All of the dedicated hard work expended by the Web Author goes for naught if his or her Web pages are not reasonably highly ranked in the primary Search Engines.
If those pages are languishing several pages deep in a requested Search result, the chances of them being visited at all are much less than if they appear on the first two or three results pages.
Some Web authors go to extraordinary lengths in an effort to obtain high Search Engine rankings for their pages, subscribing to commercial submission services or even purchasing so called "quality" links to add to their pages. The fact is, that there is no magic formula for attaining optimum ranking -- just the application of good Web authoring techniques and an understanding of the algorithms, web crawling/spidering methodology and content weight emphasis employed by the principle Search Engines. One thing is certain, it is extermely important to understand the criteria employed by Google™, for their Search Engine is currently used for some 90% of all Web searches.
Note that Search Engines give no weight to page layout -- they are mainly concerned with quality of content, navigation and linking popularity.
Site Maps
There are actually two types or "flavors" of Site Maps. The first is the type that is loaded up to your Web server and that is used by Search Engines to spider your pages thereby playing a big part in Page rankings. These Site Maps are constructed and formatted according to strict protocols. The Site Map protocol specified by Google(TM) is the classic model. The second type of Site Map is the one that you load onto your Home page and that plays such a prominent role in insuring Web Accessibilty (W3C WCA). There is no precise protocol for this type, although traditionally such Site Maps consist of a Hierarchal list of links to all pages of the site. In some cases, depending on the format selected, you can use your Search Engine submittal Site Map on your Home page.
Following are some online references relating to Web page Search Engine ranking:
- SearchEngineWatch.com - How Search Engines Rank Web Pages
- SearchEngineWatch.com - Search Engine Placement Tips
- SEOmoz.org - Search Engine Ranking Factors Pages
- Google™ - Webmaster Central
- Google™ - Webmaster Guidelines
- Google™ - How can I create a Google-friendly site?
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