Ian Harris

1
Lecture Two

• Ian Harris
• Entrepreneurial Champion

2
Search Engines are Key (Part One of Three)

• Lecture Aim To prove that search engines are key
  to the overall success of a businesses website /
  eCommerce implementation solution

3
Lecture Objectives

• To briefly discuss the links between this lecture
  and lecture 1
• To give a brief overview of the links between
  lectures 2, 3 4
• To give a definition of a Search Engine
• Why use Search Engines
• To briefly look at some internet statistics
  these stats are quite difficult to source
  unless you are willing to pay
• We will look at how Internet users find websites
• We will look at and discuss Search Engines and
  Directories
• We will examine the differences between a SE and
  Directory
• It is possible to get listed for free learn
  that here and now
• We will examine the phenomena of Google i.e.
  its database components, services and tools
• We will look at the top UK and US Search Engines
• We will discuss and examine other factors
  surrounding the phenomena which are SEs i.e.
  relative size showdown, database overlap,
  freshness of SEs, SE reach, dead links in SEs
  and others
• Finally, we will examine the Search Engine
  Relationship Chart

4
Content

• Links with Lecture One
• Links Between Lectures Two, Three and Four
• What is a Search Engine?
• Why Search Engines?
• Internet Statistics How Internet Users Find
  Websites?
• Search Engines
• Directories
• Differences Between a Search Engine and Directory
• Getting Listed for Free
• Google Database Components
• Analysis of 25 Google Searches
• Google Services and Tools
• Top Search Engines (2002)
• Top USA Search Engines
• Top UK Search Engines (2000)

5
Content

• Search Engine Relative Size Showdown
• Search Engine Database Overlap
• Distribution of 71 Unique Hits
• Freshness of Search Engines
• Search Engine Reach
• Dead Links in Search Engines
• Top 25 Websites
• Search Engine Relationship Chart

6
Links with Lecture One

• Referring to slides 21 through to 26 within
  Lecture One What Makes a Good Website?
• The overall design of a Website will
  significantly affect the way in which it relates
  to Search Engine listing. Following the Good
  criteria will help with good placement. Not
  following them will result in poor results in
  relation to search engine position!

7
Links between Lectures Two, Three and Four

• Lecture Two will introduce the What of Search
  Engines
• Lecture Three Four will cover the How Search
  Engines can be used to benefit a businesses
  Website presence

8
What is a Search Engine?

• A program that indexes web documents, in order to
  match documents relevant to a user's search
  requests
• A remotely accessible program for searching
  documents on the World Wide Web. The search
  engine takes a user's query and returns a list of
  relevant Web pages

Source http//www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/s
earch_engine/
Source http//www.northernlight.com/docs/glossary
_help_terms_s.html
Further Resource http//www.webopedia.com/TERM/s/
search_engine.html
9
Why Search Engines?

• Search engines provide highly targeted
  pre-qualified visitors to your web site. These
  visitors have made a conscious decision to search
  for your chosen keywords and have selected your
  link based on the message you supply in the site
  description

Source http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/
Further Resource http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/link
s.shtml (TopWebSite Search Engines Guide)
10
Internet Statistics

• Please be aware that it is quite difficult to
  source some Internet statistics! Unless you are
  prepared to pay BIG bucks i.e. emarketer.com is
  2,500 p/a or 500 for 30 days before allowing
  full database access to their archives!
  Therefore, a couple of statistics within these
  slides are a little dated. If you can find more
  recent statistics then please let me know thanks

11
How Internet Users Find Websites?
Source Forrester Research Inc. June 2000. Online
at http//www.forrester.com/home/
Other useful resources eMarketing International
http//www.emarketingassociation.com/ StatMarket
- Accurate internet statistics
http//www.statmarket.com/
12
Search Engines

• www.google.com
• www.google.co.uk
• www.lycos.com
• www.lycos.co.uk
• www.excite.com
• www.excite.co.uk
• www.msn.co.uk

Further Resource http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/link
s.shtml (TopWebSite Search Engines Guide)
13
Directories

• www.yahoo.com
• www.uk.yahoo.com
• www.looksmart.co.uk
• www.yell.co.uk (Yellow Pages)
• www.dmoz.org

Further Resource http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/link
s.shtml (TopWebSite Search Engines Guide)
14
Differences Between a SE and Directory

• Web Site directories such as Yahoo and DMoz are
  different from search engines in that they have
  editors who review web site submissions before
  deciding if the site is suitable for inclusion,
  and under which category. Directory placements
  tend to be stable, long lasting and give a boost
  to the position of a site on some other search
  engines. A directory listing is very valuable but
  care must be taken as once in a directory such as
  Yahoo it is very difficult to get the listing
  changed. You only get one shot so make sure
  everything is right before submitting and as a
  business you HAVE to pay!
• But can I get listed for free if I am a
  commercial entity wanting to promote a free,
  non-commercial element of my Website such as my
  FAQs section? The answer to this is yes

