====================================================== All the tricks of the search engine trade and more ... ====================================================== vol. 2/issue 009 _ _ ___ __ __ _ | \ | | __/ / /(TM) / _| _ _ | \ | ||_\_\ / /_____ / /_ __ _ ___ | |___ _____| \| | __/ \/\/ / ___| | _/ _` | \| / - \/ _ _ \|\ ||__\ /\ / \ ___ \ |_| \ _,_|_|\_|_\___/_| | |_|| \_ |___/\/ \/ |_____/ ====================================================== 2001-03-13 --- Sent by subscription only! Circulation: 2,580+ very special readers, and growing ====================================================== mailto:fantomnews@fantomaster.com ------------------------------------------------------ This newsletter may be freely redistributed by email in its unedited form. Please do share it with others! ------------------------------------------------------ ******************************************** * When your dreams turn to dust, it's time * * to vacuum. * ******************************************** ------------- IN THIS ISSUE ------------- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = Sponsorship Notice: HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING THE SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS YOU WANT? <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = News Flash: Mighty Engines: Launching Our OEM Licensing Program + Invitation to Online Chat with fantomaster = Building Doorway Domains for Optimized Search Engine Positioning = fantomTip: Google Spiders as a Decloaking Hazard <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = Sponsorship Notice: BUY OR SELL QUALIFIED WEB TRAFFIC! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = fantomTip: Search Engine For File Extensions, and More = fantomSpot: Featured SE Site "The End of Blind Clicking - See Your Search!" <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = Sponsorship Notice: Automatic Reciprocal Quality Links - The Zeus Internet Marketing Robot <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> = The Search Engine Grapevine: News 'n Stuff = Classified Ads = Guest Columnist: Robin Nobles, "Cascading Style Sheets and Absolute Positioning - can they really be used to your advantage in optimizing your web pages?" = How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist = fantomAd: "Spying On the Spiders: Our Landmark Online Service" = fantomTip: Submitting to Inktomi Via NSI = Spider IPs: Lots of New Excite Spiders Detected Plus - New Spiders From WholeWeb, Claymont, SPEEDFIND = Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sponsorship Notice ------------------ Having problems getting the Search Engine results you want? Sign up for Web Ad.vantage's Search Engine Optimization Contest and enter to win a SEO Package valued at $2,000. * Recommended changes to your site * Hand Submittals to the top Search Engines and Directories * Link Popularity Network featuring 5,000 links to your site a month * Reporting of your placement for up to 6 keywords or phrases Enter today at: < http://www.webadvantage.net/promos/seo.htm > <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++news flash+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mighty Engines: Launching Our OEM Licensing Program ------------------------------------------------------ (rt) As a logical expansion of capitalization of our assets, fantomaster.com will soon be launching fantomTech(TM) - our OEM Licensing Program, aimed at software developers, service providers, SEO agencies and value added web hosting enterprises. Two examples: If you're developers of IP delivery software and services, you will be able to integrate our fantomas spiderSpy(TM) service - the world's most comprehensive database of search engine spiders, updated 4 times a day. Our new HitConnector(TM) Instant Traffic Machine is a turn key solution driving tens of thousands of highly qualified visitors to your IT site. For pre-launch information please contact: < mailto:fantomtech@fantomaster.com > Invitation to the Online Chat With fantomaster (2001-03-15) ---------------------------------------------- All our subscribers are cordially invited to attend this online chat organized by Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists. I'll be guest hosting the event and will be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning cloaking and efficient search engine optimization, code protection techniques and anything else you may want to know about our products. Here's the specs: ----------------- Thursday, March 15 Topic: Products and Services offered by Fantomaster Led by: Ralph Tegtmeier, a.k.a. Fantomaster 6:00 p.m. PST (9:00 p.m. EST)/3:00 a.m. GMT+1 (UK) Conference Room #3 The URL for accessing the chat rooms is: < http://atlas.coastside.net:4080/chat/*index > Visitors who haven't attended a chat at the Academy will need to register first. Be sure to inform your staff, your associates and friends! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++news flash+++news flash+++news flash+++news flash++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== Building Doorway Domains for Optimized Search Engine Positioning ------------------------------------------------------ (rt) Doorway pages have been around for a long time and most people trying for search engine optimization are more or less familiar with them. To recapitulate: a classical doorway page is focused on a certain keyword or search phrase, carrying highly optimized text, pertinent meta tags, title, etc. It is submitted to the search engines to achieve better rankings. When human visitors hit the page, they are required to click a link to get to the site proper. More often than not, doorway pages are quite ugly. That's because they are so highly optimized with the search engines in mind, who happen to dislike graphics, nested tables, Flash, Java applets, JavaScript, frames, and the like. So while they may perform nicely in the search engines' indices, many of them don't exactly spell out cutting edge marketing skills from the human visitors' (= clients'!) point of view. Granted that quite a few webmasters have caught on, resorting to generating more appealing pages featuring navigation elements and blending better with their sites' overall layout and design, but creating these can be a very time consuming effort. What's more, some search engines are regularly conducting witch hunts to weed out discernible doorway pages, one of the most notable examples being AltaVista. The reason for this is the ongoing abuse the doorway page technology has been subject to over the years. With fairly cheap programs around generating hundreds of doorways at one go, you can hardly blame the engines for implementing some self-protective countermeasures. Another major issue concerns the restrictions imposed on volume of page submissions. Search engines tend to limit the number of pages a domain may submit per day. While such limits are seldom publicized and may vary widely from one engine to another, a general guideline adhered to by most search engine optimization professionals is about 5 pages per day and domain. For large web sites generating hundreds or thousands of new pages (dynamic or static) per year, it is therefore paramount to work around this limitation in order to get as many pages indexed as possible. The more web pages represent a web site in a search engine index, the greater the chances of generating pre-qualified traffic. Even if you're only selling a handful of products, any