Search Engine Optimization: Designing a Search-Friendly Site  

In this article, the third in a series, Leonard-Wilkinson offers tips on how to make Web sites friendly to search engines.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search

Search Engine Optimization: Getting Started

Explain some of the first steps to get your website not only optimized for the search engines, but to push your website up in the rankings war.

Garite, Joe. stevenforsyth.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization: Keywords That Work  

Leonard-Wilkinson demonstrates search engine optimization, a process for making Web sites attractive to search engines.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search

Search Engine Optimization: Making the Most of META Tags  

Leonard-Wilkinson offers advice on how to write effective TTLE- and META-tag descriptions.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search

Search Engine Optimizing for Europe

There's actually quite a lot to take into account when targeting a new geographic territory. I asked my two experts to share just two or three of the most important tips they would give to someone launching in the German marketplace.

Grehan, Mike. ClickZ (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Personalization: An Exploratory Study  

Web search engines are beginning to offer personalization capabilities to users. Personalization is the ability of the Web site to match retrieved information content to a user's profile. This content can be set explicitly by the user or derived implicitly by the Web site using such user profile information as zip code, birth date, etc. In this paper we report findings from a study qualitatively and quantitatively assessing the current state of personalization on 60 search engine Web sites and the personalization features available. We examined: (1) how many search engines Web sites currently offer personalization features; and, (2) the type of features that can be personalized. Findings show that: (1) eight (13 percent) of the 60 search engines, including Yahoo, AOL, Lycos, Excite and Netscape, enabled some level of personalization; and, (2) personalization features are largely related to e-mail, business and financial information, searching of a reference tool, such as yellow pages, entertainment listings, sports, and news headlines. The breadth and depth of personalization features varied across search engines, with a mean number of two personalization features per site. 'My Yahoo' had the most extensive personalization feature capability. Our findings show that despite the high level of interest in Web personalization, most search engine Web sites currently offer no or limited personalization features.

Yashmeet Khopkar, Amanda Spink, C. Lee Giles, Prital Shah and Sandip Debnath. First Monday (2000). Design>Web Design>Search

Search Engine Roundtable

The purpose behind the Search Engine Roundtable is to report on the most interesting threads taking place at the SEM (Search Engine Marketing) forums. By enlisting some of the most recognized names at those forums, the Roundtable is able to not only report on these outstanding threads but also provide a synopsis that provides greater detail into those threads.

Search Engine Roundtable. Resources>Web Design>Search>Blogs

Search Engine Spam

Hidden text, doorway pages and mirror sites are all examples of search engine spam and could get you banned from the search engines - make sure your site avoids all of these!

Townes, Frederick. Webcredible (2007). Design>Web Design>Search Engine Optimization>Spam

Search Engine Strategies for Success: 2006

Every year is always rocked by a plethora of changes in the search engine marketing world. The acquisition of smaller companies by the Big 3 changes the marketing landscape as we know it every month and with every update to the index that is made, we hold our breath and hope that we come out better (if not, the same) in the end. So when it comes to the new year, there are many things that we should look out for to stay on top of the rankings.

Wooton, John. stevenforsyth.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Visibility in China

With China emerging as an economic superpower, more and more companies are launching Chinese web sites to establish a presence. The Chinese language has the second largest share on the World's Internet market, with English in the top spot, and Japanese in third.

Iler, Huiping. WTB Language Group (2005). Articles>Web Design>Search>China

Search Engine Watch

Search Engine Watch provides tips and information about searching the web, analysis of the search engine industry and help to site owners trying to improve their ability to be found in search engines.

Search Engine Watch. Resources>Web Design>Search

Search Engines and the Will to Truth  

Thousands, probably millions of writers are putting up pages of information or speculation on the Web. They are choosing to bypass the whole apparatus of referees, editors, reviewers, catalogers, and indexers to make a direct appeal to 'the world' on the Web. If the cost of Web publication were that the pages remained un-indexed, few would choose it, for it would amount to being one drop in a sea of 1.5 billion pages: the chance of anyone with an interest in the topic finding the page would be infinitesimal. But along with all this unauthorized, uncatalogued writing has come the development of fast and powerful search engines, some of them indexing over one billion pages. And suddenly 'to look something up' means 'to run it by Yahoo!' It is easy to make a case against the Web search engines, and from that a case against the Web itself as a medium, or even a tool, for making and exchanging public knowledge. But...

