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Searching for best results on the Web:
EVER SINCE THE WORLD WIDE WEB WAS invented, people have been coming up with new ways to search and index the information it contains. And in turn, people with commercial Web pages have been dreaming up ways to be more visible to so-called "search engines," like today's favorite, Google. The goal is to have your site appear on the first page of search results. And that involves a process called "search engine optimization."
Time was, all you had to do to attract search engines was cram a lot of key terms into your meta tag.
Never heard of meta tags? It's one of those "need to know" things.
Web developers use meta tags to provide information about a Web page behind the scenes. In fact, you can use a meta tag to tell a search engine not to index your page, but I digress. The point is, there are parts of a Web page invisible to the average viewer but seen by search engines.
Web designers like Scott Eastman of Skyline Technologies, Green Bay, remember the old days when people would insert words in the meta tag content to trick surfers.
"They would put 'Brett Favre' in their key words for Bob's Bait Shop, hoping that when people stumbled into the site, they'd think, 1Oh, while I'm here, I might as well buy some bait.' But actually, people think, 'What does this have to do with Brett Favre?' and are mad at Bob's."
But the people who design search engines soon caught on to the keyword trick and changed the way searches are done, often taking away points that determine ranking in the results if fibbing is detected, says Eastman.
Jim Witkins of Madison-based Interactive Media Solutions agrees keyword stuffing is out. he adds, "The other thing people used a lot was reciprocal links - you put a link to someone's site and they would link to your site. The more pages that linked to your site, the higher your site would appear in the Google results."
He says Google eventually found too many people had put a lot of bogus links on their sites, and changed its search engine criteria last fall.
The good news is, in the new world of search engines, content is king.
"All along we've been telling people that the content of the page is really what you want to focus on, and don't try and trick the search engines," says Witkins.
Eastman agrees. "We're finding that the most consistent success [in search rankings] is by including pertinent information in all your page titles, and certainly don't leave them untitled.
"And don't just say, 'Bob's Bait Shop" and leave it at that. You're doing well for yourself if put at least some qualifying information in your page title."
He adds, "Smart Web maintenance also involves keeping an eye on your Web statistics and finding out what words people are using to find your site."
He gives the example of his Brillion-based client, Ariens Co., that found out the snow-blowers they make are called snow throwers by some people, and added that to the key words on their site.
"Most Web statistic packages tell you what the top search engines and most popular key words or phrases people are using to find you. If your Web site package doesn't do that, you need to find one that does. Because that's critical information."
For an e-commerce site like Wisconsin-made.com, search engine optimization is a make-or-break proposition. The site is a true Internet-only store, offering a way to order items shipped directly from hundreds of Wisconsin artisans. Founder and President Linda Remeschatis stays keenly aware of search engines rankings and changes in technology.
"It depends on which search engine you're targeting, but for Google, the strategy now is to have really good content," she says. "We know we should title each page and use key words and products that are related to that."
It is also possible to pay for position on search-result pages, or to pay for each customer that clicks on your link after searching for your key words.
"We have been working on doing some more of those paid search words for Wisconsinmade.com," says Remeschatis. "I tried it for one product, and now we're going to pay for clicks that come to us from 'Mother's Day Gifts.'"
She says results depend on how much you pay, "but you can position yourself to pay a reasonable amount and maybe still get on the first page."
Remeschatis uses a consultant who specializes in Web search knowledge, and Witkins says his firm also contracts by the hour to evaluate companies' Web sites. "They might want to have us look at a couple pages and try to increase traffic there, or do some competitive analysis."
And just because your site was optimized last year doesn't mean it is keeping up with the rankings this year. "It's a moving target," says Eastman.
"The search engines, in an effort to produce the best quality results, are always changing their methods so that Web programmers don't try to outthink the search engines."
He sums it all up with this pithy comment. "Know yourself and know your user, those are the keys, and then fill out your meta content and page content accordingly.
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