Search Engine Optimisation
What are search engines
Search engines were developed to index all the websites and rank them according to content, in an attempt to provide web users with the content they are looking for. To do this they send out 'crawlers' or 'spiders' to scan the web and index every website that they find by following hyperlinks.
Search engines are automated and tend to have a much greater coverage of the web and therefore provide better opportunities for a site to achieve a ranking across more search terms - although optimising a website for each search engine is crucial in order to get these results.
Below is a summary of the most popular UK search engines. They all operate differently and will use a variety of 'algorithms' to retrieve websites once a search has been made on them. More information is provided via links and information about how to get a site listed and how to achieve a high ranking on each of these main search tools.
The Search Engines
Google launched in 1998 and has rapidly become the most popular search engine due to the speed and accuracy of results. It is the undisputed leader of search engines and the most important search tool to achieve a top placement on, with Google results also now being used by AOL and Netscape Search18, as well as portals like Wanadoo and BBCi. Google is also one of the main search engine to use 'link popularity' as a key element impacting search rankings, whilst Google's PageRank measure is a core indicator of how a site may perform in the search results, based on both internal and external factors on a website.
Microsoft's own web portal MSN has always provided a search service to users - MSN Search - which was also set as the default search option from the Internet Explorer browser, so it tended to attract a reasonably high proportion of search traffic. However, Microsoft have been quite slow to recognise the potential of developing a search service themselves and therefore the MSN search function was provided by third parties, most notably Inktomi.
In the Spring of 2005 however, MSN finally launched its own search engine which was supported by a large advertising campaign. This new search tool is based on the Google model and provides some strong results, with a frequently updated database and a selection of advanced search functions. In the UK MSN Search is the second most popular search tool and benefits from its association with the main MSN portal and other online tools provided by Microsoft.
Yahoo! was traditionally the largest and most important directory on the Internet and it developed into a leading online portal offering a range of services to users. Over the last few years, the Yahoo! directory has dropped its profile and as the size of the web has grown dramatically, the provision of a spidered search engine service became more important, with the introduction of Yahoo! Search.
The search engine service on Yahoo! was initially provided as a supplement to the directory and results were sourced from third parties - initially from Inktomi until this was replaced by Google as the primary search supplier in 2003. However, in 2004 Yahoo! went through a significant acquisition process, buying Overture (along with AltaVista33 and AlltheWeb which had previously just been taken over by Overture) and then Inktomi27. Yahoo! Search has now established a stronger search offering by using the Inktomi search engine and developing this with technology from its other search companies, so that the reach of Yahoo! has grown, to hold the third largest share of the UK search market.
Ask was formerly the Ask Jeeves search engine. Following a re-brand in February 2006, Jeeves 'the butler' was finally dropped and the name of this search engine was changed as the focus was revised to try to gain more market share. The original Ask Jeeves always tried to set itself apart as a different kind of search engine - the search tool for the masses, or those that aren't very confident on using web search tools. Initially Ask Jeeves promoted itself as providing results to questions posed in plain English, so that users could type in a general question and receive relevant results. The information presented came from numerous sources - part search engine results, part directory, part paid links.
Although the new look Ask search engine still holds quite a small share of the search market, it remains a reasonably significant player and the company has grown through acquisition. Most notably, the purchase of Teoma - which was touted as the biggest challenge to Google when it launched in 2002 - has helped Ask to develop its own search engine and to try to compete in the mainstream search market by offering a range of powerful search tools.
Search Engine Submission
Instead of waiting for the search engines to find your web site we will submit your web site manually simply by providing the URL for your site. The search engine will then visit your site and index the page content and HTML tags. Each search engine considers web sites based on different criteria and it can be a full time job to find out what each is looking for and how to design your site to best suit.
Requires Flash Player 9