How To Make Search Engines Happy In 3 Easy Steps
How To Make Search Engines Happy In 3 Easy Steps
1) Follow the Search Engine Guidelines
Nearly all search engines publish their own guidelines regarding the submission of sites, the type of sites they will accept and recommendations for optimized content. Google recently updated their Webmaster Guidelines - http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html - which cover the most common forms of deceptive or manipulative search engine behavior that they consider to be “spam”. They also published SEO Guidelines http://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html – advice for webmasters to heed when choosing an SEO. Google was the first search engine to publicly acknowledge search engine optimizers in this fashion.
It’s not just Google publishing anti-spam guidelines. You’ll find them at the following search engine sites as well:
- MSN Search webmaster guidelines http://search.msn.com/docs/siteowner.aspx?t=SEARCH_WEBMASTER_REF_GuidelinesforOptimizingSite.htm
- AltaVista terms of use (AltaVista is a Yahoo-owned company)
http://www.altavista.com/about/termsofuse
- Yahoo terms of service
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
- Yahoo guidelines on search engine spam (covering AltaVista and AllTheWeb as well)
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-05.html
- Yahoo definitions of search engine spam (covering AltaVista and AllTheWeb as well)
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-04.html
- Yahoo content guidelines
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/index.html
- AskJeeves / Teoma terms of service and spam policy
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/terms_of_service.shtml
- AskJeeves / Teoma editorial guidelines
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/editorial_guidelines.shtml
2) Avoid Spamming the Search Engines
Often, webmasters will use search engine spam techniques without even being aware that they are doing so. Or worse, web designers can – advertently or inadvertently - integrate techniques that could cause a site to be penalized in the site’s rankings in one or more engines, without the site owner’s knowledge of such penalties. The key to avoiding spamming the engines is research.
Keep track of the various search engine guidelines via the links above. Watch for any changes they make to these guidelines and tweak your site accordingly. Trawl the various webmaster and search engine forums regularly to ensure your site doesn’t use any of the latest methods that appear to be penalized. If you suspect your site has been penalized, remove the offending content, contact the engine concerned and ask to be reinstated.
Google actually encourage you to file a re-inclusion request via their Help Center - http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py - and this post http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/reinclusion-request-howto/ by Google staffer Matt Cutts outlines what should be included.
Alternatively, here is a sample email template you can use instead:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sample Re-inclusion Request Email
Dear [search engine name],
I am the owner of [your site URL].
I did not realize that participation in [spammy method] and
[spammy SEO name] programs could cause problems for my website. I was
assured that these techniques were search-engine-friendly by [your source for using spammy method].
I now understand that the practices used are not acceptable. I apologize for having allowed them to be placed on my website. I've removed the questionable pages and links from the site. I promise not to repeat such mistakes.
I am asking you to please consider reinstating my website,
[your site URL] into the [search engine name] Index.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To assist them to provide a high quality service, search engines encourage people to report search results they are dissatisfied with. If you spot some content spam or techniques that are clearly in breach of the search engine’s public guidelines, you can report it using these links:
- Google spam report or via search-quality@google.com
http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html
- AllTheWeb relevancy problem report (AllTheWeb is a Yahoo-owned company)
http://www.alltheweb.com/info/contact/relevancy
- AltaVista search results manipulation report (or via Yahoo’s spam report)
http://www.altavista.com/help/contact/search
- Yahoo spam report
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-06.html
- AskJeeves spam report or via information@ask.com
http://webk.ask.com/contactus
3) Build Sites for Visitors Rather than Search Engines
The methodologies may have changed over the years, but the same principles have always applied to "good" or “white hat” SEO. Build sites for humans, not search engines. Make the site as user friendly as possible, avoid the bells and whistles and include high quality, relevant content.
Wherever possible, include text-based content and navigation menus with simple, descriptive, well-written copy designed to convert your visitors into customers. Include keywords and phrases your audience would logically type in to search engines to find sites like yours. Only link to sites that are relevant to your target audience and spend some time on usability, making sure all your forms and shopping carts work.
Remember that what pleases a visitor is almost always what pleases a search engine too.
