The Generic Search Engine Algorithm article

Many already have their domain name / URL and its the company name or a derivation of it. That's a pretty good choice if your company is a recognized brand, but you may also want to consider a domain name with your top keyword in it. For example, consider "diamonds" as your top keyword and your company distributes diamonds, a good URL might be diamonds.com or diamondtrader.com. Search Engines love keywords in the URL, this will give you a significant page rank boost.

File Names and Directory Structure

Like the URL, one should include keywords in their file names and directory names. Why use first_page.htm, when one can use diamond_cuts.htm. Search Engines give a fair amount of weight to this strategy. One should also try to keep the file structure flat vs. many folders. If you are using a database, make sure the file names are not over 75 characters and do not include spider killers such as "?."

Page Title

This is not the first line of your web site, but the Title tag in the header area of your html code. This text is displayed in the upper left of the browser window when the page is visited. The Page Title is very important to search engines, especially Google. Each page should have a single keyword phrase that is used in the Page Title. Do not use more than 50 letters in the page title.

Meta Tags - Keywords and Description

Meta Tags have fallen on hard times recently, especially keyword meta tags. Currently, Google is not giving weight to them but the new Yahoo Search is looking at them closely. I like to choose two to three keyword phrases per page and stuff these in the keyword meta tag. Make sure you use these terms throughout the page body text. The Meta Tag description is widely used. Google uses this in their search results to help describe your site. I like to reuse the Page Title keyword phrase as the first phrase in the Meta Tag Description and repeat it twice to make some type of coherent sentence. One should not worry about using their company name in these areas unless your name is a top brand. Most people will click on a top search result and your web site will display your name.

H1 Tags / Bold Text

Like Meta Keywords H1 Tags and Bold Text has fallen out of favor. Do not overuse these attributes. Use them as needed in design but not part of your optimization strategy. I would not repeat and H1 tag more than twice on the page.

Alt Tags

Image Alt Tags are a good area to stuff a few keywords.

HREF Tags URL

Search Engines like keyword related links on a web site. A good way to do this is to use the <a href="page" title= "sub keyword">main keyword</a> syntax.

Body Text / Copywriting

Many people stuff keywords into their meta tags and run. Well, this strategy does not work. An optimized web site uses the main keyword throughout the page to increase keyword density for the page. One should keep the keyword density lower than 10% for the page. Many people need to rewrite their copy to include their top keywords.

Link Popularity

Does Link Popularity really work? According to Google it has an effect. Google gives weight to your site if other sites related to your site link to your web site. Google calls their calculation of Link Popularity as "Page Rank." I really do not know how weighted this component is for optimization, but I do know that links to your site is good advertising, so one should pursue links vigorously.

This was a brief summary of the main components of generic search engine algorithm. There's a ton more to learn but this should jump start your learning curve.

If you have any questions about this article, please contact Steve Parker, founder BrainScouts, at stevep@brainscouts.com or call 303-432-8952.

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The Generic Search Engine Algorithm by: Stephen C. Parker, April 2004 My goal in this article is to explain the components of a generic search engine algorithm. Each search engine calculates and weights these components differently, but all use them in their final page rank calculations. The reader must remember that a highly optimized site that uses these search engine optimization techniques to gain a higher page rank on the search engines, does not equal a complete marketing plan. High Search Engine rank is one goal in a well balanced Internet Marketing plan. Key Components of a Generic Search Engine Algorithm Keywords / Search Terms URL / Domain Name File Names / Directory Structure Page Title (header) Header Tags / Bold Text Meta Tags Alt Tags HREF Tags / Links Body Text / Copywriting Link Popularity / Page Rank Keywords / Search Terms As you might guess, this is the most important component of the search engine algorithm. What will potential customers / visitors type into the search engine to find your web site? If you get this wrong, perfecting all other components is a useless task. URL / Domain Name Many already have their domain name / URL and its the company name or a derivation of it. That's a pretty good choice if your company is a recognized brand, but you may also want to consider a domain name with your top keyword in it. For example, consider "diamonds" as your top keyword and your company distributes diamonds, a good URL might be diamonds.com or diamondtrader.com. Search Engines love keywords in the URL, this will give you a significant page rank boost. File Names and Directory Structure Like the URL, one should include keywords in their file names and directory names. Why use first_page.htm, when one can use diamond_cuts.htm. Search Engines give a fair amount of weight to this strategy. One should also try to keep the file structure flat vs. many folders. If you are using a database, make sure the file names are not over 75 characters and do not include spider killers such as "?." Page Title This is not the first line of your web site, but the Title tag in the header area of your html code. This text is displayed in the upper left of the browser window when the page is visited. The Page Title is very important to search engines, especially Google. Each page should have a single keyword phrase that is used in the Page Title. Do not use more than 50 letters in the page title. Meta Tags - Keywords and Description Meta Tags have fallen on hard times recently, especially keyword meta tags. Currently, Google is not giving weight to them but the new Yahoo Search is looking at them closely. I like to choose two to three keyword phrases per page and stuff these in the keyword meta tag. Make sure you use these terms throughout the page body text. The Meta Tag description is widely used. Google uses this in their search results to help describe your site. I like to reuse the Page Title keyword phrase as the first phrase in the Meta Tag Description and repeat it twice to make some type of coherent sentence. One should not worry about using their company name in these areas unless your name is a top brand. Most people will click on a top search result and your web site will display your name. H1 Tags / Bold Text Like Meta Keywords H1 Tags and Bold Text has fallen out of favor. Do not overuse these attributes. Use them as needed in design but not part of your optimization strategy. I would not repeat and H1 tag more than twice on the page. Alt Tags Image Alt Tags are a good area to stuff a few keywords. HREF Tags URL Search Engines like keyword related links on a web site. A good way to do this is to use the <a href="page" title= "sub keyword">main keyword</a> syntax. Body Text / Copywriting Many people stuff keywords into their meta tags and run. Well, this strategy does not work. An optimized web site uses the main keyword throughout the page to increase keyword density for the page. One should keep the keyword density lower than 10% for the page. Many people need to rewrite their copy to include their top keywords. Link Popularity Does Link Popularity really work? According to Google it has an effect. Google gives weight to your site if other sites related to your site link to your web site. Google calls their calculation of Link Popularity as "Page Rank." I really do not know how weighted this component is for optimization, but I do know that links to your site is good advertising, so one should pursue links vigorously. This was a brief summary of the main components of generic search engine algorithm. There's a ton more to learn but this should jump start your learning curve. If you have any questions about this article, please contact Steve Parker, founder BrainScouts, at stevep@brainscouts.com or call 303-432-8952. Contact BrainScouts, Inc. today for a free web site search engine placement analysis. Phone: (303) 513-1981.	Key SE Algorithm Components URL / Domain Name File Directory Names Page Title Key Words Meta Tags Alt Tags HREF Tags / Links Copywriting / Body Text Link Popularity

BrainScouts, Inc. 17044 W 67th Cr Arvada, CO 80007 Phone: (303) 513-1981 FAX: (303) 432-2711
A Web Site Promotion and Search Engine Optimization Company

Key SE Algorithm Components

BrainScouts, Inc. 17044 W 67th Cr Arvada, CO 80007 Phone: (303) 513-1981 FAX: (303) 432-2711

Key SE Algorithm
Components

BrainScouts, Inc.
17044 W 67th Cr
Arvada, CO 80007
Phone: (303) 513-1981
FAX: (303) 432-2711