Hi Joy!
Would you believe you are indeed listed in the Google index?
I queried Google with your URL and came up with:
Google Search: [ http://www.artbyjoygush.com ]
://www.google.com/search?q=http%3A//www.artbyjoygush.com/&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Here's the URL for the cache of your page:
Google Cache
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:VXS9GBXrnQUC:www.artbyjoygush.com/+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
(If your site wasn't listed, neither of these would appear in the
search.)
I'll bet you're wondering where in the listings it is, though.
According to my handy dandy Google Toolbar, your PageRank (the metric
which determines your spot in the listings) is 0/10. The higher your
PageRank, the more "relevant" your page is, and the more easily you'll
be found:
"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using
its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value.
In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote,
by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume
of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that
casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important"
weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."
Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google
remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages
mean nothing to you if they don't match your query. So, Google
combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find
pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes
far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines
all aspects of the page's content (and the content of the pages
linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query."
Page Rank Explained
://www.google.com/technology/index.html
To boost your PageRank, and thus your visibility in the rankings,
you'll need to do a few things to get noticed.
The first thing you need to do is add some descriptive content to your
site. The art is beautiful, and I'd imagine you'd prefer to let your
art speak for itself, but this isn't a good strategy for search
engines.
Compose a detailed description of the art you offer, as well as any
services, for your main page. Make sure it contains keywords you
would expect to be able to search on in order to get your site.
Additionally, you'll want to utilize your <ALT> tags for images -
search engines interpret <ALT> text as content, and using <ALT> text
will also make your site accessible to those who use text-only
browsers.
For example, change this:
<img border="0" src="images/Joy%20Gush%20Studio.jpg" width="240"
height="192">
to:
<img border="0" src="images/Joy%20Gush%20Studio.jpg" ALT="Joy Gush
Studios, Impressionist Art, New York City" width="240" height="192">
..and this one:
<img border="0" src="images/Stratford%20on%20Avon%202.jpg" width="349"
height="255">
to:
<img border="0" src="images/Stratford%20on%20Avon%202.jpg"
ALT="Stratford on Avon, Oil On Canvas, Canvas Size 30x40, swan and
flowers on the Avon River" width="349" height="255">
Next, you'll need to get some links. Ask friends and favorite clients
to include a link to your site. Additionally, search for pages
offering services similar to yours (but not competitors!) and ask to
exchange links with ten or twenty highly ranked pages.
Last, but certainly not least, either ditch your Frames or alter your
site content with the <NOFRAMES> tag. All of your keywords are
stashed in your left navigation frame, which is pretty for layout, but
tends to get you ignored by the search engines. You can easily boost
your visibility by making those keywords accessible to the Googlebot:
"# Your page uses frames.
Google supports frames to the extent that it can. Frames tend to cause
problems with search engines, bookmarks, emailing links and so on,
because frames don't fit the conceptual model of the web (every page
corresponds to a single URL). If a user's query matches the site as a
whole, Google returns the frame set. If a user's query matches an
individual page on the site, Google returns that page. That individual
page is not displayed in a frame -- because there may be no frame set
corresponding to that page.
If you are concerned with the description of your site as seen by
search engines, please read "Search Engines and Frames"
[ http://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/frames.html ]. It
describes the use of the 'NoFrames' tag, which is used to provide
alternative content. If, instead of providing alternative content, you
use wording such as "This site requires the use of frames" or "Upgrade
your browser", then you are excluding both search engines and people
who use browsers with frames turned off. (For example, audio web
browsers, such as those used in automobiles and by the visually
impaired, typically do not deal with frames, which are a visual
mechanism.) You can read about NoFrames in the HTML standard here:
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/present/frames.html#h-16.4 "
Google Information for Webmasters
://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html#A1
For additional links and visibility, submit your site to the
directories
maintained by Google's partners on the Web, Netscape and Yahoo:
Netscape's Open Directory - DMOZ
http://www.dmoz.org
Yahoo!
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/
Google offers several terrific resources for webmasters:
Google Information for Webmasters
://www.google.com/webmasters/
Google Webmasters' FAQ
://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html
User Support Forum
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=google.public.support.general
Thank you for your inquiry, Joy! I hope the information has been
helpful to you. If you require further assistance, simply ask for a
clarification. I'll be happy to help!
--Missy
Search terms: None. Google Help pages are bookmarked. |
