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The Search Engine Showdown
If you're anything like me, you have a favourite search engine and you're loyal to it. You never use any others (which made this research difficult for yours truly), insist yours is the be-all and end-all and you even go so far as to deny any shortcomings it may have. But is your search engine truly the best? Inspired by a great article at the BBC News (BBC News: Search Wars), we decided to compare the major search engines. Here's what we found.
We chose the search term "real estate fiji" because it's a competitive industry and geographically specific. We also searched with the same phrase, misspelled to see if the search engine would suggest the correct spelling.
Initially loading the search page for Google is lightning fast.
The look is clean and easy to understand.
Search time was 0.15 seconds.
The search yielded 1,190,000 results.
All results on the first page were relevant.
Spellcheck was available.
Yahoo!
Initially loading the search page for Yahoo! is a little bit slower than Google, but still fast.
Search time was 0.18 seconds.
The search yielded 711,000 results.
It is difficult to tell the sponsored links from the actual web results.
All results on the first page were relevant, however one of them directed you to another set of results for your search at DMOZ.org.
Spellcheck was available.
AskJeeves
Initially loading the search page for AskJeeves is fast.
Search time was not posted and was much slower than Google & Yahoo!.
The search yielded 63,100 results.
Sponsored links take up the whole screen. You have to scroll down to see the web results.
All first page results were relevant.
Spellcheck was available.
A9.com
Initially loading the search page for A9 is fast.
Search time was not posted but was average.
The search yielded 209,000 results.
All the results on the first page were relevant.
There were image results alongside the text results. This could be helpful.
Spellcheck was available.
MSN
Initially loading the search page for MSN is fast.
Search time was not posted but was average.
The search yielded 112,607 results.
All except one of the results were relevant. This result pointed to Philippines real estate. Also, one the results directed you to DMOZ, where a second search for your keywords is performed.
Spellcheck was available.
Alexa
Initially loading the search page for Alexa was fast.
Search time was not posted but was somewhat slow.
The search yielded 208,000 results.
It was difficult to tell the sponsored results from the web results.
Some results included screen shots.
The look was kind of disorganized.
Spellcheck was available.
AltaVista
Initially loading the search page for AltaVista is fast.
Search time was not posted but was a sliver slower than Google.
The search yielded 736,000 results.
The sponsored results take up almost the entire screen. You have to scroll to get to the good stuff.
The results are all relevant, though one redirects you to DMOZ, where a second search for your keywords is performed.
Spellcheck was available.
Lycos
Initially loading the search page for Lycos is fast.
Search time was not posted but was rather slow.
The search yielded 114,356 results.
The sponsored results take up almost the entire screen. Once again, you have to scroll to get to the good stuff.
All the results are relevant although 2 of them redirect you to DMOZ.org.
Spellcheck was available.
Excite
Initially loading the search page for Excite is slow.
Search time was not posted but was rather slow.
The search yielded 114,356 results.
All the results on the first page were relevant.
The look of the site was clean.
Spellcheck was available.
HotBot
Initially loading the search page for HotBot is fast.
Search time was not posted but was fast.
The search yielded 114,389 results.
The sponsored results take up almost the entire screen. Once again, you have to scroll to get to the good stuff.
All the results are relevant although 1 of them redirects you to DMOZ.org.
Spellcheck was available.
AllTheWeb
Initially loading the search page for AllTheWeb is fast.
Search time was not posted, but was fast.
The search yielded 679,000 results.
It is difficult to tell the sponsored results from the web results.
An offensive content filter was available.
All the results are relevant although 1 of them redirects you to DMOZ.org.
Spellcheck was not available.
Looksmart
Initially loading the search page for Looksmart is fast.
Search time was not posted but was rather slow.
The search yielded 300 results.
There were 3 completely irrelevant results on the first page.
The look of the site was clean.
Spellcheck was not available.
Jayde
Initially loading the search page for Jayde is somewhat slow.
Search time was not posted but was average.
The search yielded 60,424 results.
There were quite a few irrelevant results.
