Hi Milanmalkani ~
You're correct ... I checked and you do seem to have a PageRank of 5,
which is a very decent PageRank number. But don't mistake the PageRank
number on the Google Toolbar for an indication on how you rank in
search engine results pages (SERPs).
The two may be vaguely related, but PageRank is only one of the many
factors in Google's algorithm that determine how pages are ranked in
SERPs. And because some unscrupulous people have learned how to
manipulate links in an attempt to raise that PageRank number, there is
anecdotal evidence that the PageRank number has even less to do with
SERPs ranking than it might have before.
Google's "mission" is to deliver the ** MOST RELEVANT ** results in
answer to a searcher's query. They have clearly stated so in the
"Google Today" portion of their Corporate Information, here:
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
If you read through it, you will learn that they are constantly
working to improve their algorithms, sometimes changing several times
a day, in order to perfect that goal.
In the past, people have figured that 'x' amount of links will help
them place better in SERPs. When that was overcome by application of
certain tweaks to the algorithm, they tried 'x' amount of links to the
site with a PageRank of 4 or more. Again, when this type of
manipulation started delivering less than ideal results, the
algorithms were changed.
Not surprisingly, your average searcher didn't often notice a change
in the quality of search results, except that they seemed to be
getting "better" - while those who worked to "optimize" their pages to
game the system and gain a higher SERPs ranking were hollering loud
and clear.
Throughout all of this "upheaval", noticed mostly by overzealous
website owners and search engine optimizers, the searcher - that is,
the person to whom Google feels a duty - rarely noticed that a site
disappeared, and apparently by always placing the interests of the
user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web.
==========================
Ranking Well on Google
and Other Search Engines
==========================
Unlike other search engines, Google has consistently offered
guidelines in how to place well in its SERPs. In its "Design and
Content Guidelines" recommends the following to make a user-friendly,
search engine-friendly site:
"* 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
You can't beat a combination of ** relevant ** content, links to your
site and good HTML design to make it easy on your visitors and on
search engine crawlers to index your site.
And SERPs ranking, while using a complicated algorithms, are always
striving to deliver that ** relevant ** content. Minus the content,
you're not going to rank well, whether or not you've got thousands of
links TO your site and a PageRank of 10!
========================
Your Search Terms
========================
You mentioned your ranking while searching for the term "Asteio
Corporation" (with or without the quotation marks). While it may seem
that your site *should* be first, the reason it isn't is easy to see.
My search for Asteio Corporation (without the quotation marks) turned
up the following page,
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=asteio+corporation&btnG=Google+Search
The first entry is the training-classes.com site, here:
- http://www.training-classes.com/course_hierarchy/companies/222_Asteio_Corporation.php
(home to the real link directly under it, here)
- http://www.training-classes.com/course_hierarchy/courses/572_Asteio_Corporation.php
The reason this rates before your own is the AMOUNT of relevant
material on this page is far greater than the amount on your own
site's home page.
The actual design of your page has something to do with it. Consider
the listing Google has for your page (enter your domain in Google's
search box). Here's the listing you get,
"Asteio Corporation - Offering Onsite Customized .NET,
C#, VB .NET ...
Asteio Corporation, ...
Google can show you the following information for this URL:
* Show Google's cache of www.asteio.com
* Find web pages that are similar to www.asteio.com
* Find web pages that link to www.asteio.com
* Find web pages that contain the term "www.asteio.com" "
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=www.asteio.com&btnG=Google+Search
The first line of the Description is some of the information contained
within your <title> tag. The description, however, is the first line
of text within the body of your site, and then Google's search bot
never gets beyond all that javascripting to get to the heart of your
page's content. That's why all it says is:
"Asteio Corporation, ..."
Not enough content there, before adding all the javascripting, to make
a description, let alone consider the page's content for SERPs
ranking.
Even if it does consider the page's content, the training-classes.com
page has more content than your own - and Google deems it more
**relevant** than your own page.
The reason it may come up first in Yahoo is simple ... until recently,
Yahoo used Google as it's search engine. When it started developing
its own engine, it used all the sites within its Directory. I notice
your Yahoo listing is identical to your Yahoo Directory listing.
And MSN seems to be following Yahoo's lead. Notice their first listing
is the Yahoo directory listings?
This explains the difference in SERPs results at the moment. But
remember, too, both Yahoo and MSN would like to take their share of
Google's search away, so they, too, will be working on developing and
tweaking their own search engines in the same endeavor as Google.
The bottom line is still that it is incumbent on you to deliver
relevant material, have good HTML design, and develop links from
relevant sites to your own.
===========================
Establishing Links
===========================
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.
A WORD OF WARNING:
==================
Google specifically warns "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
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
===========================
Some 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
Search Engine Watch's "Google PageRank Lunacy" by Mike Grehan, March, 2004,
- http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3319461
and his "Link Equity Explained", available in PDF,
- http://www.search-engine-book.co.uk/LinkEquityExplained.pdf
"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.
=====================
The Importance
of Good HTML
=====================
Shari Thurow, one of the leading authorities in web design and search
engine optimization (and author of the book "Search Engine
Visibility"), recently made the following observation with regard to
HTML:
"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 <.a href="page.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
She explained how errors in HTML can affect your ability to be
indexed, and ultimately, ranked.
You might want to double check your javascript for your menu rollover
- as that's where Google's search seemed to end without picking up any
of the rest of your content.
==========================================
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).
