Google playing the keyword game
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Written by Robert on April 17, 2008 – 2:02 pm
A keyword is a word or phrase that someone enters in the search box provided by Google or another search service. The user submits the keywords to the site, and a sophisticated computer program scours a database that the service has compiled.
The database consists of some of the contents of every page on the Web that the search service’s automated computer program, called a spider, has been able to index.
The exact operations of the spiders, the databases, and the means by which individual pages and contents are culled from the database are a closely-kept secret. But one Google employee, Matt Cutts, wrote in 2003 (at http://www.mattcutts.com/blog) that Google moved from a system in which the database was updated once a month to once a day.
What does this all mean for you? When you design your Web pages, it’s important to keep them updated. It’s just as important to sprinkle the keywords your customers or clients are most likely to enter in prominent locations on your pages. Those locations include:
- Each page’s title bar. This area at the very top of the browser window is believed to be indexed by Google: the search program doesn’t scan an entire Web page but only indicators such as the title that describe its subject or contents.
- Headings. The headings at the top of your page are important because it’s believed Google’s automated indexing programs don’t scour the entire contents of Web pages. The theory is that the ones that count are only the biggest headings (the ones labeled H1 or Heading 1 by the Web editing programs used to create those pages) and those near the top.
- The first paragraph or two. Most Web sites spell out their ‘‘mission’’ or provide a summary of their contents at the top of the home page, and this is regarded as an important location for keywords by those who study search engine optimization.
Don’t worry about terms like at, is, or, a, or the; these are ignored by search engines. Focus on nouns and verbs that describe your site’s contents. If you need suggestions of keywords that are related to what you sell or promote on your Web site, do a free search at Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com). This popular service (which includes a paid version with many more suggestions) provides you with a list of likely keywords based on your site’s content.
The words ‘‘Google is believed to . . .’’ are used in the preceding list because, as I mentioned earlier, Google’s exact formula for making searches relevant and accurate is secret. However, you get a glimpse into some elements of Google’s method when you look at Google’s patent application, which it filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in December 2003. The application contains a list of 63 criteria that will be used in evaluating search ranking.
According to the document Google assigns each page is a numeric figure called a PageRank, which is determined by factors such as these:
• How frequently the page’s contents are retrieved as a result of search queries.
• The number of new pages that are added to the site, or that are linked to the page being retrieved.
• The amount of text or photos that are changed on the site.
• The length of time the page has been online.
• The time that passes between changes to the page; the more frequently the page changes, the higher its PageRank number.
When you take the 63 factors (or at least the ones you can absorb most easily) into account, you will probably write and design your pages differently than you have been in order to improve your own page rankings. Make sure your titles aren’t blank or that they contain a generic word such as Home or About Us.
Make sure they have at least one or two keywords in the visible content of your Web page that describe who you are and what you do. Both the title and keywords can be controlled in virtually any Web page editing program.
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