OBSERVATION
What you find depends on what -- and how -- you are seeking.
An index -- such as the Open
Directory Project -- categories documents and entire websites
and allows webmasters to submit a site. There is also Wikipedia
which allows participants to help co-create an online encyclopedia.
Planeta.com works as an
index -- archiving our own materials (10,000+ pages) and linking
to quality sites elsewhere on the Web. We also employ a search
engine which helps locate specific documents on our site.
INFORMATION PLEASE!
Finding specific information on the web is not an easy task.
The quest for the right information is not getting any easier.
At times information overload makes the search seem like getting
a drink from a waterfall.
Enter Search Engines and Indices. Ever since the
Good Old Days (five years ago), a new search engine has emerged
about every six months which provides a faster and more thorough
index. Type in a few key words and the result is a list of relevant
documents. Software developers hoped that by showing off the
indexing prowess, the site could sell itself -- or at least
its advanced technology.
As search engines age, they cater more to paid sponsors --
and risk losing the readers who trusted the site for reliable
information. Businesses which pay get listed first. For businesses,
the advantage is increased exposure. But often the commercial
links have little relation to the information that was requested.
As search engines stop catering to readers, the result is a
swift exit to the next big and better search engine. And on
and on it goes.
Currently, Google
is going through major changes. Will a new search engine usurp
the leader? Stay tuned ... Meanwhile, 'googling' has become
short-hand for "searching the web."
PDFs
While PDFs are visually attractive, please note that many search
engines do not scan the text, which can be a plus or a minus
depending on what you are seeking.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
If you are promoting your own site, keep in mind that no single
tactic works for all search engines. Either invest the time
in researching how they work or pay someone to do that work
for you.
TAGS
There are three tags of note -- title, description and keywords.
Title tags appear at the top of the browser and should be concise
-- no more than 50 characters. The description tag should have
no more than 200 characters, but should adequately describe
the content of the page for 'robot friendly' searching. The
maximum number of keywords is 20. |