Dillon, George. Kairos (2001). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Search Engines as Leeches on the Web

Search engines extract too much of the Web's value, leaving too little for the websites that actually create the content. Liberation from search dependency is a strategic imperative for both websites and software vendors.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Search Engines as Leeches on the Web

Search engines extract too much of the Web's value, leaving too little for the websites that actually create the content. Liberation from search dependency is a strategic imperative for both websites and software vendors.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search

Search Interfaces

Typically, users know what they’re searching for even before they choose a search engine over the site’s navigation. In this investigation, I’d like to explore how we can provide a user interface to help them search more effectively before they get started. This investigation is about the ordering and structure of the search fields themselves, not the results, which have been the topic of much discussion already.

Danzico, Liz. Bobulate (2003). Design>Web Design>Search>Usability

Search Marketing's About People and Principles, Not Just Algorithms

Search marketing has come under fire in the mainstream press and elsewhere this year, and that's not good for the industry, said Danny Sullivan in his keynote address at Chicago's Search Engine Strategies conference.

Goodman, Andrew. Search Engine Watch (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search

Search Systems  

This chapter often uses examples of search systems from sites that allow you to search the entire Web, as well as site-specific search engines. Although these web-wide tools tend to index a very broad collection of content, it is extremely useful to study them. Of all search systems, none has undergone the testing, usage, and investment that web-wide search tools have, so why not benefit from their research? Many of these tools are available for use on local sites as well.

Rosenfeld, Louis and Peter Morville. O'Reilly and Associates (2003). Design>Web Design>Search

Searching for Online Video

Although Google has been grabbing headlines with the announcement of its forthcoming Google Video Store, many other services let you search for and view many types of video online.

Price, Gary. Search Engine Watch (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>Video

Searching the University Course Schedule Using a Digital FlipBook

This article examines user performance and satisfaction of a university schedule of courses using the FlipViewer® digital FlipBook format. This format was compared to a schedule of courses website and subjectively compared to the university’s printed schedule of courses catalog. Results indicate that the participants performed some tasks faster with the FlipBook format and found it to be engaging and easy-to-use.

Hull, Spring S. Usability News (2006). Design>Web Design>Search>eBooks

SEO and the Zen Factor

When practiced at the level of those of us who've been in the game for 5-10 years, SEO is in fact very Zen-like. We can look at a website and know exactly what needs to be done to make it the best it can be for the site visitors and the search engines. Often, it's easiest for us when we can just roll up our sleeves and do what we know needs to be done, rather than try to explain the whys and wherefores. Many times it's not even possible to explain exactly why we are doing a specific thing, because it simply comes from the gut.

Whalen, Jill. High Rankings Advisor (2005). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

SEO Certification: Necessity, Myth, or Scam?

Just the other day, I ran across an ad for a website that piqued my curiosity. It said, “Receive your SEO Certification in just 6 hours.” I’d never heard of SEO Certification. Thinking that perhaps I’d missed out somehow on certification, I decided to do some research before I panicked.

Sullivan Cassidy, Jennifer. SEOchat (2005). Design>Web Design>Search

SEO for Dummies (well, and Web Developers)

Sometime Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seems to have morphed into a mystical creature. Most people, even those who design and develop websites for a living, know they need it, but don’t know exactly what it is. They have been feed so much rheteric and sales speaches that they seem to have given up on SEO long ago.

Robbins, Kyle. ReEncoded (2008). Articles>Web Design>Search Engine Optimization

SEO Outbound Link Relevance

Outbound links' anchor text affects a page's search engine ranking in much the same way that inbound links' anchor text affects search engine ranking.

Walsh, Joel. stevenforsyth.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Search Engine Optimization

Simplify and Sort for Better Searches

Nothing matters more to your Web site's success than a good search tool. More than 50 percent of visitors to a Web site head straight for the search button, according to Web site usability expert Jakob Nielsen. You may feel your Web site's logical layout obviates any need for a search tool, but chances are a first-time visitor won't agree. Even if it's a paragon of elegance and efficiency, too many users have been traumatized by poorly organized Web sites to even try browsing anymore. Users are task-focused and want to find specific information as fast as possible. That means using a search tool.

Peterson, Constance J. Smartisans (1997). Design>Web Design>Search>Usability