Hi Kotemaori ~
You have basically addressed two issues here:
1.) possible "faults" in your site's design; and
2.) establishing links.
I'll address them separately, but please remember that Google Answers
Researchers are independent contractors and not Google employees. We
do not have any 'insider knowledge', but offer you what experience and
research proves to be effective.
=================
Site Design
=================
The good news is -
Your site is beautifully designed. The colors are bright without being
glaring or blaring, and it compels your visitor to come in and explore
further.
And the bad news is -
As pretty and intriguing as the site is to your visitor, your first
page is abysmal for any search engine to index. Basically, there's
nothing there for the search engines to see, and therefore nothing for
them to index. Your text, except for the very bottom of the page, is
entirely a graphic, and Google cannot read graphical text.
The real "content" is inside ... and with nothing but graphic links on
this site, it could even be considered a 'doorway page', something
Google specifically warns about using.
Google offers specific recommendations and suggestions in its
Webmaster Information and its Guidelines on how to design a
Google-friendly site. Among the information and recommendations are:
"* 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."
- From Google's Webmaster Guidelines
://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
Granted you do make some use, albeit not necessarily the *best* use of
the "ALT" and "TITLE" tags, these items are missing from your first
page:
- no text links
- no information-rich content actually using the words contained
in your metatags (which presumably is how you wish to be found
by searchers using Google)
- no description of the content
Google specifically warns:
"* Don't load pages with irrelevant words.
* Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines ...
with little or no original content."
- From Google's Webmaster Guidelines
://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
So far as your landing page (first page) goes, the "irrelevant words"
here could be those terms listed in your keywords and description
metatags.
The solution is easy, either add text to your first page - as rich as
the "inside pages" on your site, or get rid of the first page, as
attractive as it is, and get your visitors - and the search engines -
directly to the relevant information - which is the information your
site visitors are looking for, and information search engines CAN
index.
I would add text links to every page, even if it is only at the bottom
of the page. It is not unusual to see sites do so, and it, too, will
give the search engines the links to your site, to help index the
whole site.
The added bonus is that adding text links or a text menu as I
suggested helps with the accessibility issues; and those who browse
either with graphics disabled or those who rely on alternative
browsers for reasons of disabilities will be able to find the other
pages easily.
Your site is vivid and compelling, but with a bit more 'tweaking', I
feel you can keep the same attractive design, add the rich text and
text links, which would enhance your chances of getting listed in all
the search engines, especially Google. I think this can be done
without ruining the look of your site.
===========================
Establishing Links
===========================
I'm delighted you understand the importance of links to your site,
because Google's PageRank is based in part 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." (SEE Google's
" How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google? - 2. Submitting Your site")
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A1
There are many practical ways of establishing links which are
beneficial to you. Unfortunatly, there are no "overnight success
stories here". These methods take time, but they also help in
establishing credibility besides helping 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
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.
I also suggest going through "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.
=========================
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/
Please remember that Google specifically recommends you list your site
with the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) and Yahoo!
"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
Search Stragegies:
==================
The above was answered from personal bookmarks, Google's guidelines
and information for webmasters, and bookmarks for resources with
information on how to design a Google-friendly site.
If you wish to find further information, there are excellent and
knowledgeable resources available on Webmaster World
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/
and Danny Sullivan's Search Engine Watch
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
Good luck!
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