Search Engine Optimisation :: Frequently Asked Questions
SEO FAQ Page 4
2. Why doesn't my site rank well for the keywords I target?
4. How do I optimise the site copy? Where do I place my keywords?
5. How do I build links pointing to my site?
6. How do I optimise the <title> tag contents?
7. What are meta-tags? Are they really important for SEO purposes?
8. What is search engine spam? Why is it a bad idea? Is there a SE spam classification?
10. How do I optimise the site's navigation for SEs? What is anchor text?
11. How soon will the search engines find my site?
13. Such and such a site ranks #1 for my targeted keywords, but it's no better than mine - why?
17. How do I create a spider-friendly site map?
18. Do spiders follow image links?
19. Do spiders crawl dynamic sites?
20. Do I hurt my rankings by linking to other sites?
21. What is the "Google sandbox effect"? Can it be avoided?
How soon will the search engines find my site?
Different search engines have different crawling speeds. Google is very fast; Yahoo! is very slow. But if you know for sure that your site has at least one incoming link from a well-established site, and the page it is placed on is indexed by search engines, then those engines will send their spiders to you - sooner or later.
Google will, most likely, come on the next day. If the link that points to your site is authoritative enough, Google will index several pages on its first visit, not just a home page; otherwise, try and get more links.
In some cases, you will have to wait about a month or two for Yahoo! to learn about your site. But it will come, too. MSN, sometimes, is even quicker than Google.
My site used to rank well for my targeted key phrases but today I found out it lost the rankings. Am I banned? What have I done?
Most likely, you have done nothing bad (because, of course, you know better). There are different reasons why you could lose your positions, such as an algorithm dance (where the search engine has tweaked its ranking algo and changed the weight given to different ranking factors) or a datacenter dance (where the fresh information acquired by spiders is being updated across the servers that store the index); anything can happen to sites' rankings during such periods.
But if you know for sure you have done something very questionable, it is a good idea to check if you are actually banned. If you aren't, remove everything deceptive ASAP.
Such and such a site ranks #1 for my targeted keywords, but it's no better than mine - Why?
Well, search engines must have their reasons to think otherwise. Are you sure you've checked all factors?
Check your competitors' inbound links. Try to get links from the same sites. Write more content. If possible, make your site considerably better. Never stop working on it. The day will come for you to win if you are a dedicated and hard-working person. But don't become obsessed with your competitors. Think about your site.
I've read a lot about SEO. I've applied all the SEO advice I've read about to my site but it still doesn't show in the TOP 10. Why? I'm desperate. Is Google evil? Help!
Google is not evil. Search engines will only survive if they help searchers, and for this reason only they are our good friends and deserve respect and friendly treatment. They may not always be very successful in delivering the results we are searching for, but their algorithms are improving continuously.
When doing SEO we should always remember that search engines owe us nothing. They work for searchers, not for SEOs. But we are supposed to help them if we want to get something in return.
That SEO advice you've read and applied might be wrong. Then again it might be right, but the problems are appearing because you haven't applied it completely. There are always ways to improve further; SEO is a never-ending process, so, take a quick rest - and then start again with your good work. And if your niche is very competitive, try re-considering you keywords and choose less competitive ones.
If you feel like your patience is exhausted, the only thing that is going to help you is a good sense of humour.
Are reciprocal links considered spam? Are they counted towards my link popularity? Aren't they ruining the business image of my site?
Reciprocal linking is a legitimate method of promoting websites online, and when done properly it doesn't ruin the image of your business at all; if you approach it properly it can even improve it.
In spite of a well-known opinion that reciprocal links are considered by search engines (e.g. Google) as spam and will soon be penalised, it just doesn't seem logical. There are too many cases where sites are supposed to link to each other, for example partners' sites and academic works. Penalising them for doing so would be harmful to the Internet, and people who develop search engine algorithms are smart enough to realise it.
That link pages do not transmit as much authority as content pages is true, but it can easily be explained by the fact that they contain more links - and the authority is shared by them all. Only if you abuse reciprocal linking can your link pages end up disappearing from Google's index.
Link exchange pages that look like link farms do spoil the appearance of your site. However, resource pages that are easy to find and use can be really helpful to your visitors, so adding categories, implementing user-friendly design, and not overloading them can work wonders. And if pages still seem too long, sub-categorise further. Do not be afraid of one-way links to sites you really like. Generosity won't hurt you in this case: when your resource page contains valuable one-way links, people will realise you've created them for purposes more noble than simply acquiring more links to your site. Actually, it is recommended that the majority of your outbound links are one-way links to high quality, relevant sites.
To protect yourself from possible complications, just follow a few simple rules:
(1) Do not link to bad neighbourhoods.
Avoid unrelated sites unless they are useful for all Internet surfers,
like search engines, general directories or communities.
(2) Before writing a link exchange request, be sure to read linking policies, which can differ
from site to site. Let the other party know you've actually done so (i.e. quote these guidelines
in your request if appropriate). If you can find the name of the site owner, use it in your request.
(3) Resist the temptation to automate the process.
(4) Remember that quick and aggressive link exchange campaigns are a thing of the past. It can still
be a good idea to initiate 5 to 15 link exchanges when the site is young; after that, just let natural
links come through.
(5) Trash all the link exchange requests that look automated (99% of them do). If you receive
a personalised email, review the site to see if it is of any real value to your visitors. Check it
for being a bad neighbourhood. If the link policies of the site say that a reciprocal link is
a requirement, it is yet another reason not to link to it.
(6) Ask yourself if the link they are offering you is likely to bring direct visitors.
Remember that all new inbound links - reciprocal or one-way - are now given a trial period before they start giving you any ranking benefits in Google, so be patient. As long as the overall number of reciprocal links is not unnaturally high, Google will still count them, but if you are getting too aggressive, your links will sooner or later be devalued. Other engines don't look much at link popularity at all and pay much more attention to the on-page factors.
Using three-way links (where A links to B, B to C and C to A) instead of reciprocal links is not a good idea.
More on natural linking patterns and reciprocal linking issues.
Last Modified: 23.08.2007
