designing for search engines mis 424 mis 424 professor sandvig professor sandvig
TRANSCRIPT
Designing for Search Designing for Search EnginesEngines
MIS 424Professor Sandvig
OverviewOverview
Why to Design for Why to Design for Search EnginesSearch Engines
Google’s Magic Google’s Magic FormulaFormula
How to be well rankedHow to be well ranked What to avoidWhat to avoid
Why Design for Search Why Design for Search EnginesEngines
E-commerceE-commerceTraffic = Sales = $$$Traffic = Sales = $$$Very effective Very effective
marketing method marketing method Free!!!Free!!!
Effective DesignEffective DesignFirst page of resultsFirst page of resultsFew users look past first page of results Few users look past first page of results
Market ShareMarket Share
What Users Want from a SearchWhat Users Want from a Search
1.1. Comprehensive Comprehensive indexindex
2.2. Relevant ranking Relevant ranking of resultsof results
Millions of pages Millions of pages containing containing keywordskeywords
Which get listed Which get listed first?first?
Google’s Magic FormulaGoogle’s Magic Formula
Early search engines: Early search engines: Rank on keywordsRank on keywords
FrequencyFrequencyPositionPosition
Limitations:Limitations:no measure of page no measure of page
“importance”“importance”Easily gamedEasily gamed
Google’s Magic FormulaGoogle’s Magic Formula
PageRankPageRankMeasure of site Measure of site
popularitypopularityBased upon:Based upon:
Number of inbound Number of inbound linkslinks
Importance of Importance of linking siteslinking sites
How Google Ranks ResultsHow Google Ranks Results
1.1. RelevanceRelevance Page contains keywordsPage contains keywords Location & frequency of keywords in Location & frequency of keywords in
pagepage
2.2. ImportanceImportance PageRankPageRank
Based upon number of inbound linksBased upon number of inbound links Importance of linking sitesImportance of linking sites
Difficult to gameDifficult to game
How Google WorksHow Google Works
1. Relevance1. Relevance Page contains some or all of keywordsPage contains some or all of keywords
Number of times keywords usedNumber of times keywords used More is betterMore is better
Location of keywords in pageLocation of keywords in page Page titlePage title URLURL HeadingsHeadings DepthDepth Font sizeFont size etc.etc.
Example: SQLExample: SQL
How Google WorksHow Google Works
Google:Google:sqlsql
How to Be Well RankedHow to Be Well Ranked
Keyword placement:Keyword placement:Prominent locationsProminent locations
Page title – very important!Page title – very important!HeadingsHeadingsNear topNear top
Use frequentlyUse frequentlyKeywords in domain nameKeywords in domain nameMeta tags?Meta tags?
How to Be Well RankedHow to Be Well Ranked
Selecting keywordsSelecting keywordsRelevant to siteRelevant to siteTry to use specific and/or unusual phrasesTry to use specific and/or unusual phrases
Model names, numbers, ISBN, etc.Model names, numbers, ISBN, etc.eg. MIS 424, eg. MIS 424,
Maximize PageRankMaximize PageRankDevelop incoming linksDevelop incoming linksAvoid leaking PageRank to other sitesAvoid leaking PageRank to other sites
rel=“nofollow”rel=“nofollow”
How to Be Well RankedHow to Be Well Ranked
Human sacrificeHuman sacrifice
How to be Well RankedHow to be Well Ranked
Analytics:Analytics:Webmaster ToolsGoogle AnalyticsGoogle AnalyticsOpen Site Explorer (pay)Open Site Explorer (pay)
Search Engine SpammingSearch Engine Spamming Trying to “trick” search engine for higher page rankTrying to “trick” search engine for higher page rank
Many techniquesMany techniques Paid links (Paid links (JCPenny caught) caught) Repeat words many timesRepeat words many times Use popular but irrelevant wordsUse popular but irrelevant words
sex, Brittany Spears, …sex, Brittany Spears, … Text same color as backgroundText same color as background Gateway pages (BMW Gateway pages (BMW banned)) Auto-redirectsAuto-redirects Hidden linksHidden links
RiskRisk Search engines will ban site from index (Search engines will ban site from index ( Difficult to get back inDifficult to get back in Wordpress banned by Google
Google BombingGoogle Bombing
Tricking Google’s indexTricking Google’s indexExamplesExamples
miserable failuremiserable failureWeapons of Mass DestructionWeapons of Mass Destruction
How:How:Couple dozen links:Couple dozen links:
Distinctive phrase: “miserable failure”Distinctive phrase: “miserable failure”Link to official Bush bio.Link to official Bush bio.
Also: Santorum, RomneyAlso: Santorum, Romney
Design features to AvoidDesign features to Avoid
Can cause problems:Can cause problems:FormsForms
Google’s spiders attempt to submit formsGoogle’s spiders attempt to submit formsDon’t count on itDon’t count on it
FramesFramesFlashFlashImages without alt tagsImages without alt tagsJavaScript redirectsJavaScript redirectsNear identical pagesNear identical pages
Additional InformationAdditional Information
SearchEngineWatch.comSearchEngineWatch.comSurveys, statistics, tipsSurveys, statistics, tips
WebmasterWorld.comWebmasterWorld.comWebmaster Guidelines (by Google)Webmaster Guidelines (by Google)
ObservationObservationDo some searchesDo some searchesLook at design features of top ranking Look at design features of top ranking
sitessites
SummarySummary
Search engines Search engines want relevant want relevant contentcontentGain customersGain customers
Effective Effective designsdesignsKeyword usageKeyword usageBuild PageRankBuild PageRank