How To Make Search Engines Happy In 3 Easy Steps - To learn more about this author, visit Kalena Jordan's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Does your web site make search engines happy? Despite all the negative hype lately, it’s pretty easy to design a web site that search engines will accept with open arms. All it takes is 3 easy steps:
1) Follow the Search Engine Guidelines
Nearly all search engines publish their own guidelines regarding the submission of sites, the type of sites they will accept and recommendations for optimized content. Google recently updated their Webmaster Guidelines - http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html - which cover the most common forms of deceptive or manipulative search engine behavior that they consider to be “spam”. They also published SEO Guidelines http://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html – advice for webmasters to heed when choosing an SEO. Google was the first search engine to publicly acknowledge search engine optimizers in this fashion.
It’s not just Google publishing anti-spam guidelines. You’ll find them at the following search engine sites as well:
- MSN Search webmaster guidelines http://search.msn.com/docs/siteowner.aspx?t=SEARCH_WEBMASTER_REF_GuidelinesforOptimizingSite.htm
- AltaVista terms of use (AltaVista is a Yahoo-owned company)
http://www.altavista.com/about/termsofuse
- Yahoo terms of service
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
- Yahoo guidelines on search engine spam (covering AltaVista and AllTheWeb as well)
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-05.html
- Yahoo definitions of search engine spam (covering AltaVista and AllTheWeb as well)
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-04.html
- Yahoo content guidelines
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/index.html
- AskJeeves / Teoma terms of service and spam policy
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/terms_of_service.shtml
- AskJeeves / Teoma editorial guidelines
http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/editorial_guidelines.shtml
2) Avoid Spamming the Search Engines
Often, webmasters will use search engine spam techniques without even being aware that they are doing so. Or worse, web designers can – advertently or inadvertently - integrate techniques that could cause a site to be penalized in the site’s rankings in one or more engines, without the site owner’s knowledge of such penalties. The key to avoiding spamming the engines is research.
Keep track of the various search engine guidelines via the links above. Watch for any changes they make to these guidelines and tweak your site accordingly. Trawl the various webmaster and search engine forums regularly to ensure your site doesn’t use any of the latest methods that appear to be penalized. If you suspect your site has been penalized, remove the offending content, contact the engine concerned and ask to be reinstated.
Google actually encourage you to file a re-inclusion request via their Help Center - http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py - and this post http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/reinclusion-request-howto/ by Google staffer Matt Cutts outlines what should be included.
Alternatively, here is a sample email template you can use instead:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sample Re-inclusion Request Email
Dear [search engine name],
I am the owner of [your site URL].
I did not realize that participation in [spammy method] and
[spammy SEO name] programs could cause problems for my website. I was
assured that these techniques were search-engine-friendly by [your source for using spammy method].
I now understand that the practices used are not acceptable. I apologize for having allowed them to be placed on my website. I've removed the questionable pages and links from the site. I promise not to repeat such mistakes.
I am asking you to please consider reinstating my website,
[your site URL] into the [search engine name] Index.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To assist them to provide a high quality service, search engines encourage people to report search results they are dissatisfied with. If you spot some content spam or techniques that are clearly in breach of the search engine’s public guidelines, you can report it using these links:
- Google spam report or via search-quality@google.com
http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html
- AllTheWeb relevancy problem report (AllTheWeb is a Yahoo-owned company)
http://www.alltheweb.com/info/contact/relevancy
- AltaVista search results manipulation report (or via Yahoo’s spam report)
http://www.altavista.com/help/contact/search
- Yahoo spam report
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-06.html
- AskJeeves spam report or via information@ask.com
http://webk.ask.com/contactus
3) Build Sites for Visitors Rather than Search Engines
The methodologies may have changed over the years, but the same principles have always applied to "good" or “white hat” SEO. Build sites for humans, not search engines. Make the site as user friendly as possible, avoid the bells and whistles and include high quality, relevant content.
Wherever possible, include text-based content and navigation menus with simple, descriptive, well-written copy designed to convert your visitors into customers. Include keywords and phrases your audience would logically type in to search engines to find sites like yours. Only link to sites that are relevant to your target audience and spend some time on usability, making sure all your forms and shopping carts work.
Remember that what pleases a visitor is almost always what pleases a search engine too.
How To Make Search Engines Happy In 3 Easy Steps - To learn more about this author, visit Kalena Jordan's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Kalena's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Social Bookmarking Guide Purpose of Value Propositions Internet Marketing Campaigns Benefit From Analytics TeleSeminar Etiquette |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