The look of the site was clean.
Spellcheck was not available.
So, what's the conclusion? My favorite search engine is the best. All hail Google! ...
Alright, alright, some of the others are pretty cool, too.
Courtney Heard is the founder of Abalone Designs, an Internet Marketing and SEO company in Vancouver, Canada. She has been involved in web development and marketing since 1995 and has helped start several businesses since then in the Vancouver area. More of Courtney's articles are available at http://www.abalone.ca/resources/.
SEO #5: Analyzing the Top Ranked Website on Google
Yesterday you should have read the forth course out of 6 courses that will help you get a TOP rank in the search engines and get EXPLOSIVE LASER TARGETED TRAFFIC for Free. Today we move on to course #5 and study analyzing the Top Ranked Website on Google. Please read today's course very carefully and take some time to test what I'm about to tell you on your own webpage. Alright let's start!
How to Get Non-stop Free Traffic to Your Website
Yet the simple truth is that without traffic a website cannot be successful. Lack of traffic really need not be a problem because there are various free, proven ways of generating traffic that will cost you nothing but get you lots of traffic without you having to spend anything.
Search Engine Essentials
What are Search Engines?
Increase Your Page Rank Through SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) must be considered a process and over time you can build your ranking and traffic.
Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step Seven ? Website Submissions
Welcome to part seven in this ten-part search engine positioning series. Last week we discussed the importance of human testing. In part seven we will cover the best practices of website submissions, where to submit your website to, and how to do so.
SEO Expert Guide - Paid Site Promotion (Marketing) (part 7/10)
In parts 1 - 6 you learnt how to develop your proposition, identify your key words and optimize and promote (for free) your site and pages. You were also introduced to our mythical Doug (who sells antique doors, door handles, knockers, door bells or pulls and fitting services) in Windsor in the UK.
What Is Search Engine Optimization And Why Do I Need It?
Purchasing web design service is confusing with all of the different buzz words floating around. In an earlier article I discussed the differences between custom web design and web design based on templates. Another service being pushed by many web developers is search engine optimization (SEO). It has become a huge field in the last few years despite the fact that many purchasers of web development services are not clear on what it is or why they need to consider it in the making of their site.
Using Google
Thanks to a unique algorithm that produces most relevant results to any given query, Google has become, indisputably, the best search engine on the Internet. On the last count, Google has indexed over 4 billion pages and tackles around 200 million searches a day! A cluster of 100 thousand servers are used to store, crunch and spew out the query results with lightning speed that you are so accustomed to see.
The Need of Popularity
In very simple words, the link popularity of your site means the amount of links coming to you from another sites. Every major search engine heavily weighs the link popularity of sites when ranking sites. Some engines even claims they won't index sites that don't have at least one link pointing to them from another site. Why they are doing that ? Just because zero popularity means that nobody has an interest related to your site content. Since nobody is interested, why search engines should consider it ? From their point of view zero popularity is a time wasting. Under the above circumstances, the link popularity of your site becomes very important to you, especially if you aim to earn traffic by indexing your site in search engines directories. Let's see what you can do in order to increase the link popularity of your site. First of all you should concentrate on finding sites having a similar content to yours. This is the most important point of your campaign because all those links incoming from sites with similar theme will reinforce the credibility of your site. Then you should act on the following three ways: Link exchanging. Contact the owners asking for a link exchange.
Google?s Siren Call ? Is It Crashing Your Search Engine Marketing?
It's difficult to dispute the rational behind the rant since Google continues to outpace its rivals in popularity with an 89% "strongly positive experience" rating from an opinion poll of U.S. Adult Internet Users conducted by eMarketer in early 2005. Google certainly achieves mass exposure and logically it's fair to attribute a first position ranking to gaining access to the masses.
Secrets on Website Promotion: How You Can Get a #1 Ranking for Your Website Name Within 30 Days
Launching a new website with enough acceleration to rise above this ever increasing daily din needs some force. It is common to see a website with a different name and various product or service offerings with equally unrelated names. Promoting these diverse brands will naturally need more energy than promoting just one brand.
