Search Engine Optimization Specialists

by John Dow

Search Engine Optimization Specialists are the guys and gals who dig deep into the mysteries of the search engine algorithms and indexing methods. Each search engine has their own particular indexing parameters and it can get quite complicated. Since all use a mathematical equation and set of rules, small elements can make big differences in how your rank in a particular index.

The actual methods used by all three of the major search engines, Yahoo, Bing (formerly MSN), and Google are closely guarded secrets. If they disclosed how they ranked web pages there would be people who would figure ways to falsely present web pages. All do offer loose guidelines and some basic do's and don'ts but never reveal any specifics.

That's what makes search engine optimization so difficult beyond the basics. The on page SEO basics are generally the domain name, web page name, web page description, web page keywords, and of course the actual content. The basic off page SEO is the links that point to your web page from another web page. These links are judged by the anchor text (using specific terms to display instead of the URL), how well the web page linking is ranked, and whether it is on the same or related content.

These different aspects of each web page are used by all three of the big boys. What value they put on each item, how they prioritize the each web page with similar content, how each link is scrutinized for authority (that's mostly a Google trait) or value of content is the nuts and bolts of where they might place your web page in their results listings.

There really is only one method to determine what the search engines are up to when it comes to "ranking" a web page on specific search terms. You have to test, even the smallest change can have a dramatic impact on how your web page is displayed. And there are many sub areas within each category.

I'll give you a good example of some testing we have done to show how small details can count big time. We were testing the values assigned to links in this situation. Since each test takes X amount of time and traffic from users and the search engine bots (bots are software programs the search engines use to visit your web page and review everything on it), these tests aren't quick and often have to be tested from several web pages.

Anyway, one particular piece of the puzzle we found of value was that the links on each web page are granted a particular value. The higher up on the page, the more value (first link to be seen by the bots). What's the reasoning behind this? Can't say because we can only judge by the results of our tests, not read the minds or the algorithms.

But this is exactly what search engine optimization specialists look for, small details that can be used to better optimize each web page. Add up many of these small details and you can get quite an advantage over someone who doesn't know this information.

These specialists spend there day looking for any advantage on ranking web pages, no mater how small. They test each change and analyze any different ranking of the web page. This can get quite tedious and many tests can take several days or even weeks to complete.

So if you want to get down deep into the search engine methodology, search engine optimization specialists can help you. In highly competitive search terms, everything counts and even small advantages can make a difference.