- Search Engine Registration
- Crawler-Based Search Engines
- Meta Tags
- Static Pages vs. Dynamic Pages
- Search Engine Optimization
- Link Building
- Search Engine Registration
- The terms search engine submission and search engine optimization are often interchanged, but it is important to understand the difference between the two. Search engine submission, or registration, means that a search engine knows your site exists, and it will show up as a match to certain keyword searches. Submitting your site has nothing to do with how it will rank, meaning where it will show up in a list of matches on a particular search engine. This is where the two terms differ. Search engine optimization is any changes you make to your site in order to improve its ranking on particular search engines.
- Crawler-Based Search Engines
- Crawler-based engines, such as Google, must first find your site. There are three pieces to a crawler-based search engine: the crawler, the index and the search engine software. The crawler, or "spider," crawls sites by following the links through each page, collecting information to add to the index. The index is a list of every page on the Internet that has been "spidered." Spiders periodically return to sites, usually every one or two months, so that changes you make to your site will be updated in the index. There is some lag between the time the updates are submitted by the spider and when they are added to the index. The third piece, the search engine software, sorts through the information in the index and presents the searcher with results in the most relevant order.
- Meta Tags
- Meta tags are HTML tags that you can include on your site, between the head and body tags, to give you some control over how your site's description appears in crawler-based engines. There are two meta tags that search engines look for: keywords and descriptions.
The keywords tag is what the search engine will use to match a query to your site. Many search engines don't index sites based on the meta tag keywords, and instead use words that visitors can actually see on your site. In order to get the most out of the keyword tag, you need to follow a few simple rules: don't repeat the same word twice in a row or more than 2 or 3 times in the tag, use words that are also in the text on the page, and never include words that have nothing to do with the content on the page.
The description tag will show up as the summary of your site in the list of matches. Using the meta description tag on your site ensures that searchers see a clear, concise description of your site. - Static Pages vs. Dynamic Pages
- Static pages are HTML pages that don't change on their own, while dynamic pages are pages that pull information from a database, and are updated automatically when changes are made to that database. Build|Stores uses dynamic HTML pages; this type of design is good for managing content that changes frequently in several places on the site, such as pricing information.
Search engines today are able to pick up static pages, and most are also able to detect dynamic pages. However, since your store uses dynamic pages, adding a static page will increase your chances of being spidered.
Build|Stores products allow you to easily add a static page that can act as a "front door" to your site with the "Manage Pages" feature located in the Admin Panel. - Search Engine Optimization
- Search engine optimization are the things you do to your site to improve its ranking on search engines. Ranking on a search engine is where on the list of matches your site shows up. Ideally, you want your site to show up on the first page of matches, or in the top 10. This is mainly done using paid services, but there are a few things that you can do on your own.
We mentioned keywords earlier. It is essential to know who will be visiting your site, which search engines they will use and what terms they will use to search for your site. There are sites that can help you pick the best keyword.
WordTracker is a paid service that does the same thing, but gives more information on each term, including how many competing sites use the same keywords, other keyword combinations that have any relation to your business, and the chances of making the top 10 on the major search engines using those keywords. For more information on WordTracker, visit their website at http://www.wordtracker.com.
Once you have figured out the best key words for your business, there are several ways to use them, including in the meta keyword tag, in the text on your website pages and in the descriptions that you submit to the directories. - Link Building
- In order to rank competitively in major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) - your site needs to gain 'trust' in your industry. By increasing your back-links (link popularity) with relevant directory links, contextual article links, and social network links, your search engine rankings will increase for the keywords of your choice. Overnight success is not possible, however with our effective link building strategies, you can see dramatic ranking-results within 90 days. Every single link we provide is 100% contextually relevant.
