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.
#25525
Using XHTML/CSS for an Effective SEO Campaign
Improve your search engine ranking by harnessing the benefits of well-authored XHTML and using CSS to boost your code-to-content ratio.
Olejniczak, Brandon. List Apart, A (2003). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#23259
Utilizing a User's Context to Improve Search Results 
This paper describes some design practices for providing a scoped search interface for an e-commerce site.
Gremett, Peter. Earthlink (2003). Design>Web Design>Search>E Commerce
#30305
The Value of Research in Technical Communication
Over the years, there has been much debate and discussion in the Society as to whether technical communication is a field, an endeavour, a profession or a discipline, none of the above or all of the above. The topics of professionalism, certification and accreditation have often appeared in the pages of Technical Communication and Intercom. I would like to take the opportunity to review the status of technical communication and to highlight the role of research in technical communication.
Hosier, William J. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>TC>Research>Body of Knowledge
#26167
Visibility in Italian Search Engines
Visibility in Italian search engines is a matter of content, design and organization just as it is in the English-language engines. As Jill often points out to us, the better your content is, the more targeted traffic your Web site will generate.
WTB Language Group (2005). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Search
#25665
Visual User Interface for Document Retrieval Utilizing Spatial Relationships Among Document Vectors 
With the growth of the current of information such as documents, the method of selecting relevant one is more and more required. There are several ways to answer to this requirement. Visualizing information seemed to be a promising method. In this paper, we propose our user interface and algorithms. In the approach, a document-term matrix generated from a document set is decomposed usig the singular value decomposition (SVD) method. The document information is visualized on a 2-D space using the result of SVD. Users specify retrieval conditions by indicating a position on the plane. With this approach, users can easily specify retrieval conditions which will be complicated when expressed in Boolean expressions of keywords. We heve built a prototype system, and did experiments using a small set of documents.
Watanabe, Masahiro and Masatoshi Yoshikawa. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>User Interface>Search
#30881
Web Measurement Strategies for Small Businesses
Tools to build an effective Web measurement strategy on a tight budget.
Mason, Neil. ClickZ (2007). Articles>Web Design>Research>Log Analysis
#25229
Web Site Copy is about More Than Keywords
For writers who focus too intently on keywords and phrases, there is a danger. A danger in optimizing your pages for good keywords? Yes, I think so.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Search
#26717
Web Site Design Mistakes--Database Parameters In URLs
Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution. Unfortunately, many designs are dead in the water before they are even published as far as search engine optimization is concerned. Whatever you do, avoid these critical mistakes.
Pires, Halstatt. Ezine Articles (2005). Design>Web Design>Search
#31801
Website Content: Getting It Right for Search Engines
The content on your website is key for your search engine ranking - find out why this is.
James, Nick. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#24477
What Research Should STC Sponsor? 
This session is an open forum moderated by the STC Research Grants Committee; its goal is to elicit and discuss suggestions from STC members for research areas and topic's the STC should sponsor. The input will help guide the members of the Research Grants Committee as they decide which research proposals to approve during the next year.
Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>TC>Research
#25955
What Search Engines Need to See to Rank Your Site Well (Part 1)
A substantial number of people use search engines to find goods and services that interest them. Incredibly, though, many web designers don't pay much attention to designing sites to rank well in searches. This means that in order to protect your investment in your website, you need to know what has to be done to get good rankings, and how to make sure that your designer has done it.
Bennaco (2004). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#25954
What Search Engines Need to See to Rank Your Site Well (Part 2)
A substantial number of people use search engines to find goods and services that interest them. This second half of a two-part article explains how to make sure that your web designer has set up your site so search engines will like what they see and rank you high.
Bennaco (2004). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#24482
According to Forrester Research, almost 80% of all searches conducted online are done with search engines. Marketing your Web site through the various search engines is still considered to be the most effective way to drive traffic to your Web site. But how will potential visitors find you?
Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2001). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#25851
What's the Buzz About? An Empirical Examination of Search on Yahoo! 
We present an analysis of the Yahoo Buzz Index over a period of 45 weeks. Our key findings are that: (1) It is most common for a search term to show up on the index for one week, followed by two weeks, three weeks, etc. Only two terms persist for all 45 weeks studied — Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. Search term longevity follows a power–law distribution or a winner–take–all structure; (2) Most search terms focus on entertainment. Search terms related to serious topics are found less often. The Buzz Index does not necessarily follow the "news cycle"; and, (3) We provide two ways to determine "star power" of various search terms — one that emphasizes staying power on the Index and another that emphasizes rank. In general, the methods lead to dramatically different results. Britney Spears performs well in both methods. We conclude that the data available on the Index is symptomatic of a celebrity–crazed, entertainment–centered culture.
