Figuring out how Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines work will give your
website the best possible chance of achieving good search ranking success. Once
you understand the basic concepts of what a search engine is looking for, it
becomes easier to give this to the search engines and thus increase the
visibility within search engines as a whole.
What’s the difference between a Search engine and a Directory website?
The basic principles are the same, to deliver relevant results for a search,
it’s they way they collate the information that differentiate them.
Search engines physically explore the
internet, looking for new websites, or changes to existing ones using a piece of
software called a ‘Search Engine Spider.’ The entire process is automated
without any human intervention. Spider software is controlled by complex
mathematical processes called algorithms which are unique to each search engine.
Exactly how these algorithms work is a closely guarded secret, but through
experience and following published rules, a website that assists the spidering
process and conforms to the needs of an algorithm, has a greater chance of being
listed highly within a search engine’s results. Take
a look at
www.google.co.uk/webmasters for Google’s guide to what their Spider looks
for.
Directories do not index the web using Spider software like search engines in
order to establish their entries, but instead rely upon humans to manually add
entries to their databases. Directories generally group entries or websites that
are similar to each other, together into subject and regional categories e.g.
“Accountants in Scarborough” or “Hotels in Filey.” SEO
(Search engine optimisation) has no impact upon the results you may find in an
online directory. Getting your site listed in a particular directory is usually
a matter of submitting your website’s link to it. Look for a “Submit My Site”,
“Add My Site” or a “Get Listed” link somewhere on the directory’s website.
The downside to directories is they often charge an inclusion fee in order to
list a website link; however this can often be worth the cost if you feel a
particular directory is popular amongst your target customers.