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| The Axandra newsletter archive - 9 December 2003 |
| Welcome to a new issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.
This week we're explaining the importance of links on your site and why they are important even if search engines didn't exist at all.
In the news: there are rumours that Google changed it's algorithm to increase ad sales, Microsoft introduces a newsgroup search and a new software blocks paid search engine listings.
Table of contents:
We hope that you enjoy this issue and that it helps you to get more out of your web site. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.
Best regards,
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| 1. Facts of the week: The importance of links on your site |
| Some webmasters are unsure whether they should add link pages to their web site, and some don't know which factors are important to determine if they should link to a certain site or not.
Here are some tips about why your web site should have a link directory and what makes a site worth linking to:
The Internet is based on links
The Internet is based on links. If there weren't links, the Internet wouldn't exist. For this reason, if you find a good web site with good content you should link to that site.
Don't care about the search engine ranking or the PageRank of the site you're linking to. If you find a web site that you or your visitors find valuable, then link to it and ask for a reciprocal link to your site.
Search engines just try to organize the Internet. Links build it. If you participate in building the Internet with good links, your web site is in a good position.
Links are a courtesy to your visitors
Ask yourself why web surfers visit your web site. Give them what they're looking for. In addition, help your visitors by offering them links to related web sites. Links to related web sites show your visitors that you care about them.
You should always build your web site with your visitors in mind. If your web site is useful and important to your visitors, search engines will honor that. A well-designed link directory can help you to make your site useful and important for your visitors.
Content is king
Search engine optimization experts will tell you that content is the most important thing about a web site.
A good link directory is a valuable resource for your visitors and it improves the content of your web site. If your web site contains many related links for a specific topic, chances are that your web site will be considered as an authority and a hub for that topicby web surfers and search engines.
Well-designed link pages with useful and related links help you to make your web site more useful and attractive for web surfers. Web sites that are useful and attractive for web surfers get high search engine rankings because they're considered authorities and worth linking to.
Focus on your web site visitors. Search engines try to find web sites that are useful for web site visitors. If the linking structure of your web site indicates that it is a useful site, your site will get great search engine rankings as well as targeted traffic from your link partners. ARELIS helps you to build such a useful site.
ARELIS helps you to find and manage high quality links as quickly and easily as possible. Download the free trial version now.
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| 2. Search engine news of the week |
Google seems to list Froogle results on its regular result pages
A discussion in the Webmaster world forum indicates that Google inserts Froogle product links being inserted into the top of search results.
"That should add fuel to the fire of those touting the commercial/AdWords conspiracy theories." Further information about Google's possible intentions to change its ranking algorithm can be found in the "articles of the week" below. The Froogle results seem to be only visible from the USA.
Google introduces word-stemming
Google now uses word-stemming when it searches for a keyword. That means that Google now includes variations of words in search results. For example, "Australia" now also searches "Australian".
Microsoft introduces newsgroup search
"Netscan's static page, which you can find here, returns a whole heap of Microsoft related forums. Microsoft describes it as 'a tool into the Usenet'."
Filter software blocks paid search engine listings
"InterMute Inc. on Monday announced an updated version of its AdSubtract Pro software that can strip away the advertised links on popular search engines. [...]
The latest release allows for the blocking of paid links on Google, Yahoo, Overture, MSN, AOL, AltaVista, LookSmart and AllTheWeb."
LookSmart to close UK operations
"As it prepares for life after Microsoft, search company LookSmart told its United Kingdom advertisers yesterday that it would cease operations there next month."
Search engine newslets
- Internet directory HotRate.com has been renamed to Illumirate.
- The Open Directory Project now lists 4 million web sites.
- PPC search engine FindWhat, Verizon go local in tandem.
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Google changes anger web businesses
"Many businesses are angry that changes to the Google search engine have made it difficult for customers to find them. [...]
Some critics say it's Google's way of trying to drive up ad sales - it is possible to pay to make sure your site shows up prominently."
Google's search under the microscope
"Thieme believes that Google intentionally changed its algorithm to get merchants to pay to be listed. [...]
The more merchants or advertisers Google can get to be part of this AdWords program, the higher the cost per click paid to Google and its distribution partners, like Ask Jeeves. [...]
As Google prepares to go public next year, as many expect, its does have an incentive to get merchants to pay to advertise."
Microsoft preps attack on Google
"A report said that Microsoft's next target will be ever popular site Google, which apparently the software firm views as a competitor to its business.
According to a report on MSNBC -- a joint venture in which Microsoft has a big share, Google is becoming 'more and more' a competitor to the Vole."
Foes of Bush enlist Google to make point
"Anyone searching on Google for the phrase "miserable failure" was sent to the official White House biography of President Bush. [...]
Craig Silverstein, Google's director for technology, says the company sees nothing wrong with the public using its search engine this way. No user is hurt, he said, because there is no clearly legitimate site for 'miserable failure' being pushed aside."
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New ARELIS beta version
Thank you for all you feedback on the ARELIS beta version. ARELIS 4.2 is now available in the 4th beta version. If you want to test-drive the latest ARELIS version, you can download it here.
"We get a kick out of measuring the rise in our rankings"
"Measurement is a key factor of our marketing planning process. Before we found out about IBP, we were regularly searching the engines on our keyphrases to try and measure where we were ranked.
The large amount of time we now save by using your product is spent on further optimising our site, largely based on your newsletter tips.
We run our IBP reports weekly and get a kick out of measuring the rise in our rankings. We also enjoy progressing the additional prospects in our sales funnel."
Hugh Macfarlane, www.mathmarketing.com
Get your site mentioned in front of 30,000+ subscribers
We want to hear from you about your successes with IBP or ARELIS. Just write us 2-3 sentences and you might get featured in this newsletter along with your web site address.
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