How and When Should I Submit My Website to Google?
As soon as you register your domain name, submit it to Google!
Use Keyword Articles for Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is very important for your online business if you are interested in staying in business. The reason for this is most of the time the large search engines direct traffic to your website, however your website must include what the search engine is looking for in order for your web page to be returned as a result. It might sound complicated, but it really is not because people use the search engines to search for keyword terms and then the search engines crawl the web looking for web pages containing these same keywords. The most important thing for you as an online business is to know the keywords that apply to your business and then include them on your web page through the use of keyword articles.
Search Engine Marketing 101: What Search Engines See When They Visit Your Web Site
If you have a Web site, have you ever wondered what a search engine sees when it visits your site to add the site to its index? Do you know that it doesn't see the beautiful graphics or the fancy Web design? Do you know that it only sees the source code, or the "skeleton" of your Web site?
Top Search Engine Ranks, Part 2- Mastering the Secret- Explained
In the first part of this series on ranking at the top of the search engines, we discussed diversifying your Internet marketing efforts. We introduced several methods including RSS feeds, Link Popularity, Article Marketing, Blogs, and physically altering your pages to make them more target-able for select keywords. All of these share the key of great content in order to unlock success.
Buzzwords vs Effective SEO Keywords
Ever see a website that seems to speak a foreign language...in English? We encounter many SEO client websites that rely on buzzwords in the page copy to get the word out about their product. The problem lies with visitors who may not be familiar with those terms. This means optimizing with buzzwords may not be the best way to gain traffic. If your prospective visitors are not searching for those terms, how do they find your website?
How I Suddenly Stumbled Onto No.1 In Google and Yahoo Without Search Engine Optimization - So What?
Sometimes, the search engines act really strange. And this story will prove how I've got top positions (80% on no.1) into the major search engines - such Google, Yahoo!, MSN - without lifting a finger! What is REALLY strange? I did not optimize my page!
Do Search Engines Scare You?
What do the words "Search Engine" make you think of? I get immediate mind-pictures which vary but all have similar themes. Sometimes I see one of those tiny submarines which are used to explore the deepest parts of the ocean bed. I have this picture in my mind of the tiny submarine underwater in complete darkness apart from the beam of its searchlight which is probing the gloom. Other times I see a horse-drawn carriage driving through dense fog with only its weak lamp relieving the darkness. This scene is from a movie where the police are racing through London in search of Jack The Ripper. The final picture is of a line of policemen in old-fashioned uniforms advancing across a moor in darkness through rising mist with only their flashlight-beams to light their way.
Screwed: Is this an inevitability in the SEO World?
By about 2pm everyday, each of my team members has spoken to a good handful of clients and potential clients who have been speaking with other SEO firms. This an absolutely wonderful thing to see, as in the past in our industry, not enough of our consumers were questioning what they were purchasing. It is a sign that accountability will come and the bad guys will be weeded out.While this is a good sign, it's the cause of my having to answer the same questions over and over. The consumers in the SEO world are being fed out and out lies by some of the people who call themselves experts in the area of Search Engine Optimization. They hear these lies and while comparing prices, contact us at Abalone Designs. They then proceed to tell me everything that all of these other companies promised them and I am utterly astonished. Here some of the most asinine claims I hear through the grapevine."We can guarantee your rankings" Don't be fooled! Ask the company what you will be ranking for, immediately! 9 times out of 10, a company that guarantees you rankings, is guaranteeing that you will rank for your own company name, which means people on Google or MSN or Yahoo! would have to know your company name before searching. How does this produce new customers and visitors to your site? Chances are, as soon as these search engines index your site, you will rank within the top ten for your company name, if not first, because it is unique. Why bother paying someone for something that is already going to happen, anyway? Guaranteeing rankings is highly unethical. It is impossible to guarantee rankings unless you have access to Google's database itself, and even then I'm not sure it's possible. Keep in mind, we are working with a 3rd party, here. A highly guarded 3rd party that doesn't, under any circumstances, reveal it's secrets. No one outside of the companies that run these search engines knows what it is exactly that makes search