The Search Engine websites we see today evolved in pace with the rapid growth of the Web itself. The World Wide Web now consists of a vast, expanding volume of information, billions of linked pages, impossible for us to trawl through looking for specifics.

Its shear size demands that we have some means of homing in on the particular items of interest, information, products, services that are stored somewhere in the vastness.  The function of the search engines is to do precisely that, through their search boxes.  They aim to match what you type into their search box, however obscure or mis-spelt it might be, with information that exists on a web page somewhere on the Web.  Understanding how they do this gives some insight into how we might play it to advantage.

How do Search Engines work?

Some search engines, such as Google, employ software which systematically "crawls" through website after website, looking for key descriptive information which outlines what the site is about.  These snippets of information, key words and phrases, are indexed into massive databases, cross-referenced with the web page address where they were found (effectively your domain name).  Of course, there may be millions of other websites containing the same or similar information, which begs another question.

Other search engines, such as Yahoo, are more human based.  They invite subscribers to present their key descriptors to them so that they can be first of all vetted, then categorised into vast directories that the search engine software will sift for matches.  The “web crawler” search engines, Google, AltaVista, etc., will also readily accept submissions directly from website owners to be included in their indexes, after all, it speeds up the process.

What is Search Engine Positioning/Ranking?

The web crawlers may eventually stumble across your website and find something that meets their criterion for inclusion in their indexes.  But if you don’t actively submit your details to the search engines, then there is a good chance that you are simply not indexed at all, so you’ll never be found through a search box.

The test is to type something that is unique to you into the Google search box – your website name, your business telephone number, and so on.  If you are indexed you should be top of the list!

If you are indexed under certain key words, the important question now is “how far down the list are you?”  It’s a well known fact that people rarely look beyond the first page in search results.  So how do you rise up through the ranks?

The different search engines go about their business in different ways.  The meta keywords and meta description that are embedded in your site are obviously important criteria for “rating” a site.  Some web crawlers will not look beyond the home page, or the first paragraph or so, some place importance in the title of your pages as a source of information, and some employ link analysis.  If a little known website links to your website, this does not have the same kudos as if a well established (well established in the search engine indexes) links to you, it would give information extracted from your site a higher rating, and hence higher ranking in the indexes.  It is also better if a website changes from time to time, its keywords and textual content, so that the site comes across as active and vibrant.

The ranking algorithms employed by search engines are very complex and well guarded secrets.  Their aim is obviously to bring up the very best matches for people’s search phrases, certainly not references to irrelevant or even obsolete websites. When you type a search into a search box, you will typically see at the top of the search results something like “Results 1 - 10 of about 345,000 for……..”.  From a user’s point of view you really want the top page or two to contain close and useful matches to what you’re looking for, and this is what the search engines strive to achieve through their indexing and ranking process.

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

Remember that a web crawler is a piece of software, a computer program that reads your web page and tries to extract information in the systematic way that it has been programmed to proceed.  The content of your website is therefore vital.  The process of Optimisation will ensure that your keywords are well chosen, descriptive and pertinent to your business, and that your pages are rich in such content.  Bearing in mind how the various search engines go about their work, this will make your site is as “visible” as possible, an attractive proposition for indexing.

What is Search Engine Submission?

You can submit your key words and description directly to the various search engines and directories for inclusion in their indexes.  By regular monthly submission, especially with occasional refreshing of your details, you should find your positioning improving.

The search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated and vigilant.  They have to watch out for web owners who are “too pushy”, have sites that aren’t quite what they say they are, employ methods to try to jump the queue, and so on.  Such tactics have resulted in sites being barred from the indexes entirely.

Why Use Search Engines At All?

We think the key to this is whether or not you want to drive more traffic to your website, visitors you would otherwise have not known about.

On the other hand, if you want to promote products or services through your site, even if it’s just locally, maybe also develop e-commerce to take orders and perhaps also credit card payments, then it would almost certainly pay dividends to invest in actively marketing your site.  You first of all need to ensure that your site is properly optimised, then actively promote your key details with the major search engines and directories.  Some directories such as Yahoo charge a subscription for immediate inclusion in their listings.  Google, for example, have a pay-per-click service called Adword that will take your site to page one positioning within the same day.