Bladow, Nicole, Cari Dorey, Liz Frederickson, Pavla Grover, Yvette Knudtson, Sandeep Krishnamurthy and Voula Lazarou. First Monday (2005). Articles>Web Design>Search>Assessment
#26484
If you’ve been working with keyword optimization for a while, you know there are times when some great keywords drive tons of traffic to your site, but the resulting conversion rate is terrible.
Usborne, Nick. nickusborne.com (2004). Design>Web Design>Metadata>Search
#24466
When Search Engines Become Answer Engines
The website is becoming a less prominent locus of experience as people use search engines to bring up answers to their current questions. How can sites cope with masses of freeloaders?
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Articles>Usability>Search
#27534
Where's the Search? Re-examining User Expectations of Web Objects
In 2001, Bernard determined that users were able to form a schema for the location of web objects on informational websites. The current study investigates whether users' expectations have changed since the 2001 study. Changes were found in the expected location of the site search engine, internal links, and advertisements.
Shaikh, A. Dawn and Kelsi Lenz. Usability News (2006). Design>Web Design>Search>Usability
#29353
Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces?
In 1998 when Times New Roman was still widely used on the web, my then boss made sure we always designed our medical web sites with Arial, as she hated the look of serif fonts on the web. Was it the case that sans serif fonts were more legible, or was it just a matter of taste? In an effort to get at the truth, I reviewed over 50 empirical studies in typography and found a definitive answer.
Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2005). Design>Typography>Research>Usability
#24147
Which Keywords Should You Optimize Your Site For?
In this article, we focus on the correct way of finding out the keywords for which you should optimize your site for the search engines. This article will give you the formula for the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) - a mathematical formula which I have developed to help you determine which keywords you should be optimizing your site for.
Roy, Sumantra. 1stSearchRanking (2002). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#27787
A common mistake that many companies make when starting a white paper project, is the assumption that a technical subject matter expert who has used, developed, or is highly knowledgeable about the topic is automatically assumed to be best qualified as its author.
Kantor, Jonathan. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Research>White Papers
#14198
Why Amazon Succeeds -- And Why It Won't Help You
Amazon is one of the best on-site search capabilities we've ever seen. But surprisingly, the reason why it works so well is likely to be the same reason why Search won't work well on your site.
User Interface Engineering (2002). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Search
#21998
Why Search Engine Traffic Should be Your Top Priority
Why would anyone bother risking money on marketing strategies that probably will not increase traffic to your website? Why not concentrate on what does work? - The search engines.
Zwicky, Richard. Metamend (2004). Design>Web Design>Search
#25340
A developer friend of mine, before he knew I worked for an SEO firm, told me he thought of SEO as 'snake oil,' not an uncommon view among many Web professionals.
Wilkie, David. Search-This (2004). Articles>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#26714
Why Your Web Designer Should Know About Web Marketing
Many excellent web designers know next to nothing of web marketing, and this can be a big problem. Marketing a site in search engines requires that the site be designed in a search engine compatible format. Many beautiful sites do not fare well in search engines at all simply because of the way they have been designed. Here are some things web designers should know about web marketing.
Pires, Halstatt. Ezine Articles (2005). Design>Web Design>Search
#30754
The Winning Mindset: Effective Competitive Intelligence Research on the Internet 
Suggests that search engines are useful but limited in their application for competitive intelligence searching on the internet, and highlights the importance and effectiveness not just of structured searching but also of creativity. Explains some of the technical limitations of internet searching and suggests conditions in which a competitive intelligence search may be made more effective, pointing out that the value an information professional adds is in having some idea in advance of what they are likely to find. Gives details of what search engines will and will not retrieve, and illustrates how search strategies can be improved through use of the available filtering syntax. Suggests that using Boolean logical operators and other features directly in the search box is likely to produce better results than simply relying on the search engine's advanced search feature. Concludes by re-emphasizing the need for a creative mindset, building on some structure.
Kendrick, Terry. Business Information Review (2007). Articles>Research>Online>Search