engines rank sites high. Especially due to the fact that these search engines and the rigorous ranking filters they use to spit out search results change almost monthly. Even a former Google employee doesn't know how to guarantee rankings! If someone is telling you they'll guarantee top rankings, run fast! Those are some shady, shady claims. Google themselves have said:"No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google - Beware of SEO's that claim to guarantee rankings, or that claim a "special relationship" with Google, or that claim to have a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is by using the page at http:// www.google.com/addurl.html. You can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever." - http:// www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/seo.htmlAn ethical SEO company will not guarantee rankings. They will guarantee that their methods follow search engine guidelines, and they will guarantee customer satisfaction, but at no point in time will any SEO company with a conscience guarantee your rankings."Your site needs to be continually resubmitted to get on and stay on the search engines" When will I see the end of this one? How old is this method now? 5 years? 10 years? We're talking about the days when Webcrawler was the biggest search engine and all computers were beige! This claim is so fully untrue, had Pinocchio uttered it, his nose would have stretched from Rome to Poughkeepsie. And the good folks at Google will once again back me up on this one:"Submission is not necessary and does not guarantee inclusion in our index. Given the large number of sites submitting URLs, it's likely your pages will be found in an automatic crawl before they make it into our index through the URL submission form. We DO NOT add all submitted URLs to our index, and cannot predict when or if they will appear." - http:// www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/1.html#A2"Meta tags are not important anymore"Sure they aren't. If you don't want a decent ranking on MSN. The new MSN search places a lot of value on the keywords and description meta tags. Without these tags in your site's code, your ranking on MSN will suffer. Just as importantly, if your keywords and description meta tags don't use proper language, your rankings will suffer. The description tag is also what MSN uses as the visible description for a site in the search results. And of course, to prove I'm not the one blowing hot air, here is what MSN themselves say about it:"Site descriptions are extracted from the content of your page each time MSNBot crawls your site and indexes its pages... ...the best way to affect your site description is to ensure that your web pages effectively deliver the information you want to see in search results." - Click here to see the page this is found on. "Your Web Site Has Been Sabotaged" This one is truly unreal. I can't believe it's even been used as an excuse for why an SEO company hasn't achieved decent rankings for you. But alas, more than one SEO company has told potential clients of ours that the reason they are not ranking well, or why their search engine optimization campaign is not effective, is because someone else has been sabotaging the site. Some of the clients who have been told this are small businesses, like bed and breakfasts or pet sitters. We always explain to these potential clients that the likelihood of someone even having the initial idea to sabotage a web site, the site in question would have to be a fairly large one, and the target of a lot of hatred. Why? Because sabotaging a web site's rankings takes a massive amount of time and energy. We're talking months, maybe even years of hard, hard work. Why would anyone devote months or years of their life to taking down a pet sitting site? Or a bed and breakfast?Once again, these are some hefty claims and it is a clear sign that the company who is running your SEO campaign is unwilling to be held accountable for their actions or lack thereof.Don't Put Up With It. The bottom line is, your search engine optimization company works for you. You are paying them. Hold them accountable as you would any other vendor. Keep reading these articles, read info at the search engines, educate yourself and if something your SEO says smells a little rotten, don't be afraid to call them on it.Is being screwed an inevitability in the SEO world? Damn near. But thanks to the increasing interest of our consumers in self-education and their increased questioning, our industry will slowly climb out of the gutter and someday down the line, send this article into antiquity. In spite of my pride, I'd be overjoyed to see that day come.
Meta Tag Tactics - Give Your Website Traffic a Boost with the Meta Tag Basics
Getting your site noticed by the search engines and rewarded with top rankings is most webmasters main goal, however there are a lot of different factors that play into what the search engines are looking for, including Meta tags. So, if you don't know anything about meta tags but are interested in learning about them so you can use them to possibly increase your rankings, then read the following basic tips regarding meta tags. The more educated you are about what search engines are looking for, the better you will be able to respond and rise in the rankings.