Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
#27516
Realistic Search Engine Optimization Expectations
Even keyword phrases that nobody's searching for can sometimes be difficult to obtain high rankings with unless you really and truly know what you're doing. And even then, those rankings may be here one day, and gone the next.
Whalen, Jill. High Rankings Advisor (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#24753
Reconciling Information-Seeking Behavior with Search User Interfaces for the Web 
Current search interfaces reflect the inner workings of search technology rather than what we know about how people look for information.
Rose, Daniel E. Earthlink (2002). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Search
#24624
Recursively Sorting our Documents
Traditional document management vendors and many newer approaches allow you to apply multiple attributes to individual documents, such that they can retrieved according to different facets.
Byrne, Tony. CMSworks (2004). Articles>Content Management>Search
#10094
Reducing Reliance on Superstition
Probably the most well-known article in the fields of usability, user interface design and user experience is Miller’s 1956 paper entitled 'The magical number seven, plus or minus two.' It is incredible how this article has lasted for over 40 years, and still seems to influence many design decisions. More recent, better research is available, but not being used.
Bailey, Robert. Human Factors International (2000). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Research>Cognitive Psychology
#29210
Reflections on Technical Communication Quarterly, 1991-2003: The Manuscript Review Process 
This article traces the development of Technical Communication Quarterly (TCQ), beginning with the first issue in the winter of 1991, through the 2003 issues. As co-editor of TCQ, charged with the manuscript review process, I shepherded more than 350 manuscripts through evaluation and about one-fourth of those through publication. In this article, I explain that process and how it changed when The Technical Writing Teacher became TCQ and what features our reviewers now believe make a successful TCQ article.
Lay, Mary M. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>Research>Publishing>History
#19675
Since the failure of banner advertising as a revenue source, the search engine and directory industry has changed drastically. Most search engines now require payment to include sites in their databases. But there are still a lot of search engines that allow you to register your site for free.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Search
#26327
Regular expressions, sometimes referred to as regex, grep, or pattern matching, can be a very powerful tool and a tremendous time-saver with a broad range of application. As an extended form of find-and-replace, you can use a regular expression to do things such as perform client-side validation of email addresses and phone numbers, search multiple documents for strings and patterns you wish to change or remove, or extract a list of links from source code. Regex is supported by most languages and tools, but because there can be varying implementations, this article will cover basic principles that are commonly used.
Spruck, Chris. evolt (2005). Articles>Editing>Search>Regular Expressions
#30286
Research And Technology Stem Overview 
The Research and Technology stem offers 47 sessions in the areas of usability, online documentation, hypertext and multimedia, the Internet, advancing technology, and academic research--including a few miscellaneous topics. As much as possible, the sessions in each area have been scheduled in different time slots.
Dean, Morris. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Usability>Research>Education
#30563
Research and Technology Stem Overview
It's always interesting looking back at the evolution of a profession. By reviewing the past, you can gain new and important insight for the future. how to plan for multinational considerations, from document translation to user interfaces.
See, Edward J.P. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Technology>Research
#24541
Research Methods Course Work for Students Specializing in Business and Technical Communication 
Research activity is an integral component in the formation of professions. Evidence shows that business and technical communication specialists conduct research in both academic and practitioner career fields. In other disciplines, course work has been recognized as the primary means for preparing students to conduct and consume research. Yet, no publications document the status of research methods course work for U.S. students specializing in business and technical communication. This study provides a descriptive basis for assessing three areas in those courses: research methods topics, required readings, and teaching or assessment methods. An analysis of the results leads to a proposed agenda for preparing students specializing in business and technical communication for their future work roles in both academe and industry.
Campbell, Kim Sydow. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Education>Research
#24569
Research Opportunities in the US Patent Record
Although scarcely explored to date, US patent records provide numerous opportunities for research in technical and scientific communication. This article reviews disciplinary research that taps this rich archive of information, describes ways in which patents act as moral and social barometers to technological change, and provides readers with a brief guide to basic information needed to initiate research using patent records.
