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Designing for Search Engines

Designing for Search Engines. MIS 314 Professor Sandvig. Overview. Why Design for Search Engines What users want from a search engine Google Market share How Google Works PageRank Search Engine spamming Design features to Avoid. Why Design for Search Engines. E-commerce

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Designing for Search Engines

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  1. Designing for Search Engines MIS 314 Professor Sandvig

  2. Overview • Why Design for Search Engines • What users want from a search engine • Google • Market share • How Google Works • PageRank • Search Engine spamming • Design features to Avoid

  3. Why Design for Search Engines • E-commerce • Traffic = Sales = $$$ • Very effective marketing method • Free!!! • Effective Design • Best to be in top 10 • Few users look past first page of results

  4. Market Share • 65% Google • 16% Yahoo • 11% MSN/Bing • 3% AOL • 2% ASK • 3% all others Aug. 2009 SearchEngineWatch.com

  5. What Users Want from a Search • Comprehensive index • Relevant ranking of results • Millions of pages containing keywords • Which get listed first?

  6. How Google Ranks Results • Relevance • Page contains keywords • “Bellingham hotels” • Location & frequency of keywords in page • Importance • PageRank - measure of page importance • Based upon number of inbound links • Importance of linking sites

  7. How Google Works 1. Relevance • Page contains some or all of keywords • Number of times keywords used • More is better • Location of keywords in page • Page title • URL • Headings • Depth • Font size • etc. • Example: Bellingham Real Estate

  8. How Google Works

  9. How Google Works 2. Page Importance • PageRank • Measure of a page’s “importance” • Popularity index • Each incoming link adds PageRank • Amount added: • PageRank of linking page divided by • Number of links on page

  10. Page Rank • Chrome Page Rank Extension

  11. Page Rank

  12. How to Be Well Ranked • Keyword placement: • Prominent locations • Page title – very important! • Headings • Near top • Use frequently • Keywords in domain name • Meta tags?

  13. How to Be Well Ranked • Selecting keywords • Need to be relevant to site • Try to use specific and/or unusual phrases • “Chris Sandvig” vs. “Faculty & staff” • Model names, numbers, ISBN, etc. • Maximize PageRank • Develop incoming links • Avoid leaking PageRank to other sites

  14. How to Be Well Ranked • Human sacrifice

  15. Example • “Bellingham Real Estate” • Keywords: • Page title • Domain name • Headings • Text • metaTags • PageRank • PR 3 • Links: link:http://realestate.bellingham.net/

  16. Search Engine Spamming • Trying to “trick” search engine for higher page rank • Many techniques • Repeat words many times • Use popular but irrelevant words • sex, Brittany Spears, … • Text same color as background • Gateway pages • Auto-redirects • Hidden links • Risk • Search engines will ban site from index • Difficult to get back in • Google Punishes JC Penny for Gaming Search

  17. Google Bombing • Tricking Google’s index • Examples (Sept. 2006): • miserable failure • Weapons of Mass Destruction • How: couple dozen people • Links on web page • Distinctive phrase: “miserable failure” • SRC: official Bush bio.

  18. Design features to Avoid • Can cause problems: • Forms • Google’s spiders attempt to submit forms • Don’t count on it • Frames • Flash • Images without alt tags • JavaScript redirects • Near identical pages

  19. Additional Information • SearchEngineWatch.com • Surveys, statistics, tips • WebmasterWorld.com • Google World forum • Observation • Do some searches • Look at design features of top ranking sites

  20. Summary • Search engines want relevant content • Gain customers • Effective designs • Use key words effectively • Build PageRank • Avoid • being banned for spamming • Frames, Flash and other problem-prone design features

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