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Search Engine Wars - Innovate To Survive in 2004
by Daria Goetsch ©Copyright 2004

Search Engine Innovation For 2004
After being blind-sided by the Google Florida update, many 
webmasters and SEO's were reeling from the results. The message 
is clear: you can't rely on just one search engine for all of 
your traffic. You must use all your wits to emerge victorious 
from the search engine wars. Google is important, but it is not 
everything. Keep your eyes and ears open to new opportunities 
and old standbys: other search engines and directories, paid 
placement and pay-per-click, newsletters, and even more 
traditional channels.

Wait To Change
So were you an innocent bystander caught in the onslaught of 
sites dumped in the Google Florida update? Many people lost 
their hard-earned ranking, even though they did nothing "wrong". 
Many websites that follow Google's rules for optimization to 
the letter were still caught up in the carnage. Unfortunately, 
many businesses were devastated by these changes, especially 
heading into the holiday months. 

What to do? As difficult as it may have been to make sense of 
Google's changes, for many, the simplest course of action was 
to simply do nothing. While perhaps contrary to a normal "it's 
broken so I need to fix it" approach, for many webmasters "do 
nothing" has proven to be the correct course of action. Since 
the update, many sites that were exiled to search engine Siberia 
have returned to nearly their former ranking, shaken but intact. 
From all appearances, Google simply changed their algorithm 
and may not have gotten it quite right. Additional "tweaks" 
subsequent to the Florida update seem to have brought some 
sanity back to their results. 

Who Will Stay Tops In The Search Engines?
You never know who will become the leader in search engines. It 
was only a few years ago that directories were the major force
--until the upstart search engine Google came along. Google got 
its start about five years ago and hasn't looked back. As long 
as Google provides good results for its users, it is in a good 
position to stay on top. However, with MSN working on the 
creation of its own search engine and Yahoo's acquisition of 
Overture (which includes AllTheWeb and AltaVista), things could 
get interesting in 2004. Microsoft is always a force to be 
reckoned with, and Yahoo certainly has the tools to become a 
major competitor to Google. 

Inktomi's New Role
Inktomi may play an important role in this growth since it is 
now owned by Yahoo. Keep an eye on this engine: it provides 
secondary results for MSN and will probably replace Google in 
supplying primary results in Yahoo. Inktomi's importance may 
also increase in MSN once the Microsoft property stops using 
LookSmart for its primary results. 

To see which pages you have listed in Inktomi, use the Inktomi 
Pure Search function from Positiontech 
(http://search.positiontech.com/InktomiSearch/PositionTechSearch.jsp). 
Inktomi often adds a few free pages to its databases. Check 
first to see which pages you may already have in their database 
for free before using Paid Inclusion for your most important 
pages.

Other Ways To Promote Your Website
Keep your eye on search engine news. Google was an up and coming 
engine a few years ago, you never know what will happen in the 
industry so stay on your toes. Continue to promote your website 
through links in topical directory listings. Search for websites 
that contain topics related to yours. Link when it "makes sense". 
Don't forget traditional means of marketing your website: print 
ads, brochures, magazine articles and more may help to make a 
difference. One of the best ways to promote yourself online and 
increase your link popularity is to write articles on your 
subject. Find websites that accept free content and submit your 
ezine, articles or newsletters to those websites to build your 
link popularity. Newsletters, forums, FAQ's, blogs and tips on 
your subject are all viable means to inform your visitors and 
bring in new traffic to your website. Don't forget to archive 
your newsletters and articles on your website, which works to 
build your site size and increase link popularity through your 
authoritative knowledge of your subject. You aren't a writer? 
Consider working with a copywriter to help build your good 
content. 

Paid Inclusion And Pay Per Click
If you haven't ventured into using Paid Inclusion or PPC 
services, consider using them to help balance the changes in 
your traffic. Use a Paid Inclusion subscription for your most 
important pages, or submit dynamically generated pages that 
aren't being picked up by the search engine robots so they will 
appear regularly in the search engine database. You can start 
your PPC bidding in small doses. Look for some of the secondary 
smaller terms that don't cost as much but will still bring in 
traffic your competitors may miss. Take a look at some of the 
smaller PPC engines available out there, a little traffic from 
a lot of places can add up. 

For more information on choosing keyword phrases, read our 
article Finding Targeted Keyword Phrases Your Competitors Miss 
(http://www.searchinnovation.com/keyword-phrases-competitors.asp).

Content, Content, Content
The biggest mistake I see webmasters make is creating a website 
with little content. Don't rely on a few paragraphs of text with 
optimization to convince search engine robots to stick around. 
A skeleton website does not make a good impression on anyone. 
Build the content of your website. Google's new algorithm may be 
a sign of search engine robots getting a little smarter when it 
comes to understanding what your website content is about. Build 
information that will keep your visitors at your website. Become 
an authority on your subject so other websites will naturally 
link to you because your information is invaluable. Remember, 
Google is interested in serving those who use its search 
capabilities, just as you should be interested in serving your 
visitors. Give as much real content information to your visitors
as possible. They will thank you with return visits.

And In The End...
In the end, the information you give is often equal to the 
response you receive. Make the effort to become an authority 
site on your subject. Building the groundwork of your website 
with quality information and broadening your methods of marketing 
will help sustain you during the upcoming search engine wars.

================================================================
Daria Goetsch is the founder and Search Engine Marketing 
Consultant for Search Innovation Marketing 
( http://www.searchinnovation.com), a Search Engine Promotion 
company serving small businesses. She has specialized in search 
engine optimization since 1998, including three years as the 
Search Engine Specialist for O'Reilly & Associates, a technical 
book publishing company.
 
Copyright © 2002-2004 Search Innovation Marketing. 
http://www.searchinnovation.com All Rights Reserved
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