Durack, Katherine T. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Research>Technology
#14504
Research Techniques For Technical Communicators
Research in technical communication is similar to, yet often pragmatically different from, research in the sciences or the humanities. Researchers may gather information for practical writing projects and/or conduct long-term experiments to increase knowledge about a subject. They are required to use electronic media to discover printed sources, simulations, and demonstrations, yet they are encouraged to do much work 'on their own,' without electronic assistance. To work within technology, science, and communication, technical communicators need to develop a variety of qualitative and quantitative research skills.
Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Research>TC
#26759
This article examines some advantages and disadvantages of conducting online survey research. It explores current features, issues, pricing, and limitations associated with products and services, such as online questionnaire features and services to facilitate the online survey process, such as those offered by web survey businesses. The review shows that current online survey products and services can vary considerably in terms of available features, consumer costs, and limitations. It is concluded that online survey researchers should conduct a careful assessment of their research goals, research timeline, and financial situation before choosing a specific product or service.
Wright, Kevin B. JCMC (2005). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys
#13203
This article offers suggestions about how Technical Communication might reconsider the task of building theory. Beginning with a discussion of the design of a new course called Technical Communication: Theory and Research for the M.S. in Technical Communication Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the author focuses on the intersections between the relatively recent movement known as user-centered design and the foundations of technical communication. Highlighting familiar tensions in the emergence of user-centered design, the essay encourages technical communicators to see theory building as an ongoing effort to refine the practices of technical communication in relation to the predominant mode of technological innovation.
Hart-Davidson, William. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Research>Assessment
#31350
During 1990–2002, the journal Current Science has published 291 review articles: biological sciences 135, medical sciences 53, physical sciences 31, chemical sciences 30, agricultural sciences 27, and geological sciences 15. Author synchronous self-references in each biological sciences review article and diachronous Science Citation Index (SCI) citations per review article have correlation 0.4. Recency for synchronous self-references was six years and one month, whereas half-life considering diachronous SCI citations was two years and five months. Review articles receiving ten or more SCI citations are identified. Editors of science journals may take into consideration recency while approving review submissions.
Kalyane, V.L., Anil Kumar, Anil Sagar, Anjali Prabhu, C.R. Gaderao, E.R.Prakasan, Lalit Mohan, Nita Bhaskar, Rajiv Gupta, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Vijai Kumar. International Journal for Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Research>Publishing
#24198
Last fall, one of the people I mentor, Andrew White, e-mailed me, asking how to get his site ranking higher on Google. He is the webmaster for a church Web site and was not happy that another church site with the same name outranked his site. I looked over his keywords and site text: He did not have very strong keywords. His primary keyword phrase was the name of his church. I wondered about this: How many people search for the name of a church? If you want your efforts at search engine optimization (SEO) to bear fruit, be it an organic campaign, a paid sponsorship, or Google Adwords, you must choose the keywords that your target audience is using to find your site or product. Otherwise all your efforts are in vain.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#31501
The Rising Power of Research in the Boardroom
Reputation risk has become an increasingly important item on the boardroom agenda. Conscientious and/or beleaguered company directors are turning to research for a sense of the health of their world and, in turn, the measure of the responsibilities they must assume. Like a ‘wellperson clinic,’ objective and independent research is increasingly being used to test perceptions and expectations and monitor the weak signals or murmurs that may either support them or destroy them in the years, if not months, ahead. For the reluctant directors out there, new-style regulation is ensuring that being pessimistic is no way to run a company. Beyond tarnished personal reputations, the penalties for poor risk management and oversight can range from unlimited fines and censure to imprisonment.
Macleod, Sandra. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Research
#31396
RSS, Search Engine Visibility and Brand Perception
Branding has been called the most powerful idea in business, yet few companies consciously craft and promote their brand. Making a brand visible to an online audience can be an additional challenge. Studies show that searchers regard the companies that are placed on the first page of search engine results as the major players in the field. So how do you get the coveted page-one positioning? New technologies like RSS feeds are one way to accomplish this and make your brand more visible in the process.
