Hi again, Braidman ~
First, the good news is that you *are* listed in Google's search
engine. If you search Google for your URL,
"www.geocities.com/braidutdfc", you get the following results.
"Showing web page information for
www.geocities.com/braidutdfc"
"Google can show you the following information for
this URL:
* Find web pages that are similar to
www.geocities.com/braidutdfc
* Find web pages that link to
www.geocities.com/braidutdfc
* Find web pages that contain the term
"www.geocities.com/braidutdfc"
Here's the link for that search:
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=www.geocities.com%2Fbraidutdfc&btnG=Google+Search
Clicking on "Find web pages that link to ..." returns 0 results
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=www.geocities.com%2Fbraidutdfc&btnG=Google+Search
Clicking on "Find web pages that contain the term ..." returns the following:
"www.geocities.com/braidutdfc/
Similar pages
www.geocities.com/braidutdfc
Similar pages"
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=G&q=%22%2Bwww.geocities.%2Bcom/braidutdfc%22
Notice that there is nothing but the URL, no snippet of information
like other search engine results, as most other search results. This
is because there is nothing but a graphic on the index.html page. In
essence, so far as search engines go, there is nothing there to index
and return.
The visitor sees an instruction to "Click crest to enter site", and
then gets another page of links, and still no content.
The way to get listed and to place well in search engine results pages
isn't hard, but a site, including every page, must have good basic
html, have rich text content (to give the search engines something to
index) and have links TO the site from other relevant sites on the
web.
==========================
Getting Listed in Google
==========================
Google has information for webmasters and site owners regarding how to
get indexed and listed in Google's search engine.
"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 it further explains 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
Google also offers guidelines to assist webmasters in user-friendly
and crawler-friendly design. In its "Design and Content Guidelines",
Google recommends the following:
"* 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.
* If you decide to use dynamic pages (i.e., the URL con-
tains a '?' character), be aware that not every search
engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static
pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the
number of them small."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Your index.html page is lacking many of the basics needed to help you
rank well in Google's search results.
Your index.html page (and the pages within) do not have static text
links (which gives the search engines links to follow and crawl).
There is no text on your index page to describe the content of the
site (and therefore to offer that snippet of code to add to the search
results).
The graphic (crest) on the index page doesn't utilize the Alt tag to
even name what that link is for.
Your <title> metatag says "index" instead of using it to put a title
to your site for the search engines to crawl and more importantly,
list in its search engine results.
Put both the alt and title tags to work for you and use rich keywords
in them to help with the indexing of your site.
==========================================
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
I am including important links from Google's site. This information
will help you understand Google's goals and responsibility to the web
searcher (and not the webmaster or site owner).
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.
* Google Today (absolutely the best information you
can read about the "how and why" of Google's results
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
* 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
The reason you don't place well in search results is that basically
there is nothing there for Google (or any search engine) to crawl and
index.
In order to place well in search results, you need:
1. Sound design, utilizing good HTML,
2. Rich text content for the crawlers to index,
3. Links TO the site from other relevant sites (not link farms
or link schemes, which can get you penalized).
Without those, your site, even if it is indexed, will place lower than
those sites who do follow the guidelines and utilize those practices.
Search strategies -
=====================
I relied on bookmarked resources within Google with which I am
familiar and use on a regular basis in my web design and consulting
business.
By designing your site to be user and search engine friendly,
establishing links from relative sites and using good HTML, you can
increase your chances of better placement for search engines results.
Following Google's guidelines and recommendations will only help.
Regards,
Serenata
Google Answers Researcher |
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