| Updated July, 2001 Finally - A Good Solution
(Actually, it's a great solution if I do say so myself.)
It has taken me way too long to update this part of the site because
I had two opposing issues to deal with:
- FrontPage creates many obstacles to good search engine listings that
would take a master web designer/promoter to overcome.
- FrontPage users are - in general - not master web designers or
promoters in the geek sense. (Please don't take offense. I know some of you create top
notch pages. I'm not talking about how the pages look but about the behind the scenes
code.)
There are a couple of things you have to be aware of about FrontPage
(and web design in general) and about Search Engine promotion in order to understand that
you have a problem before even considering a solution:
- The Effect of Design on Search Engine Listings
The design elements of any web page will have an effect on how the
page is read by the search engines. Some design elements can be more detrimental to
listings than others and FrontPage's most popular elements (hover buttons, page
transitions, themes, etc.) are some of the worst culprits. In fact, FrontPage HTML in
general is a problem because it adds a lot of extra code.
Although a few articles on promotion address design issues they are
not addressing FrontPage code issues so you may be reading articles that while true (for a
hand written HTML page) are not true for your pages. It's important to keep in mind that
search engines do not "see" pages as visitors do, they see code!
- The Nature of Search Engine Promotion
Search engine placement is much more complex than some
"Get-top-listings-for-$19.95" services would have you believe. There are
thousands of articles about the tip of the promotion iceberg to every article that
addresses the base issues. Why? Because most people wouldn't have a clue what they were
talking about and even if they did they would be completely overwhelmed with the number
and complexity of issues. (I came very close to quitting the Web business entirely
in my first year of promotion for just this reason and that was in 1997. It's only
gotten more complex.)
Search engine promotion is not about meta tags even though meta tags
are mentioned more often than any other item. They were never the cure all for search
engine listings but in the last year they have slid down the scale of importance since
most of the major engines have begun to weigh them less heavily, if at all.
Submission is the runner up to meta tags in what is mentioned most
often as a solution. Submissions are an important step but they are ONLY a step. If your
pages are not optimized for good search engine placement it doesn't matter how many times
you submit it. It will be like submitting the Elephant Man to the Miss America Pageant.
You can try it a million times but It just ain't gonna fly!
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Have I Totally Depressed
You Yet?
Bumming you out is not my intention. I come with
solutions, always. I just want to provide a reality check. You need to realize that much
of what you'll come upon in the realm of promotional information is too simplistic, not
directed at FrontPage users or outdated. (Often it's all three.) Obviously,
good search engine listings are possible. I have them. And, if I have them you can
get them.
Here's How:
I have developed a complete system of promotion for Net-Promotions. I took every bit of
knowledge I have about search engines and put it to work in a couple of easy to use
(online) programs. I left out all of my long winded explanations and only explained those
things you really need to know (which are mostly about key words and key phrases, the
programs do the rest). I think the resulting system is so good that it's all I'm
using myself now!
Bad News and Good News
The bad news is that the Net-Promotions System isn't
free. The good news is that the 90 Trial Membership is. That should give you enough time
to see some results in the search engines and to decide for yourself if it's worth the
price of renewing the membership. (All Cybergalleries
hosting clients get the Net-Promotions system included with their hosting service at
no additional charge so you might switch servers and not have to pay for it after all.)
Go Get Your Traffic!!
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