The Search Light Newsletter
The Search Light Newsletter
  Guiding your site to the top of the search engines... 9 Nov 2002 - Vol 2 Issue #11  

In this issue...

How To Integrate Keywords Into Your Web Site Copy

Changes to Yahoo Express Submit

Search King Sues Google

Sponsorship Notice

Ask Jeeves Heads Towards Profitability

Freeserve Does Deal With FAST

Google Exceeds Three Billion Pages



How To Integrate Keywords Into Your Web Site Copy

By Kalena Jordan of Web Rank Ltd

If you're reading this and your web site doesn't contain any body text on the home page, give yourself a good smack and go to your room without supper. When you're ready to behave and design your site with the search engines in mind, come back out and read this article.
 
The simple truth is this: search engines read text and not much else. You absolutely, positively need to use text on the pages of your site that you want indexed and ranked highly. Not graphical text that you created in your fancy design software, but actual, visible body text. Not sure if your site uses graphical or body text? A good rule of thumb that I learnt from search engine guru Danny Sullivan is to try and highlight the text with your mouse. If you can drag your mouse over the text when viewing it in a browser, chances are this is body text and the search engines can read it.

Ok, so you've created your body copy and your site pages are loaded with good old-fashioned text. But your job's not over! Now you need to get targeted. Search engines aren't going to rank your web site about socks highly if your body copy talks about foot sizes. You need to get specific. If you sell socks, then for heaven's sake, make sure your site copy has plenty of references to the word socks!
 
At the risk of sounding like Dr Seuss, if you want to be found for big socks, small socks, cotton socks and wool socks, then mention them all. Better still, sort your copy into categories based on your products and services. If you sell blue socks AND red socks, then have a page dedicated to each kind. This allows you to target niche keywords within your copy and meet the relevancy guidelines for logical search queries.
 
It sounds so obvious, but I'm constantly amused by the number of web sites I see selling particular items without once making reference to those items in their body copy. For example, there are thousands of sites on the Internet promoting web site design services right? Next time you see one, take a look at their body copy. You'll be surprised how often you'll see flashy looking sites without a single mention of the phrase "web site design" in their page copy. Instead they'll use fancy all graphic pages or Flash movies. Or if they do use body text, it might include cryptic jargonised language like "Internet Solutions" or "online brand building".

What the heck does this tell a search engine about their business? Absolutely nothing. Are these sites going to be considered a relevant match for search queries about "web site design"? No way! The creators of these sites might think they're being clever, but they are really missing the boat entirely. What's the point of having a web site if you are going to sabotage its ability to be found?
 
Anyway, back to you and your web site. So now you've added plenty of text to your pages and the copy flows well for the reader. You've researched your keywords and phrases using WordTracker or something similar and now you're faced with the dilemma of integrating the keywords into your carefully written copy.
 
So how do you satisfy the search engine's craving for keywords without interrupting the copy flow for the reader? The answer is: very carefully. Let's take a look at a practical example. We have a client that specializes in luxury adventure travel. Before I optimized their site, part of the home page copy read like this...

Continued...

   Dear Reader,

Well it had to happen eventually. Seems there is a growing backlash against Google. Some people believe everybody's favourite engine has worn the "Miss Congeniality" crown long enough and are trying to wrestle it away. Others believe Google is developing a dangerous monopoly in the industry and have started to compare Google with Microsoft.
 
But the news that takes the cake this issue, is the guy who has decided to sue Google, allegedly because Google lowered his PageRank score. Can you say "case dismissed"?

Make sure you read our feature article too. I was prompted to write it after constantly receiving emails from readers asking me how to integrate keywords into their site copy. Hopefully this tutorial article (which includes a practical example) will give you the answers you need on that score.
 
Enjoy this issue and remember to visit our daily Search Engine News Blog for the latest industry news and gossip.
 
Till next time - wishing you high rankings...
 


  • Changes to Yahoo Express Submit
  Yahoo has changed their Express Submit service. Express Submit is now called Yahoo Directory Listings and there is a new Online Account Management Center where you can view all your listings, upgrade listings or submit new sites, update your billing information, view previous invoices, monitor when annual fees are due and submit a change request.

Full Story...

  • Search King Sues Google
  •   Bob Massa, president of SearchKing Inc. and PR Ad Network, has filed a lawsuit against Google on the grounds "the organization arbitrarily and purposefully devalued his companies' and his customers' web sites, causing his business to suffer financially".

    Full Story...

  • Sponsorship Notice
  •   Would you prefer a web design team that actually listens to what YOU want? One that understands that a small budget doesn't mean you should sacrifice quality? Hot Pyjama Productions Ltd is that team. We pride ourselves on building sites that not only look good, but meet your marketing goals. We tailor our solutions to meet your needs and we won't leave you guessing about the cost.

    Hot Pyjama Productions: Creatively Working Towards a Sustainable Future.

    Graphic Design, Web Development, Print Production & Photography

  • Ask Jeeves Heads Towards Profitability
  •   Search firm Ask Jeeves Inc. has reported a lower loss and higher revenues in this year's 3rd Quarter results, pushing the company closer towards profitability than ever before.

    Full Story...

  • Freeserve Does Deal With FAST
  •   Freeserve, the U.K.'s most popular ISP and portal site, has done a deal with Norwegian search firm FAST for the provision of search services to their users. The new service, (which replaces Inktomi), includes advanced linguistics support, classification and categorization ability and provides many more times the content and a freshness rate four times better than the prior service.

    Full Story...

  • Google Exceeds Three Billion Pages
  •   Effortlessly and without fanfare, Google has passed the 3 billion page mark of sites indexed as a result of their last database update (affectionately called "the dance" by us industry watchers). Their closest rival in terms of pages indexed is still FAST, at just over 2.1 billion pages.

    More search engine news...


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