Source http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/submitting.sht
ml (TopWebSite Search Engines Guide)
15
Getting Listed for Free

• Non-commercial content is the only way for a
  commercial site to get into Yahoo and LookSmart
  if you can't afford or don't want to pay their
  fees
• What is non-commercial content? It is free,
  original, of good quality, updated or expanded on
  a regular basis and purely informational. It is
  NOT full of marketing hype or trying to sell
  something. It is a useful resource that adds
  value to any directory in which it is included.
  It also takes time and effort to develop.
  However, once added to your site, that section
  (not your commercial home page) can be submitted
  to Yahoo and LookSmart for free. How is this
  done?

Source http//www.emage-emarketing.com/033102.htm
(Article entitled Free Search Engine Submission
2002)
16
Getting Listed for Free

• Submitting to Yahoo for FreeTo get into Yahoo
  for free you must use their Standard Submit
  option. This is only available through the
  non-commercial categories of the directory.
  You'll know the category is non-commercial if the
  "reverse bar" containing the category name at the
  top of the page is blue (it's yellow in the
  commercial section). Be warned however, standard
  submission can take months to be included. Also,
  unlike the paid Express option, you will not be
  told if your site has been rejected and why.
  After submitting via the free option you have to
  watch and wait. If it still has not been picked
  up in a month, try again
• Submitting to LookSmart for FreeLookSmart also
  includes a free option through the Zeal directory
  (http//www.zeal.com ). Like the Open Directory,
  this directory uses volunteer editors. To submit
  to Zeal you'll need to sign up as a member at
  this URL http//www.zeal.com/users/become_a_zealot
  .jhtml and once accepted, you can then submit
  your site to a non-commercial category using the
  "Add a Site Profile" link near the top of the
  category page

Source http//www.emage-emarketing.com/033102.htm
(Article entitled Free Search Engine Submission
2002)
17
Getting Listed for Free

• A note Be very careful when submitting to Yahoo,
  LookSmart and the Open Directory. Once you get in
  changes are almost impossible to make. Submission
  still requires you to do a lot of work to
  effectively position your listing with title,
  description, category and even URL selection

Source http//www.emage-emarketing.com/033102.htm
(Article entitled Free Search Engine Submission
2002)
18
Google Database Components

• Indexed Web Pages
• Regular search engine results -- Web pages whose
  words have been indexed
• Un-indexed URLs
• URLs for Web pages or documents that Google's
  spider (more on spiders in lecture 3!) has not
  actually visited and has not been indexed. See a
  page on Google's Unindexed URLs for more details
  and an example
• Other File Types
• Web accessible documents that are not Web pages,
  such as Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Word,
  PostScript, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, and
  other files
• Daily Re-indexed Web Pages
• These are just regular indexed Web pages like
  those in the first category, except that Google
  has noticed that these are pages that are
  frequently updated. Therefore, Google reindexes
  these every day or so. These pages display the
  date they were last refreshed after the URL and
  size in Google's results

Source http//www.searchengineshowdown.com/featur
es/google/dbanalysis.shtml
19
Analysis of 25 Google Searches
Source http//www.searchengineshowdown.com/featur
es/google/dbanalysis.shtml
20
Google Services and Tools

• Froogle Find products for sale from across the
  WWW
• Source http//froogle.google.com/
• Google Answers An open forum where Researchers
  answer your questions for a fee. Source
  http//answers.google.com/answers/main
• Google Catalogs - Search and browse mail-order
  catalogs online Source http//catalogs.google.com
  /
• Google Groups - Post and read comments in Usenet
  discussion forums. Source http//groups.google.co
  m/
• Google Image Search - The most comprehensive
  image search on the web with 425 million images.
  Source http//images.google.com/
• Google Labs - Prototypes and projects in
  development by Google engineers, including
  Google Viewer - Google WebQuotes - Google
  Glossary - Google Sets - Voice Search - Keyboard
  Shortcuts. Source http//labs.google.com/
• Google Browser Buttons - Access Google's search
  technology by adding our buttons to your
  browser's personal toolbar
• Source http//www.google.com/options/buttons.htm
  l

Source More Google services tools can be found
at http//www.google.com/options/index.html
21
Top Search Engines (2002)

• Google is the most popular search engine on the
  web according to OneStat.com
• It is clear that Google dominates the search
  engine market and can drive a lot of traffic to
  your website. Our software is the ultimate
  solution to measure traffic from search engines
  to your website said Niels Brinkman, one of the
  founders of OneStat.com
• Yahoo is the second largest with a global usage
  share of 20.6 percent but remember its a
  directory

