Hi Robin Nelson ...
I can understand your wanting to get your sites listed on Google;
after all, it is the best search engine available, returning the most
*relevant* results to a search query! And yes, I may be prejudiced,
but it is an opinion shared by millions of searchers daily.
Let's answer your last question, first.
=========================
Paid Inclusion in Google
=========================
You asked, "Can I pay Google to list them?"
The answer for that is easy - no. Google does not take payment for
inclusion in its index.
From "How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google?"
"Google does not accept payment for inclusion of sites in
our index, nor for improving the rank of sites in our
results."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A1
=================================
www.padreheaven.com
and www.south-padre-condos.com
=================================
A check with whois.com shows that the domain Padreheaven.com was
registered on October 5, 2003; and South-Padre-Condos.com was
registered on October 20, 2003.
That is not a great deal of time to wait to be included in Google's
index. In fact, Google says it can take between "six and eight weeks"
to be added to its index.
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html#delay
=======================================
So, How *Do* You Get Listed on Google?
=======================================
Google publishes specific recommendations and suggestions about how to
get listed in its index in its Webmaster Information and Guidelines.
1. Add URL
==============
One of the ways to get listed is to use Google's Add URL to submit
your site. There is no guarantee about if or when the site may appear
in Google's index, "... we cannot make any predictions or guarantees
about when or if they will appear." Add URL is on this page:
- ://www.google.com/addurl.html
And Google's mention again of the time it may take to be added to
their index,
"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#A2
If you use the Add URL form to submit your site, note their
information about key word and description metatags,
"You may also add comments or keywords that describe the
content of your page. These are used only for our
information and do not affect how your page is indexed or
used by Google."
- ://www.google.com/addurl.html
2. Links from other sites
==========================
Google explains the best way to get listed in its "Webmaster
Information":
"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."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A2
and explains how pages are ranked in search results in "The Basics"
"The method by which we find pages and rank them as
search results is determined by the PageRank technology
developed by our founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A1
Google's technology is explained in its technology in "Our Search:
Google Technology":
"The heart of our software is PageRank, a system for
ranking web pages developed by our founders Larry Page
and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. And while we
have dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect
of Google on a daily basis, PageRank continues to provide
the basis for all of our web search tools."
and its PageRank in "PageRank Explained"
"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."
- ://www.google.com/technology/index.html
Obviously, one of the things you need to do to increase your chances
in being found under the search terms you want is to make sure there
are links TO your pages from relevant sources.
The key word is "relevant", and Google specifically warns about using
link schemes and link farms in its "Quality Guidelines - Basic
principles":
"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."
-://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
and more strongly in its "Quality Guidelines - Specific
recommendations":
"Avoid hidden text or hidden links"
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
===========================
Establishing Links
===========================
As stated, Google's PageRank is based on the number of pages which
link to your site.
"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." (Google's " How
Do I Get My Site Listed on Google? Submitting Your site")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A1
There are many practical ways of establishing links which are
beneficial to you to get respectable position placement on search
engines. These methods may take time, but they also help in
establishing credibility and trust among visitors, 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.
It stands to reason that what's good for Google, currently ranked as
the number one search engine is good rule to follow for other search
engines.
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.
"Link Building Is Important", which discusses link building from A to
Z and also provides a good reference page with linking resources.
- http://www.linkingmatters.com/WhyLinkingIsImportant.html
The information contained in the above articles offer suggestions
which can be easily adapted for use on any website without resorting
to link farms. The differences in "good links" and those which may be
harmful are discussed, and the articles offer simple ways to get
started to the kind of linking search engines prefer.
=====================
What Else You Can Do
=====================
Comparing your sites, they are virtually identical. If you haven't
actually redirected one of the sites to point to the other, you may
want to do that. Google explicitly warns against duplicate sites in
its "Quality Guidelines - Specific recommendations":
"* Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with
substantially duplicate content.
* Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines,
or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate
programs with little or no original content."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Google has other helpful recommendations in its Design and Content
Guidelines:
"* Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links.
Every page should be reachable from at least one static
text link.
* Offer a site map to your users with links that point to
the important parts of your site. If the site map is
larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the
site map into separate pages.
* Create a useful, information-rich site and write pages
that clearly and accurately describe your content.
* 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...
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Taking a look at www.padreheaven.com, there are some important items
missing and some which should be added to make your site
crawler-friendly.