It is incumbent upon you, the webmaster or the website owner, to
ensure your site meets these basics if you want your site listed.
Webmasters who do 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
* Remove Content from Google's Index (just in case you feel
a burning need to start all over again)
- ://www.google.com/remove.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 of the 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
============
While there is nothing inherently "wrong" with your site, there are
other sites which Google obviously considers more relevant than your
own, even for your own corporate name.
This can easily be remedied with some redesign and understanding what
it is that is really important in Google. Any of the SEO experts will
tell you that there is no substitute for content, good design and
links to your site. This meshes with what Google recommends and
suggests, too.
As an extra bit of information, the last Search Engine Session I
attended (and there's a new one in London in a few days), the other
search engines have always agreed that if you design for Google,
you'll have no problem doing well in theirs. Don't rely on what's
there now when it comes to Yahoo and MSN. They're both too new to the
search engine game using their own algorithms to be relied on to stay
that way.
Search terms ~
================
Besides the specific searches as listed above, I relied on reliable
resources I use in my daily business as a designer and SEO consultant.
I hope this helps,
Serenata
Google Answers Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
serenata-ga
on
03 Jun 2004 11:15 PDT
Hello again Milanmalkani ~
Oops! That's what I get for trying to clarify an answer before my
first cuppa in the morning. Please accept my apologies for the
embarassing mistake.
I was looking for a link for finding search terms and called up an old
answer to find the link - and inadvertently pasted that material as
the answer. Luckily, I did have your answer saved, too, which I will
post below. Thank you again, and accept my apology for the screwup.
The answer you SHOULD have gotten:
===============================================
Please understand that I am not being hypercritical. Your subject was
a PageRank question, and you say in your clarification (although you
didn't mention in your original question) that you were aware of
either the links provided or the information I provided. However, your
site lacks a great deal of information you could provide (content),
which would help with your SERPs ranking.
Specifically to your site, besides the first page that I mentioned,
your training.html page only mentions these terms once in the most
general way:
- Microsoft
- Visual
- C++
- MFC
- C#
- Visual Basic
- .NET
- .NET Framework
- ASP .NET
- Windows Forms
- XML
and the rest.
Thatis the sum total of real content or information, though.
What about this training? You state that go to the company in certain
cities to train, but there is so much more information you can and
should be offering. For instance, who does the evaluation of the level
of training needed? When you are done are they in a position to be
certified by Microsoft themselves? Can they pass the examinations?
This is what I meant by content - there really is none except the most
general. The more relevant content you offer, the better the chances
of your pages will rank well. It should be understood, too, that the
more information you give in anticipation of your visitors'
questions, the better your chance of turning those visitors into
customers.
Your pricing page makes reference to "advanced technical class", but
you don't mention anywhere else on the site what that "advanced
technical class" is or consists of.
Your "contact" information contains two email addresses, but there is
nothing about who you are nor what your qualifications are to offer
this training, how long you've been in business, other companies
you've offered the training to, testimonials on the BENEFITS of their
personnel having been trained, etc. All those factors add content and
add credibility to your corporation.
The training-class.com site I mentioned in the answer (and which is
included on your 'links' page) has more relevant content and
information about your company than your own website. Your site should
expound on your offerings in a similar manner.
You could do well to take a look at those sites which place well, for
example the search term "C# Training Austin Texas" (without the
quotation marks), MicroAssist is the first listing.
This page,
- http://www.microassist.net/show_courseoutline.cfm?outlinefilename=ACF165.htm
contains a great deal of real content, including what is covered in its lessons.
Likewise, trainingplanet.com,
- http://www.trainingplanet.com/html/mcsd_training.html
offers a great deal more relevant information about its training than
your company's site.
You simply need to expand on your training for your courses.
In a nutshell, the other sites are deemed more relvant for those
search terms. And those other sites contain more relevant information
than yours. So it is time to rewrite, perhaps even to hire a good
designer with SEO and marketing experience - or at the very least, a
good copywriter - to add content to your site.
With regard to the second part of your question, "Are the any other
places that you can come up with for us to list our site that are
related to technical training for our field (ie. asp .net, java, c#,
microsoft, etc.)?"
From the perspective of Page Rank (which is the subject matter of your
question, after all), that is covered in the section about
establishing links. You know your market (and your target market is
important here) - where do they look, what do they read, what sites
are common to them and to your business? These are sites which should
link to yours, and which you should approach via the suggestions about
establishing links.
On the off-chance you were approaching that from a marketing
perspective, it makes sense to buy advertising for visibility in the
periodicals your target market subscribes to.
There is also Google's AdWords, which would give you visibility as a
'sponsor' for the search results.
It would help to understand what search terms your market uses when
looking for training for IT personnel. I suspect they do not search
for your corporate name; but do you know if they look for C# Training?
You might want to take some time using a search tracker like Word
Tracker, (I usually suggest spending a day at Wordtracker) -
http://www.wordtracker.com - to seek out all the related phrases you
can with relation to the search terms your target market is using, and
then write copy based around the best, most relevant terms. You can
take it a step further and include those words in your Title tags and
within the content of your website accordingly. That will certainly
help.
If nothing else, by visiting Wordtracker, you'll get an idea of what
search terms they are *really* using when it comes to IT training.
Thanks for asking for the clarification,
Serenata
==================
P.S. Again, I'll make sure I've got the coffee IN me and my EYES and
MIND in function mode before I try doing that again.
Serenata
|