• The 7 largest search engines on the web as of
  October 14th 2002 were
•  
• 1. Google 55.1 1.9
• 2. Yahoo 20.6 0.2
• 3. MSN Search 9.4 0.3
• 4. AOL Search 3.5 0.6
• 5. Terra Lycos 3.0 -0.7
• 6. Altavista 2.4 -0.4
• 7. Ixquick 1.7 -0.5

Source http//www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressb
ox12.html
Source http//www.onestat.com/
Further Resource http//www.yourhtmlsource.com/pr
omotion/searchengines.html (Top Search Engines
and Directories Reviewed)
22
Top USA Search Engines

• The chart opposite shows the most popular search
  engines in the United States, as based on
  audience reach for October 2002
• These are considered the most important search
  engines for a business in the USA

Source http//topsearchengines.increase-link-popu
larity.com/
23
Top UK Search Engines (2000)

• In 2000 It was clear that Google was the
  preferred SE within the UK

Source http//www.webmarketingplus.co.uk/market_r
esearch/uk_search_use.html (Top UK Websites
(2000))
Further Resource http//www.yourhtmlsource.com/pr
omotion/searchengineschart.html (SE Charts)
24
Search Engine Relative Size Showdown
Source http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/size
.shtml
25
SE Database Overlap
Source http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/over
lap.shtml
26
Distribution of 71 Unique Hits
Source http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/uniq
ue.shtml
27
Freshness of SEs

• Key Points from Results
• Most have some results indexed in the last few
  days
• But the bulk of most of the databases is about 1
  month old
• And some pages may not have been re-indexed for
  much longer

Source http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/fres
hness.shtml (Data from May 17th 2003 by Greg R
Notess)
28
Search Engine Reach
Source http//www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/a
rticle.php/2156441 (March 2002, SE Reach in 7
European Countries)
Source http//www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday
/article.php/2197801 (Search Engine Tracking
System Launched)
29
Dead Links in Search Engines

• Based on an analysis using the first 100 hits
  from three searches, this table shows the
  percentage of dead links among 300 records
• The dead links percentage columns includes the
  404 file not found error message, 401 access
  denied and 403 forbidden errors, and various
  connection errors. These connection errors
  include No connect, Host not found, and Timed out
• The third column shows the percentage of dead
  links that resulted only from the 404 file not
  found error message, 401 access denied, and 403
  forbidden errors excluding all the connection
  errors (host not found, no connect, timeout after
  several minutes) which may represent only
  temporarily dead links

Source http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/dead
.shtml
30
Top 25 Websites
Sourcehttp//cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/reta
iling/article/0,,6061_2105901,00.htmltable
Other useful resources Top 10 of many
categories http//www.top10links.com/google.php?
sourcegoogle Visit a top site, read it rate
it http//www.web100.com/
31
Search Engine Relationship Chart
Source http//www.bruceclay.com
32
Summary of Learning Outcomes

• We examined the links between the various
  lectures
• We learnt a definition of Search Engines
• We looked at and learnt why we use Search Engines
• Looked at ways in which Internet users find
  websites
• Discussed Search Engines and Directories and
  examined the differences between a SE and
  Directory
• Gave an overview and learnt ways in which it is
  possible to get listed for free
• We examined the phenomena of Google and its
  database components, services and tools etc
• We touched on the top UK and US Search Engines
• We discussed and examined other factors
  surrounding the phenomena which are SEs i.e.
  relative size showdown, database overlap,
  freshness of SEs, SE reach, dead links in SEs
  etc
• Finally, we examined the Search Engine
  Relationship Chart

33
Assessment Question

• One of the following?
• With the information provided here and with the
  use of further references please describe in your
  own words why good website design is integral in
  relation with a Search Engine. (You will also
  need to refer to lecture 1, slides 21-26).
• In your own words please describe the difference
  between a Search Engine and a Classical
  Directory.
• In your own words and with the info provided to
  date along with other references please explain
  how a Search Engine works?

