Search Engine Optimization White Paper (1 of 2)

As more businesses, both large and small set up Web sites to market their goods and services, a primary concern of business owners is "getting found" at the places on the internet where the public searches for businesses to serve their needs. All Web site owners want their sites to consistently rank in the "top ten" of internet searches. This concept, simple as it seems on the surface, is actually a complex proposition requiring informed decision-making and planning. The purpose of this document is help business owners and managers navigate this confusing sea of technical concepts and plot a strategy to achieve success in their online marketing efforts.

What are Search Engines?
Internet search engines are often referred to as "portals" because they are the places that have become the entry point for millions of internet users who utilize these massive
Web sites to find internet-based information and receive personalized online services.

Although all of these sites are generically referred to as "search engines", a distinction must first be made between true search engines and online directories. The primary difference between the two is in how each collects and stores listings and links to outside Web sites. Search engines work by using specialized programs sometimes called "spiders" or "crawlers" to seek out web pages, index the textual content of those pages, and place this information into sophisticated databases. Those databases are queried when users perform searches on the host Web site. Directories, on the other hand, organize information into a hierarchical taxonomy to create massive categorized lists of other Web sites. This service is usually performed by human editors, who process a vast amount of information flowing in each day.

How Do Search Engines Work?
The mechanics of how the engines work is easy to describe in general. As previously mentioned, indexing programs visit Web sites to "read" the content of pages and organize that content into their database of indexed web pages. It is very important to understand that these programs read only the text content of pages; there is no way for them to read graphics, therefore the words used in the text of web pages is critically important to that site's ranking. The key determinant in how various pages rank in internet searches has to do with the sophisticated algorithms used by search engine databases to determine the relevancy of a page to the word or words that are being searched for. There are a number factors that are evaluated by these programs which vary from one search engine company to another and are subject to constant change and revision. Some of the consistent factors in relevancy ranking on a given keyword or phrase include the following:

• The frequency of the keyword within the text of the page.
• The use of the keyword in important places within the page, such as the page title, a headline or a hyperlink.
• The percentage of that keyword's use when compared to the total number of words on the page.
• The number of links to that page from other sites on the internet.

What about META Tags?
META tags, hidden HTML tags embedded in pages, are widely considered as a "magic bullet" for helping a site rank high under certain keywords. The reality is much more sobering. Search engine databases consider two types of META tags, the META KEYWORD tag and the META DESCRIPTION tag. Most search engine systems ignore the META KEYWORD tag, because it is so easily abused, allowing the site creator to list keywords that have nothing to do with the site's content, or to list competitor's names. The META DESCRIPTION tag is used by most search engines. It is useful because the text embedded in the tag appears as the descriptive text that is displayed when the site is listed in a search results page. While this tag doesn't help the site get found, more often, it allows the site owner to write a compelling and persuasive message that will entice the user to click on the link to his/her site.

Getting Indexed
Understanding the basics of the indexing system used by search engines obviates the need to first be indexed by the search engine spiders. This, however is a process that
often is more difficult or takes longer to occur than might be expected. Search engines locate pages using two methods: user registration and following links from other sites. The search engine systems are faced the gargantuan task of indexing billions of pages. Hundreds of thousands of new requests to be indexed are received each day. As a result, search engine databases contain only a fraction of the total indexable pages on the web, and are falling further behind as the size of the web grows.

Some interesting facts about search engine indexing are contained in a scientific study entitled: Accessibility of Information on the Web (Lawrence & Giles; Nature, vol. 400; July 8, 1999). In their article, the authors report that the major search engines have stored between 2.5% (Lycos) to 16% (Northern Light) of the indexable pages on the web. Also, the median age of new documents on listed by the engines is 57 days, evidencing the fact that getting listed can be a process that takes months.

Is Your Business "Search Engine Friendly"?
An important first consideration in the development of a strategy is to consider the business you are in and set your expectations accordingly.

Some businesses by their nature are more appropriate for search engine marketing. These businesses normally have these characteristics:

1. They sell specialized or niche products or services.
2. They market nationally or internationally.
3. They are able to develop a unique set of keywords to describe their businesses.

It is important to remember that search engines are based on words and words alone. Therefore, the only tools at your disposal are the words you use to describe your business. If those words are not unique in their nature, the prospect of being listed high on most search engines is unlikely. This is especially difficult for certain professional service companies such as attorneys, accountants and retailers that do not focus on a narrow niche or regional marketplace.

For example, there are thousands of accounting firms around the United States; the market for these firms spans the gamut from the enormous "big six" companies to small solo practitioners. However, the words used to describe those firms essentially does not vary. A small practitioner must use the keywords, "accounting", "auditing", "tax preparation" etc., just as a big six firm does. The key point here is that the words used to describe the business are not unique in nature unless you are targeting a unique geographic region.

Second, search engine marketing favors companies that sell to a large geographic base. The individuals that will find your site through search engines will come from all over the world. If you can only do business within a local area due to logistics or contractual restrictions, getting found by thousands of individuals who can't be your customers and being contacted by them wastes everybody's time.

If your business does not lend itself to search engine marketing, you may conclude that the best strategy is no strategy at all. Instead of wasting time and effort on a futile battle with the search engines, you can focus your site marketing on local online directories and portals and offline local advertising media such as radio, television, newspapers, or the yellow pages. Favorable businesses for effective search engine marketing are specialized manufacturers, select professional services firms, and specialized service providers. Unfavorable, or more more difficult businesses to target in search engines are unspecialized retailers and franchisees.

Optimizing for Search Engines
If you have determined that your business is favorable to search engine marketing, what follows is a step-by-step process to maximize your ability to obtain new customers via search engines.

The steps of this process include:

1. Determining and prioritizing key phrases.
2. Writing copy for the site and directing design around those phrases.
3. Submitting to search engines.
4. Requesting links from as many other sites as possible.
5. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.