that extra step, site submissions can be made to Google’s add url page, Yahoo’s submit page, and MSN’s submit your site page, but, be patient because it can take several months for a site to be indexed.
Keyword Analysis - Popularity Checking
Keyword analysis or keyword popularity checking is another prominent service or tool offered by search engine optimization companies. The implication is that if a web page contains the most popular search keywords, that page will be considered relevant and will appear higher and in more search engine results.
Ignoring for a moment how page rank affects the position of a page, and considering only relevance, what keywords are these companies referring to? Well, they may be referring to keywords used within page content, but more often they mean content in the keyword meta tag, which is found in the head section of a page and is only “readable” by search bots. Keeping in mind that search engine companies have taken steps to prevent manipulation, such as the artificial padding of meta tags, and that engines “consider” the entire page content, a focus on the keyword meta tag is just too narrow an approach to have any impact on the relevance of a page to a particular search.
For the purpose of argument, however, if keyword selection was considered in isolation, what are some things that could be considered? Enter the marketer, who examines the competition, researches market trends and determines promotional strategies. And the result: niche marketing, a trend that is growing in popularity with both large and small businesses.
The traditional marketing approach involved aggressively targeting a broad group of potential customers and going with volume. However, as customers have become more discerning and demand products and services that meet their unique needs, niche marketing has become much more prevalent. And more effective, says Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of wired magazine.
Mr. Anderson's theory of the Long Tail, in summary, predicts that although broad searches, such as those for “web design,” yield a large number of results and generate a lot of traffic for sites that appear in those results, more narrow searches (the long tail), such as “custom web design affordable Toronto” although yielding fewer results, will lead to greater traffic to sites that appear in those results. By falling into the results of a narrower, more specific search, it is more likely that a site offers what someone is actually searching for.
The consequence of the “Long Tail” and niche markets for keyword usage is that the most effective approach may not be to use just the most popular keywords, but to incorporate specific words that reflect the unique qualities of a site’s products or services. And there is no better way to do this than to create good site content that appealingly describes the unique offerings available. Don’t over-value those meta tags. With all this having been said, a free service offered by Overture will provide up-to-date keyword popularity.