34
References and Useful URLs

• Bergman, Dr Thomas P 2002, The Essential Guide to
  Web Strategy for Entrepreneurs, Prentice Hall
• http//answers.google.com/answers/main
• http//catalogs.google.com/
• http//cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/a
  rticle/0,,6061_2105901,00.htmltable (Useful
  Internet
• Statistics)
• http//froogle.google.com/
• http//groups.google.com/
• http//images.google.com/
• http//labs.google.com/
• http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/dead.shtm
• http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/freshness.sh
  tml (Data from May 17th 2003 by Greg R Notess)
• http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/overlap.shtm
  l
• http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/size.shtml
• http//searchengineshowdown.com/stats/unique.shtml
  
• http//topsearchengines.increase-link-popularity.c
  om/ (Most Important SEs for Businesses - USA)
• http//www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pgddurl
• http//www.bruceclay.com
• http//www.clickz.com/mkt/emkt_strat/archives.php
  (Excellent Archive of eMarketing Strategies)

35
References and Useful URLs

• http//www.excite.com/info/add_url_form
• http//www.excite.co.uk (UK Search Engine)
• http//www.forrester.com/home/ (Forrester
  Research Inc)
• http//www.google.co.uk (Search Engine)
• http//www.google.com (Search Engine)
• http//www.google.com/addurl.html
• http//www.google.com/options/buttons.html
• http//www.google.com/options/index.html
• http//www.highrankings.com/
• http//www.internets.com/suk.htm (UK Databases)
• http//www.lycos.co.uk (UK Search Engine)
• http//www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/search_en
  gine/ (Useful Dictionary of Terms)
• http//www.mydomain.com/ (Domain Name
  Registration Service)
• http//www.net2.co.uk/ (Domain Name Registration
  Service)
• http//www.nic.uk/RegisteringYourDomainName/Choosi
  ngYourDomainName/ (Nominet The UK Internet Name
  Organisation)
• http//www.nic.uk/RegisteringYourDomainName/Choosi
  ngARegistrationAgentisp/ (Nominet The UK
  Internet Name Organisation)
• http//www.norid.no/domenenavnbaser/domreg-alpha.h
  tml
• http//www.northernlight.com (Search Engine)
• http//www.northernlight.com/docs/glossary_help_te
  rms_s.html (Useful Dictionary of Terms)

36
References and Useful URLs

• http//www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.p
  hp/2156441 (March 2002, SE Reach in 7 European
• Countries)
• http//www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article
  .php/2197801 (Search Engine Tracking System
• Launched)
• http//www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article
  .php/2198931
• http//www.searchthingy.com/search.asp (Top Ten
  Search Engines)
• http//www.seoconsultants.com/statistics/2003/05.a
  sp (Top 50 Referring Domains for May2003)
• http//www.squirrelnet.com/search/top20.htm (Top
  20 SEs)
• http//www.statistics.gov.uk/ (UK National
  Statistics Office)
• http//www.statmarket.com/ (Accurate internet
  statistics)
• http//www.top10links.com/google.php?sourcegoogle
  (Top 10 of many categories)
• http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/links.shtml (An
  enormous array of Website Resources)
• http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/search.shtml
• http//www.topwebsite.co.uk/submitting.shtml (Top
  Web Search Engine Guide)
• http//www.uk.yahoo.com (Yahoo UK)
• http//www.w3.org/ (World Wide Web Consortium
  Web Standards Resource)
• http//www.waller.co.uk/web.htm (How Big is the
  Internet Statistics)
• http//www.web100.com/ (Visit a top site, read it
  rate it)
• http//www.webmarketingplus.co.uk/market_research/
  uk_search_use.html (Top UK Websites (2000)

37
Glossary of Terms
Please refer to the following references to help
you understand IT terms used throughout all of
the lectures http//www.marketingterms.com/
(Internet Marketing Dictionary and Acronyms)
http//www.xetg.com/articles/search_engine_secret
s/glossary.shtml (Xtreme eMarketing Techniques
and Guide) http//www.activemarketingtips.com/amt
home/dict.htm (Essential Tips for Marketing
Success) http//www.atwebo.com/glossary.htm
(_at_WEBO eMarketing Glossary) http//www.matisse.net
/files/glossary.html (General IT Glossary of
Terms) http//www.animatedsoftware.com/statglos/st
atglos.htm (Internet Glossary of Statistical
Terms) http//www.weihenstephan.de/schlind/genglo
s.html (A Hypermedia Glossary of Genetic
Terms) http//www.webopedia.com/ (The only online
dictionary and search engine you need for
computer and Internet technology) http//www.grant
asticdesigns.com/glossary.html (Glossary of
Graphic Design and Web Page Design
Terms) http//www.walthowe.com/glossary/
(Glossary of Internet Terms) http//www.wwli.com/t
ranslation/netglos/glossary/glossary.html
(Internet Terms) http//www.sharpened.net/glossary
/index.php (Glossary of Computer and Internet
Terms). http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Gu
ides/Internet/Glossary.html (Glossary of Internet
and Web Jargon) http//www.yahooligans.com/docs/i
nfo/glossary1.html (Yahoo Glossary of
Terms) http//www.northernlight.com/docs/glossary_
help_terms_a.html (Northern Light Glossary of
Internet Terms)