Hi Jason Oliver ~
I can certainly appreciate your concern about search engine placement
and search engine ranking.
High visibility helps, especially when one is searching for the terms
you want to be found under, "sexual harassment, lawyer, California,
discimrination [sic], etc."
Please remember that Google Answers Researchers are independent
contractors and do not have inside information about Google's Search
Engine or its well-guarded algorithms. The information we offer is
from sources considered among the best in search engine optimization,
and generally produces desirable results.
Remember, too, that search engines change algorithms, which ultimately
affects rankings, so trying to stay in the first few pages can be an
ongoing process of tweaking your site's content to keep your site
there.
========================
How To Submit Your Site
========================
You said, "I have already submitted the URL to google several times
over the last 3 months and used a pay service, www.submitnet.com, but
to no avail."
Don't use Submitnet. That will not help you get listed on Google! It
may even ensure you don't get listed at all.
In its "Quality Guidelines - Basic Principles", Google admonishes:
"Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check
rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate
our terms of service. Google does not recommend the use of products
such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries
to Google."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
When you're ready to submit your site, do it by hand on Google's Add
URL page:
- ://www.google.com/addurl.html
====================================
The Basics - What Google Recommends
====================================
Among the basics Google recommends are:
"* Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page
should be reachable from at least one static text link.
* Create a useful, ** information-rich site ** and write pages that
clearly and accurately describe your content. [Emphasis added].
* Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and
make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
* Try to use text instead of images to display important names,
content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text contained
in images.
* Make sure that your TITLE and ALT tags are descriptive and
accurate.
* Check for broken links and correct HTML." (See Google's Design and
Content Guidelines)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
=====================
The Basics - Content
=====================
Reputable Search Engine Specialists will tell you - content is king!
Your key words are "nosexualharassment.com, law, sex, sexual, sexist,
racist, harassment, attorney, lawyer, Oliver, Kay, Dalton, Organ, CA,
California, discrimination, wrongful termination, Ralphs". Some of
those words and terms aren't even used on the page's content even
once!
Add content to your page using those words and terms under which you
wish to be found in context with the rest of your content. That will
help being found, once you are listed in Google's index.
==================
The Basics - HTML
==================
Shari Thurow, one of the leading authorities in search engine
optimization, and author of the book "Search Engine Visibility",
remarked, "Clean HTML is absolutely imperative for search engine
indexing. Browsers are extremely forgiving when it comes to
displaying pages with "unclean" HTML (unclosed tags, no quotation
marks, etc.). Search engine spiders are not so forgiving. Even
something as simple as a missing quotation mark on the page's HTML can
cause a spider to not index text or a link." (See: Link Exchange
Digest, July 3, 2003, "Clean HTML")
- http://list.audettemedia.com/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0307&L=led&D=1&T=0&H=1&O=D&F=&S=&P=282
Differentiating between search engine indexing and search engine
ranking, she explained how errors in HTML can affect your ability to
be indexed, and ultimately, ranked.
A quick check in your coding shows some omissions which should be on
every page in order to facilitate indexing your pages.
1. DOCTYPE Declaration
----------------------
The first omission is a doctype declaration. DOCTYPES are essential to
the proper rendering and functioning of web documents in compliant
browsers. It is also essential for the search engines to understand
and follow the coding contained on your pages.
DOCTYPE is explained and discussed further in "A List Apart",
- http://www.alistapart.com/stories/doctype/
and in Web Design Group's article, "Choosing a DOCtype",
- http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/doctype.html
Considering your pages were created using Front Page, which doesn't
even deprecate well to earlier versions of Internet Explorer, I would
suggest using:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
This will help with some browsers which don't interpret Front Page's
HTML well at all.
3. Alt Tags
-----------
Google also recommends the use of alt tags for every graphic. This is
because search engines cannot read graphic images. Since you are using
graphics for your internal links, you cannot afford to NOT add those
ALT attributes to your graphic tags.
A Word of Warning: Don't 'spam' the ALT tags with a lot of superfluous
verbiage, that will be as bad as no ALT tags for your images.
4. Accessibility
----------------
Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794
and 794d, set forth the minimum government standards for
accessibility.
Among these standards are such items as ALT and TITLE tags (as
discussed above), and website design which will enable those with
special needs to be able to understand your web site.
You might want to run each page of your site through Bobby, which will
give you a full context report on what portions of your site do not
meet the minimum standards. If you make all the corrections suggested,
it will greatly enhance any search engine's ability to crawl your
website as well.
The Bobby analysis page can be found here:
- http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/index.jsp
Among those problems that Bobby picked up was text that was very close
in color to your background, which could be considered "hidden text"
or "spamming".
Google warns about using hidden text or hidden links.
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
=======================================
Other Reasons for Not Getting Included
=======================================
1. Links to Your Site -
---------------------
Google explains how its search engine's crawler works in the section
entitled, "The Add URL didn't work".
"Google finds sites through a process known as "crawling" the web.
This involves robot software that follows hyperlinks from site to
site. Google currently looks at more than 3 billion URL's during the
crawl. The process may take several weeks to complete.
When a URL is submitted to Google, we look for it in our next crawl.
If you've already submitted your URL, your site could easily appear in
our new index, which will go up when the current crawl is completed.
However, if no other site links to yours, it may be difficult for our
crawler to find you. Conversely, if many sites link to your page,
there is a good chance we will find you without your submitting your
URL."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
Getting other - *relevant* - sites to link to your own site will
greatly enhance your chances of getting listed in Google.
A word of warning, though, do not use linking schemes or link farms,
as Google will penalize you for using them.
"Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's
ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or
"bad neighborhoods" on the web as your own ranking may be affected
adversely by those links." (See Google's "Quality Guidelines - Basic
principles")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Your prior site, sexharassmentattorneys.com, had some good links to
it, and you may want to inform them of your new URL.
You can find those links using All The Web,
- http://www.alltheweb.com
and entering your prior site's URL.
2. Other suggestions -
--------------------
Google also suggests registering your site with DMOZ and Yahoo!
"If you are having difficulty getting listed in the Google index, you
may want to consider submitting your site to either or both of these
directories. You can submit to Yahoo! by visiting
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/. You can submit your site to
Netscape's Open Directory Project (DMOZ) by visiting www.dmoz.org.
Once your site is included in either of these directories, Google will
often index your site within six to eight weeks." (See "What else can
I do to get listed in Google?")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
For DMOZ, some other California attorneys are listed under Society:
Law: Services: Expert Witnesses: Employment
- http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=sexual+harassment+attorneys
======================================
When You're Ready to Submit Your Site
======================================
After you are satisfied that the site is to your liking, you can
submit it to Google, Yahoo! and DMOZ.
Make sure you pay special attention to Google's admonitions under
Quality Guidelines - Basic principles about using unauthorized
computer programs to submit pages and don't use Submit It.
Some search engine sites to which you may want to submit your site:
* DMOZ -
- http://www.dmoz.com/
* All The Web -
- http://www.alltheweb.com/help/webmaster/submit_site.html
* Hotbot & Lycos InSite (requires registration)
- http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/
* Yahoo! -
- http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/
* Zeal -
- http://zeal.com/
This is probably more information than you required, however, it is
easier to ensure everything is in top order prior to submitting your
site than to try to change things once you have done so and it gets
indexed.
Using the advice listed above should help you get indexed.
Regards,
Serenata |