Falkow, Sally. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Web Design>XML>Search Engine Optimization
#28297
Search engines may be crucial to your internet marketing strategy but it can be dangerous to rely on them. Find out why and what other marketing options are available to you and your website.
Bliss, Paul. Webcredible (2006). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#27283
Scholarly Information Architecture, 1989-2015
If we were to start from scratch today to design a quality-controlled archive and distribution system for scientific and technical information, it could take a very different form from what has evolved in the past decade from pre-existing print infrastructure. Ultimately, we might expect some form of global knowledge network for research communications. Over the next decade, there are many technical and non-technical issues to address along the way, everything from identifying optimal formats and protocols for rendering, indexing, linking, querying, accessing, mining, and transmitting the information, to identifying sociological, legal, financial, and political obstacles to realization of ideal systems. What near-term advances can we expect in automated classification systems, authoring tools, and next-generation document formats to facilitate efficient data mining and long-term archival stability? How will the information be authenticated and quality controlled? What differences should be expected in the realization of these systems for different scientific research fields? Can recent technological advances provide not only more efficient means of accessing and navigating the information, but also more cost-effective means of authentication and quality control? Relevant experiences from open electronic distribution of research materials in physics and related disciplines during the past decade are used to illuminate these questions, and some of their implications for proposals to improve the implementation of peer review are then discussed.
Ginsparg, P. Data Science Journal (2004). Articles>Information Design>Research
#29093
Scientific Articles in Internet Homepages: Assumptions Upon Lay Audiences
This article studies a set of scientific/technical articles published in Internet homepages. Focusing upon current trends on genre theory and the functional approach deployed by Halliday and Martin [1], linguistic features and schematic structure are analyzed in relation to more standard genres. The structural analysis suggests that these kind of texts imaginatively realize and assume the standpoint and main tenets of a lay audience that just consumes specific genres, most being analogous to the persuasive, manipulative, amusement-oriented genres of TV news stories, tabloids, and commercials. It is pondered that much of the "technological utopianism" (term used by Kling [2] surrounding the ever increasingly standardized Internet discourse turns the Internet into a productive vehicle to sustain technoscience as modern myth by spreading and forging that utopian imagery into the audience's consciousness, and that scientists are taking fruitful advantage of the utopian, futurist, and often sensationalist accounts of the Internet as a formidable frame to advertise themselves and the deeds achieved in their laboratories.
Gonzalez-Pueyo, Isabel and Alicia Redrado. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Research>Publishing>Online
#14682
Leonard-Wilkinson describes how Web site designers can take advantage of the features of search engines to advertise their sites.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search
#28343
Many Web sites allow users to search for information contained in the site. Users access the search capability by entering one or more keywords into an entry field--usually termed a 'search box.' When there are words in the Web site that match the words entered by users, users are shown where in the Web site those words can be found. Each page of a Web site should allow users to conduct a search. Usually it is adequate to allow simple searches without providing for the use of more advanced features. Users should be able to assume that both upper- and lowercase letters will be considered as equivalent when searching. The site's search capability should be designed to respond to terms typically entered by users. Users should be notified when multiple search capabilities exist.
Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search
#20610
Search facilities are a necessity for large sites and are convenient even for smaller sites that contain long documents. Sites that are updated frequently also require a good search engine, because your menus and site index will probably not keep pace with every change you make in the content pages of the site. But search engines are no substitute for a carefully organized browsing structure of menus and submenus. The two systems, browsing by menu and searching by keyword, complement each other — neither system alone is adequate. Keyword searches give the reader specific links to follow but with no overview of the nature and extent of your content and no feel for how you have organized the information. Menus and tables of contents are great for broad overviews, but if your readers are looking for a specific piece of information not mentioned in the contents, they may miss what you have to offer.
Lynch, Patrick J. and Sarah Horton. Yale University (1999). Design>Web Design>Search
#23919
This article addresses common aspects of search, including scoped, Boolean and advanced searches.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1997). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search
