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March 2005 Issue
Google and Yahoo! and MSN! Oh My!The Lions and Tigers and Bears of the InternetIt's black magic. Black magic and witchcraft. Well, perhaps it's not quite that bad. But improving the visibility of your Internet-based business can be a maddening experience. And why? Because you're not in control of your visibility. So who is in control? Why, it's Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Getting visibility on these web search engines is more art than science. And there are a lot of random factors at work. Don't believe any company that tells you that they can guarantee top-ten results for your site in 30 days. Anyone who claims that is a con artist. Nonetheless, there are some things that you can do to improve your visibility. At Digital Wind, we've been conducting a careful campaign to improve our own ranking on search engines. We've selected a key phrase to promote: "web design montreal." When people type these words into a search engine, we want them to find us. Our results have been promising. From invisibility a year ago, our ranking on Yahoo! and MSN has slowly risen through the top 1000, then into the top 500, and as of this writing, we are in the top 50. However, on Google, we are still completely invisible. Our lack of results with Google is unsettling, especially considering that Google remains the most popular search engine in use. For many people, if it's not on Google, it doesn't exist. (Skip to the end if you're curious as to why Google might be penalizing web sites like ours.) How to Optimize a Web SiteOur campaign consisted of a set of timeworn and proven practices. First, we decided what search keywords we wanted to have associated with us. This keyword phrase needed to be fairly specific so that it described us well, but not so narrowly-focused that few people would think to type it into a search engine. We settled on "web design montreal." Next, we carefully added the keywords into the pages of our site. Ideally, they should appear on most of our pages, but it is important that these words be used naturally, as part of the regular flow of the text. Search engines have become shrewd in recent years, and can detect when someone is stuffing a page full of keywords. Such pages eventually get blacklisted. As we examined our pages for good keyword placement, we examined both the body text and especially the headers. Search engines often given greater weight to keywords that appear in headers. We also looked at the page title (which appears at the top of your browser window), and at the description and keyword meta-tags that are embedded within the pages' HTML code. The text contained within hyperlinks is also important to consider: "Learn more about web design" makes a better link than "Click here." Finally, we worked at building incoming links to our site. These are links that appear on other company's web sites that point to us. We encouraged business partners and other interested parties to build links to our site. This is an ongoing practice. But most importantly, we make an effort to produce useful content, such as this article. By having something interesting to say (we hope!), we encourage other web sites to link to us naturally, so we don't have to spend as much energy looking for link partners. The Google MysteryAll this seems to be working well for us, except on Google. This is a critical exception, and we've discovered that we may not be able to do much about it. There is a growing consensus on the 'net that Google may be deliberately penalizing some web sites. It appears that for sites that are less than a year old, Google suppresses search results. Why Google should do such a thing is a mystery. Perhaps it is some kind of anti-spam measure. Or perhaps there's a problem with Google's indexing system. Whatever the reason, our current web site is just under a year old, and so fits the pattern. What can we do about it? Not a thing. And that's the most frustrating part. We can only hope that sometime soon, Google lifts the embargo on sites like ours. There's a lesson here that applies to everyone's business: Don't rely on search engines alone to make your company visible. Word of mouth, advertising, and business contacts are still the best way to grow a business, even in the digital age. New Projects at Digital WindSome of our latest workRedesigning EveryPoint Logistics SolutionsA third-party logistics company, EPLS needed a more professional look and a branding identity that would identity it uniquely in its market. Find out how we shaped their web presence. Contact and Subscription InformationDigital Wind's newsletter is a periodic mailing about the business of branding in the digital age sent to subscribers only. If you find this information valuable, please pass it on to a friend. Past IssuesArchives of the Digital Wind newsletter can be found at http://digitalwind.com/subscribe/ FeedbackHave a complaint? Want to tell us we're doing a great job? Contact Jim Royal at Digital Wind with your comments and suggestions. We'd love to hear from you. About Digital WindMontreal-based Digital Wind can manage your company's entire public image, from logo design to web design to corporate email newsletters. SubscriptionsTo subscribe to the Digital Wind newsletter, visit http://digitalwind.com/subscribe/ If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe in one of two ways:
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