Have you ever wondered how
a search engine works?
It must have been fascinating figuring out how to create a search tool
which could direct a visitor to several websites that are relevant to
the search inquiry, don't you think? It's really almost impossible to
imagine this tool working as well as it does.
However, have you experienced instances where the link that supposedly
contained your requested keywords is not exactly what you have in mind?
You would probably think that there must be something wrong with the
search engine that it generated irrelevant results.
Well part of this depends on how a search engine works and part on how
the information on and about a website is made available to it.
Learning what's going on is your first step to making YOUR website more
attractive, and available, to the millions of people seeking
information and products online.
Okay,
so how does a search engine work?
Two things figure greatly in making search engines work effectively and
efficiently: the electronic search spider the search engine uses, and
the sitemap provided by the website owner or webmaster.
What
the heck is a sitemap?
A sitemap is simply a page, or group of pages, that serves as a
directory, index, or table of contents for the
website, listing all the links to all documents and files
found in the website. It is not merely a random listing of links,
however, but should be organized in such a way that it gives the web
user an idea of how all the information that can be found in the site
fits into an outline or framework. It is very much like
viewing the table of contents of a book, or viewing
the outline of the site’s content.
What
is a spider?
In the language of Search Engine Optimization,
or SEO, a "spider" is not an animal found in your closet. This
electronic search spider is actually a 'bot (ro-bot) which collects
data and copies content to be stored in the search engine’s
database for retrieval when keywords are fed into the search dialogue
box. The spider reads the content of the site and sends another 'bot to
follow the links and copy the content contained in them.
What
purpose does a sitemap serve?
A sitemap, pretty much like any other map, gives directions to a
navigator or visitor. It primarily targeted towards search engine
spiders so that they are properly directed to and around your site, and
to the links where keywords entered in the search dialogue
appear. As such, it is actually an important and useful tool
in search engine optimization.
A well organized site map would guide the spider to find the
information it needs when keywords are entered during a search
operation.
As an additional beneficial consequence, sitemaps have proven to be
useful even to the web users themselves. Since a sitemap displays all
the links to information found in a website, it helps the user to
search for a particular topic in mind. Many users also use the sitemap
to navigate between pages in a site.
What
are the benefits of having a sitemap for my website?
1.
No page would be left unturned..i.e. unindexed
Going back to the purpose of sitemaps, having one for your website will
mean faster and easier tracking and crawling of spiders all over your
site. As a result, search engines would surely get to the view all the
pages of your site and not just the pages containing random keywords.
2.
Easier navigation for site visitors
Once a web user has accessed your sitemap, they will not
need go back to the search engine page to look for what they
need. If what they are looking for is in your site, then they would
have an easier and faster way of locating it. Getting visitors to your
site is one step in the process of Internet marketing.
Keeping them there is harder and perhaps more important.
3.
Potential advertising value
If it should happen that a relevant product or service company reaches
your site, then it would be easier for them to see how best they can
position themselves in the different pages of your site as a paid
advertiser.
4.
Encourage greater traffic to your site
If your business website has a good sitemap, then potential buyers
would have an easier time in accessing your latest products and
services. Moreover, they would not miss out on any product that might
be of future interest to them since the sitemap would displaylinks to,
and hopefully some descriptive title or text about, all information
found within the site.
How
are sitemaps formatted?
There are at least three major types of sitemaps: indexed,
full categorical,
and restricted
categorical.
An indexed site map appears basically as an alphabetical listing or
directory.
A full categorical map displays all links classified into categories;
while a restricted categorical sitemap displays all links listed in a
chosen category at a time. The full and restricted sitemaps are very
similar except that the former displays all links in all categories all
at once in a page, while the latter focuses only the links under the
selected category for easier and less eye-straining viewing.
While either of the other two is better than nothing, the most widely
used sitemap format is the full categorical. Based on the results of a
1999 SURL (Software Usability Research Laboratory) study on sitemap
designs, the full categorical format is most preferred by users since
it is easier to search for topics within the site and it allows easier
comparison between and among categories.
Some
tips in setting up your sitemap
1.
Link to the sitemap only from your homepage.
This is to ensure that the spider starts searching from your homepage
down to all the pages listed in your sitemap. In this way, no page
would be left unvisited by the spider.
2.
Do not go beyond 30 pages for a sitemap.
Large websites having 50 or more pages should not go beyond 30 pages on
their sitemap since this adds more pages to the site, and might
make search engine software think that the sitemap is a just a
link farm. Also, this prevents overcrowding of links which could be
tiring to view by the human visitor.
3.
Regularly check all the links listed in your sitemap.
It can be discouraging when you click on a link only to find out that
nothing is displayed...or worse, you wind up at the wrong website or
page. Test your sitemap regularly, by clicking all links in every page
to make sure that all links are indeed linked to the right page.
4.
Give keyword-rich titles to sitemap links.
Keyword-rich titles give your site more of an advantage in being
searched properly under the right
category. But be sure to have this sitemap link linked back to the
sitemap (e.g. back to sitemap).
5.
Provide a short description for the links in the sitemap.
Doing so would give readers a better idea of what to find within the
page referenced and save them time on surfing.
6.
Be consistent in integrating the design of your sitemap with
other pages of the site.
Employ a recurring design and the same HTML template for all pages to
establish identity and build character to your website.
Okay,
I've got the idea, but isn't building a sitemap complicated and
time-consuming?
Well, like so many things that should, or need to be done, yes.
However there is software available to do it for you.
I personally like to use xml-sitemaps.com
to build most of my sitemaps. They will build a basic
sitemap, indexing up to 500 pages for free. You can get more
professional results with their paid services once you get to the point
where they are needed.
Now that you have learned basic things about sitemaps, maybe it is time
for you to build a sitemap for your site.
***********************
CoffeeShopMillionaire.com is the new,
Internet revolution that's helping people like you
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