Hi Hellbent ~
There are two ways to get a site listed on Google:
1. Submit your site via the add URL page,
://www.google.com/addurl.html, although there is no guarantee they
will either crawl or add your site -
"We add and update new sites to our index each time we
crawl the web, and we invite you to submit your URL here.
We do not add all submitted URLs to our index, and we
cannot make any predictions or guarantees about when or
if they will appear. [From Google's "Submit Your Site"]
- ://www.google.com/addurl.html
2. or Google's "best way":
"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
Even if Google does crawl your site, there is no guarantee it will be
listed in Google's index. Google states, "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
___________________________
Removing obstacles which may have been included in your robot.txt file
allows Google to crawl your site unobstructed, but that isn't all you
need to do. There are things you, as a website owner or webmaster
should do which will increase your chances of being crawled - and more
importantly, LISTED, in Google's search results.
========================
Links and PageRank
========================
As mentioned above, links to your site are important and help build
PageRank, which is explained in Google's "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
PageRank is only one factor in getting your site crawled and indexed.
Google offers additional recommendations in its Guidelines which can
be found here:
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
I have also included some other information to help get your site
listed below. If you follow the guidelines and suggestions contained
in these pages, your chances are greatly increased of getting listed.
==========================================
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.
===========
Summary
===========
To answer your question, removing the robots.txt and submitting your
URL may get your site crawled by Google; but even if the site is
crawled, there is no guarantee it will be listed under the terms you
want in Google's index.
Following Google's recommendations in its Webmaster Information and
Guidelines, and getting relevant links TO your site to help build your
PageRank can help your chances of getting your site listed.
It is Google's intention to deliver relevant content in answer to a
search query, and it is your responsibility to make sure your site has
content which can both be indexed and be included under the search
terms you desire.
Search strategies -
I relied on information available on Google's site about its search
technology, Information for Webmasters and Guidelines plus other
bookmarked information used in the regular course of business.
Good luck with your site submission,
Serenata |
