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"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist-the opportunity in every difficulty. L.P. Jacks"
If you want to attract the attention of the deep search engines and have them list your site at or near the top, you will need to tailor your webpage which is discussed here.
Tip #1
Search engines catalog the text read from the various home pages the engines visit. If a page lacks descriptive text, then there is little chance that page will come up in the results of a search engine query. It's not enough for that text to be in graphics. It must be HTML text. Some search engines will catalog ALT text and text in comment and meta tags. To be safe, a straight HTML description is recommended.
Tip #2
Focus on the two or three keywords that you think are most crucial to your site, then ensure those words are both in your title and mentioned early on your web page. Generally, most people will already have those words present on their pages but may not also have them in page titles.
Tip #3
Keep in mind that the keywords you consider crucial may not be exactly what users enter. The lack of success with some search engines does not mean that the site isn't being found. Many people find the site by entering more words. For example, if you had a web site centered on "Orange County", others might go to a search engine and enter words such as "Orange County California" or "Orange County Web."The addition of just one extra word can suddenly make a site appear more relevant, and it can be impossible to anticipate what that word will be. The best bet is to focus on your chosen keywords but to also have a complete description. These keywords should be in the text of your site and in the Meta tags. You can also use these same keywords when you submit your own site to search engines.
Tip #4
If there are no links to inside pages from the home page, it seems that some search engines will not fully catalog a site. Unfortunately, the most descriptive, relevant pages that are often inside pages rather than the home page. You can also try sending search engines directly to your lower levels, if they don't ordinarily go there.
Tip #5
Meta tags will help you control your site's description in engines that support them. They will NOT guarantee that your site appears first. Adding some meta description code is not a magic bullet that cures your site of dismal rankings, but you should still do it.
Ok.. But what is a meta tag?
A meta tag gives a spider specific information, such as keywords or site summaries, about a site. In Web lingo, meta tags are defined as "information about information."
These tags are part of the HTML code. They stay behind the scenes -- the end user never sees them. A Web author may surround sentences, even whole paragraphs, with these tags. Certain spiders then read the information in the tags as a way to help them index the site.
Here are two common examples of Meta tags that you would put in the header of your HTML document:
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="Automotive Web USA is the Automotive Industries Internet Publishing Service. Use AWUSA to find out who's who in the Automotive Industry! See how easy and lucrative it is to advertise your auto products and services on the Information Superhighway. ">
< META NAME="keywords" CONTENT= "autos,cars,for sale,services,web hosting,web design,classifieds,dealerships,manufacturers.">
Tip #6
After you have done all the right things with text, keywords, Meta tags, etc. submit your page.
Tip #7
Swap links with other sites! First place a number of related linnks on your site, then contact those sites asking for a reciprocal link. You'd be surpised how many people are willing to do this. If they're really cooperative ask if you can include a graphic or banner with the link!
Tip #8
If you're really adventurous, join the "Link Exchange", a free banner exchange program linking sites all over the world. They have some quirky rules, and it can take a lot of energy, but the results are worth it!
Tip #9
Once you are in an engine, check your site at least once a week. Strange things happen. Pages disappear from catalogs. Links go screwy. Watch for trouble, and resubmit if you spot it.
Tip #10
Many engines are now visiting sites on a schedule developed from site changes. The engines have grown smart enough to realize some sites only change content once or twice a year, so they don't visit regularly. Resubmitting every month or two will ensure that your site's content is kept current.
Tip #11
Some search engines take weeks or months before they update their catalogs. They may be "crawling" each night, but those new findings aren't available to the public until the catalogs are updated. For example, in until mid-April 1996, WebCrawler's catalog only listed finds through Feb. 1996. The same seemed true for Alta Vista. On the other hand, Excite's catalog consistently reflected changes soon after they were made, an indication that the catalog is constantly updated. However, recent reports reflect that they too are slowing down considerably due to the massive volume of submissions.
Tip #12
For one thing, spamming doesn't seem to work with every search engine. Ethically, the content of most web pages ought to be enough for search engines to determine relevancy without webmasters having to resort to repeating keywords for no reason other than to try and "beat" other web pages. The stakes will simply keep rising, and users will also begin to hate sites that undertake these measures. Efforts would be better spent on networking, link exchanges and alternative forms of publicity.
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