Hi Andrea ~
You're quite right, your site is not in Google's index. It does not
show up when one searches for auburnplace.net.
I searched some of the other directories and search engines, such as
the Open Directory Project (DMOZ.org), Alltheweb, AltaVista, Lycos,
HotBot and Yahoo!, and it doesn't show up in those, either.
You indicate at one time it did show up in Google, so it does appear
that it has been dropped from Google's index.
Using the Google Toolbar, auburnplace.net has a PageRank of 0/10; and
a check of links to auburnplace.net using Google's link:tool shows no
sites linked to your site.
If you use Internet Explorer 5 or better for your browser, you can
download Google's Toolbar here:
- http://toolbar.google.com/
and Google's link:tool is explained here:
- ://www.google.com/help/features.html#link
===============================
So What Happened To Your Site?
===============================
Here's what Google says about sites that were listed and then
disappear from Google's index:
"My web pages used to be listed and now they aren't.
"Each time we update our database of web page (about
once a month), our index shifts: we find new sites,
we lose some sites, and site rankings change. If your
site was dropped from Google and you have not made
major changes to it in the last month, we will likely
pick it up again in our next index. It's possible
your site was simply inaccessible when our robots
tried to crawl it.
You may want to check and see if the number of other
sites linking to your URL has decreased. This is the
single biggest factor in determining what sites are
indexed by Google, as we find most pages when our
robots crawl the web and jump from page to page via
hyperlinks...
It's also possible your rank decreased because other
sites were found and assigned a higher rank. You can
be assured that no one at Google has hand adjusted the
results to boost the ranking of a site. Google's order
of results is automatically determined by several
factors, including our PageRank algorithm. Please check
out our "Why Use Google" page for more information on
how this works."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html#B1
Notice the reference to links ** TO ** your site mentioned above. You
can also read about the importance of lniks in Google's Page Rank
Information here:
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html
and "Why Use Google" as mentioned above, which is here:
- ://www.google.com/technology/index.html
As you can see, with no links to your site, your chances of being
listed and staying listed in Google's index are greatly diminished;
and this may be one of the reasons your site is no longer listed.
=====================
So What Can You Do
To Get Listed Again?
=====================
Google offers guidelines with recommendations and suggestions on what
you can do to increase your chances of being listed. The Guidelines
are listed here:
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Although your site is pleasing to the eye, there are basic design
elements which are missing from your site as well.
Google suggests, "Create a useful, information-rich site and write
pages that clearly and accurately describe your content".
A quick look at your site has text about Auburn Place, but some very
important items are missing in that first screenful of information
(also referred to as 'above the fold'). For instance ... somewhere
close to the top should be information on where Auburn Place is
located (city and state), and whether these are apartments, townhomes,
etc., for rent or for sale.
Think about the search terms you want your site to be found under and
then make sure those terms are in your first screenful of information.
While Google no longer places a heavy weight on keyword or description
metatags, other search engines do rely on them, so you want to make
sure those words are in your site's content.
==============================
Links to Your Site & PageRank
==============================
In "How Do I Get My Site Listed On Google?", Google explains
"Submission is not necessary and does not guarantee inclusion in our
index. Given the large number of sites submitting URLs, it's likely
your pages will be found in an automatic crawl before they make it
into our index through the URL submission form. We DO NOT add all
submitted URLs to our index, and cannot predict when or if they will
appear."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
Google also states, "The best way to ensure Google finds your site is
for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's
robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more
sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you
quickly."
There are many practical ways of establishing links which are
beneficial to you in your endeavor to get respectable position
placement on search engines. These methods may take time, but they
also help in establishing credibility and help with your page rank.
Approach like-minded or complementary businesses about linking to your
site (with a reciprocal link from your own). This works without
harming search engine positioning or page rank.
Articles on Link Popularity
===========================
A couple of excellent articles on how to establish the right kind of
links are available in Traffick's "Ten Steps to Building Links to Your
Site", Craig Fifield - 5/3/2002
- http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=77
and "The Right Way to Improve Link Popularity", By Paul J. Bruemmer
-4/14/2002 -
- http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=41
Notice both articles offer suggestions which can be easily adapted for
use on any website without resorting to link farms. They both point
out the differences and offer easy ways to get started to the kind of
linking search engines prefer.
=========================
What else you can do
to get listed in Google?
=========================
Google recommends listing your site with both the Open Directory
Project - DMOZ.org - and Yahoo!
"Google partners on the Web include Yahoo! and Netscape. 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
=======================
A Few More Suggestions
=======================
1. Title Tags
-------------
Put your title tags to work for you! Change your title tags to more
closely reflect the content contained on each page. It may not help,
but it surely won't hurt in search engine placement to use your title
tags to reinforce the key words in your text content. A change such as
"Auburn Place - A Great Place to Live in Louisville" or similar tag,
you give the search some other words and phrases to use to give the
Googlebot some terms under which to list your site.
You may want to peruse some of the discussions regarding Google in
Webmaster World,
- http://www.webmasterworld.com
Google recommends the same in its Design and Content Guidelines, "Make
sure that your TITLE and ALT tags are descriptive and accurate"
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
2. DOCTYPE Declaration
----------------------
The one 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
As you can see, inclusion of a DOCTYPE Declaration enables your
visitor's browser to render the site as you want him to see it. A good
rule of thumb is that if it's good for your visitor, it will be good
for Google.
I suggest adding a DOCTYPE Declaration to each page you may include on
your site.
There is nothing really "wrong" with your site, and there is no
indication that you're being penalized. It's just that there isn't a
lot of relevant information for a search engine to index and display
for someone searching for specific terms.
=========================
Search Engine Submission
=========================
Below are top search engines (as determined by Nielsen Net Ratings):
- http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
* Google -
- ://www.google.com/addurl.html
* 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/
Submitting your site to the above helps reach the greatest amount of
potential customers.
==================
You also asked, "can I put a Google toolbar on that page so visitors
can search
from there?"
The Google Toolbar is a plugin for Internet Explorer browser, so it
cannot be put on a site. You can read about the Google Toolbar and
download it from here:
- http://toolbar.Google.com
You can, however, add Google search to your site. The instructions for
doing so can be found here:
- ://www.google.com/searchcode.html
===================
I trust the above gives you some information on building an
information rich site in order to increase your chances of being
included in Google's index.
Best of luck,
Serenata |