1. 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
You do not have a DOCTYPE Declaration and you should add one to every
page on your site.
2. Title and Alt Tags
----------------------
Put those title and alt tags to work for you! Use key word rich words
in both. Instead of "Property 1" as a page title, use a dozen or so
descriptive words (terms you would like to be found under) in your
page titles AND your alt tags.
You have no alt tags on the graphics at all. Adding descriptives to
the alt tags will give the crawlers something to 'index', since they
cannot read graphics.
3. Descriptive Content
-----------------------
Since Google and the major search engines and directories basically
ignore metatags, you need to add RICH, DESCRIPTIVE text for the search
engines to index and return in answer to a searcher's queries. Make
sure every page has enough text to meet those queries.
4. Search Terms
------------------
Yours is a specific market. In order to get your site in front of the
right audience, you need to know what your potential buyers are
looking for.
I would suggest you take a look at Word Tracker -
http://www.wordtracker.com - and find out *exactly* where your sites
will fit. And then use those terms within your Title and Alt tags and
within the content of your pages. This will help you get better
placement when someone is searching for those relevant terms.
===================================
Other Search Engines & Directories
===================================
I checked with the other leading search engines and directories. You
are listed with HotBot, however and you are not listed at all with:
* The Open Directory Project (DMOZ.org)
http://www.dmoz.org
* All The Web
http://www.alltheweb.com
* Alta Vista
http://www.altavista.com
* Netscape
http://channels.netscape.com
* Teoma
http://s.teoma.com
* Yahoo!
http://search.yahoo.com
Google specicifically suggests in its "What else can I do to get
listed in Google?" that you submit your site to the Open Directory
Project 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."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#B2
So after you have 'tweaked' your site and added links TO your site, it
would be a good idea for you to submit your site to those search
engines. Listings in other search engines, especially DMOZ and Yahoo!
will also help increase your PageRank.
==========================================
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
Here are some important links from Google's Webmaster Information and
Webmaster Guidelines. Webmasters who follow the guidelines and avoid
Google's "Thou shalt nots" usually have no problem getting listed and
showing up under the search terms they desire.
* How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google?
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
* My Web Pages Are Not Currently Listed (a good 'primer'
on how and why Google works so well)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html
* PageRank Information (covers both Google's PageRank and
SERPS)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html
* Webmaster Guidelines (contains both the dos and don'ts)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
* Google Facts & Fiction (can you buy your way to a
high ranking in Google?)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/facts.html
* Search Engine Optimizers (some good advice on what to look
for if you're going to hire a Search Engine Optimizer)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html
* Frequently Asked Questions (pretty much what it says, but
definitely worth wading through)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html
================================
Other Sources of Information
================================
There is also good information from many of the top search engine
optimization experts, such as
* Detlev Johnson, Search Engine Guide
- http://www.searchengineguide.com/detlev/
* Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
* Jill Whalen, High Rankings
- http://www.highrankings.com/
* Shari Thurow, Web Pro News (and quoted all over the Internet)
- www.webpronews.com/
who all have columns or newsletters to which you can subscribe and
keep abreast of the best way to use good content for better
positioning in search engine results.
In addition, Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/ - has
discussion boards on most of the search engines. While some of the
discussions are anecdotal and/or questions for information, there is
usually enough discussion to keep abreast of what seems to be
happening.
There is an entire section devoted to Google at:
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/
It never hurts to keep track among these discussions, but remember,
trying to optimize for search engines only is like trying to hit a
moving target. You'll notice among the more experienced contributors
to the discussions - plus the SEO experts listed above - that there
really is no substitute for content, relevant links and good HTML.
================
Paid Inclusion
================
Google does offer "Ad Words", which are those small text ads to the
left of search engine results, if you are interested. Information on
Ad Words can be found here:
- ://www.google.com/ads/index.html
=============
Summary
=============
If you include rich content, follow Google's Guidelines, develop links
to your site and get your site listed in other search engines and
directories, your chances of being listed in Google's index are
greatly increased.
Please remember, it won't happen overnight, as noted above.
Search strategies -
===================
This answer is supplied from bookmarked sources and personal knowledge
gained through the every-day use of this material.
Disclaimer: Please remember that Google Answers Researchers are
independent contracters. We are not employees of Google, and we do not
have any insider information about Google's closely-guarded search
algorithms. The answers provided are from generally-known and accepted
practices with regard to PageRank and SERPs.
Best wishes,
Serenata |