Search Engines

Google

I am sure this can go without saying, but Google is the king of all search engines… at least for now. If you can get your website ranking in Google, the other search engines will soon follow. This is why we focus more on methods that have worked in terms of getting ranked in Google.

Understanding Google

The problem with search engines is that they are always changing their algorithms and improving their own methods for providing the best search results for users. So while you will really never have total control over when your site will get indexed, how it gets ranked, etc, you can get to know the methods that have proven to work, and avoid the methods that have not.

Google is constantly working towards getting smarter and providing better outcomes for visitors, so the art of site engine optimization will be a forever changing challenge.

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Submit to Google

If, after some time, you are not finding your website in Google, you can manually submit your website. This is like knocking on Google’s door to say, “Hey, just thought I’d introduce myself!”.

Submitting to Google

Follow the specific steps outlined in Lesson 8 – Step 5 of the course to submit your website to Google. Again, this will not guarantee rankings at all. All this does is let Google know that your website exists.

Submit to Google

What Page of Search Am I On?

All I have to say is this tool ROCKS. If you are ever curious about what page of Google you rank on for a certain keyword, you can find out super fast and super easy through the use of this tool.

Using What Page of Search Am I On?

All you have to do is type in the keyword you are targeting, then type in your website URL, and you within seconds you will see where you rank. This is so much easier and faster than going through Google to check. I probably use this tool on a daily basis because it’s fun and FAST.

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Yahoo!

Yahoo! is the second most popular search engine in the world, and therefore you will want to work towards getting your site indexed in Yahoo! as well.

More on Yahoo!

Every search engine is different and sets out its own guidelines for how they crawl sites and rank them according to their standards. But if we talk in generalizations, they all want rich, unique content, and look for specific keywords that users type into their search.

Yahoo has actually published a book called “The Yahoo! Style Guide” that basically discusses the best practices for writing content, which may or may not be helpful. But, it is worth a mention if you are stuck with content writing and optimization for help with search engine rankings.

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Submit to Yahoo!

You can submit your website to Yahoo to let them know about your new niche site.

Once again, by submitting your site, all you are doing is announcing your existence. This will in no way affect how your website will be ranked in Yahoo.

Submitting to Yahoo!

For more information about how to submit your website to Yahoo, visit Lesson 8 – Step 5 in the course.

Submit to Yahoo

Google PageRank Checker

PageRank Checker is another great tool that will tell you what your PR level is for your website. PageRank is basically all about link popularity.

More on PageRank

If the links coming into your website are all high quality links, then the higher your PageRank will be. But keep in mind that it is very hard to increase your PageRank, so don’t spend too much time worrying about this.

You have the option of installing the PageRank icon onto your site in lieu of visiting the PageRank Checker to check on your page rank. This provides a quick reference, but it will be seen by your visitors (which isn’t a bad thing if your PR level is high).

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Bing

With Bing being part of Microsoft, it has grown in popularity by taking the 3rd spot in terms of the most popular search engines. Bing has in fact replaced MSN as the search engine from Microsoft.

More on Bing

Again, much like Google and Yahoo!, the basic principles of achieving high search rankings in Bing is to have good quality (and original) content on your website, a good sitemap so that Bing can crawl your site, and good quality backlinks. Do this, and more than likely all search engines will appreciate your site and give it the attention it deserves.

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Submit to Bing

Sometimes the search engines can take a bit longer than usual to index websites. You can help expedite the process by submitting your website to the search engines directly.

Submitting to Bing

Submitting to Bing is quick and easy. Follow the steps outlined in Lesson 8 – Step 5 for details on how to submit your website to Bing.

Submit to Bing

Ask

While Ask is much less popular than the other three search engines mentioned, it is still not a bad idea to submit your website to Ask for indexing.

More on Ask

Even though Ask looks very plain and simple, there are several features offered such as the search features for specific things like images, news, videos, and even general people asking questions.

Again, even Ask has it’s own proprietary algorithms for ranking sites, but if you stick with the general seo guidelines, you can rank in Ask in no time.

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