web marketing expert will tell you that you are well advised to feature each of them on a highly focused mini-site because this will considerably increase your search engine exposure and, hence, your chances of driving visitors your way. The obvious drawback of this strategy lies in the fact that while you may make a lot of one-item sales this way, getting customers to buy several products at one pop isn't quite that easy without diluting your site's thematic focus again. This is where Doorway Domains come in. They differ from tread-of-the-mill doorway pages in that they constitute dedicated web sites in their own right - highly focused, very targeted and immensely positionable. On the other hand, they are not identical with mini-sites because human visitors will never get to see them! Instead, they are search engine spider fodder at its very best - optimized to the last byte, they can achieve excellent rankings. They will usually consist of several pages, each of which is optimized in a different manner: meta tags, titles, keyword density, etc. With every page following a slightly different basic optimization method or algorithm, they can target all important search engines and their various references in an incredibly effective buckshot strategy. Search engines don't rank isolated pages very well, if at all, so the various pages of a well constructed Doorway Domain will all be interlinked with one another. Neither should they be mere clones: duplicate content on any given web site will usually be penalized. But if, as I claimed above, human visitors don't ever get to see them, how are they supposed to boost your sales? The answer to this is redirection: surfers hitting your Doorway Domain's well positioned link on an engine's search results list will simply be forwarded to the corresponding page on your main site. "Hey," you may groan now, "hold it! Haven't I read all over the place that search engines take a very dim view of redirects and may actually ban sites from their indices if detected? So what are you trying to propose here - kamikaze optimization?" You read right: search engines do indeed penalize web sites for redirection! However, there's a fairly easy, well established way out of this, and it goes under various names ranging from "Cloaking" through "IP Delivery" to "Stealth Technology", and others more. Note that I said it is human visitors who will be redirected, not the search engine spiders. The latter will be served with their optimized "fodder" pages from the Doorway Domain itself and will never know the difference. There are various technical methods to achieve this. You can employ specialized software which will determine automatically whether a site hit is generated by a search engine spider or a human visitor. If you have administrator rights on your system (most people haven't, but if you're running your own dedicated server this is normally a given), you can tweak your configuration to achieve the same effect, etc. So you may think of a Doorway Domain as a "cloaked mini-site" fronting for your home page without annoying visitors with that 'ol "Click here to enter" spiel. Remember that many studies indicate that you have only about 8-15 seconds to capture your visitors' attention if you want them to actually stay on your site. If in doubt, check your server's traffic logs! You shouldn't make life more difficult for your visitors than absolutely necessary - it's uncourteous, and it doesn't particularly motivate buyers either! The technical fineries of cloaking are, unfortunately, beyond the scope of this introductory article, but there's a lot of fine material around which will help you get started if you're interested. A detailed tutorial on the DOs and DONTs of cloaking can be found on our site at: < http://fantomaster.com/fafaqcloak1.html > There's also a guided tour on cloaking available here (JavaScript enabled browser required): < http://fantomaster.com/fasmbgt0.html > Note that cloaking is not without its risks! (The tutorial mentioned above will explain this in more detail.) While these risks are widely overrated, they do indeed exist, so you should know exactly what you're doing before you actually go for it. However, once you have become familiar with the technology and seen its fantastic ranking results, you'll hardly settle for less again! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== fantomTip Google Spiders as a Decloaking Hazard ------------------------------------------------------ (Note: In the following code examples, please remove the period following the pointed bracket as in "<." before copying by cut and paste. This was introduced to avoid browser and email client display problems.) ------------------------------------------------------ (rt) Google's caching function constitures what we term a prime "Decloaking Hazard". That's why we have flagged Google spiders accordingly in our fantomas spiderSpy(TM) bot base. There are several methods of working around this: 1. As suggested by Google itself: to disallow Google spidering (well, caching, actually) your pages, use this meta tag: <.META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE"> Most of the time, this will actually work. While there was some indication in the past that such pages would be penalized ranking wise, this is definitely not the case any longer. Two - if your stuff has been cached already, simply write to Google about drop it. Ask them to stop caching your pages: they will comply, if only because they would run the risk of a copyright violation suit. It will probably take a few weeks till the cached pages disappear, but disappear they will. (Been there, done that.) Legally, this is a fairly murky area, as they are arguably violating copyrights by caching and presenting copyright protected cached content. Hence, the Google people are pretty soft footed about it and will comply without any argument. Indeed, from then on your pages will not be cached (or, more exactly: the cached content won't be displayed to searchers anymore) Note, however, that no major search engine entertains such a lot of misbehaved spider brats as does Google: occasionally, they will cut through your pages like a lawnmover, ignoring robots.txt exclusion and all. It's certainly not a daily occurrence, but we have seen it happen, and so have many others. Three - disallow Google spiders from accessing your cloaked pages by redirecting them to standard content. Under Apache, this can be effected by making use of module "mod_rewrite", for instance. For a tutorial on "mod_rewrite", see: < http://fantomaster.com/faarticles0.html#mod_rewrite > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sponsorship Notice ------------------ BUY OR SELL QUALIFIED WEB TRAFFIC! Whether you've got traffic to sell or want to buy highly qualified traffic to improve your websites' performance - this is the place to go! < http://fantomaster.com/fatraffic.html > <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ====================================================== fantomSpot: Featured SE Site "The End of Blind Clicking - See Your Search!" ------------------------------------------------------ (rt) SearchShots is a new visual search engine that provides preview screenshots of every site it features in its search results. Currently it's only ODP based, but very nifty nevertheless - a must see! They even offer free email subscription which push their best screenshots into your mailbox either weekly or monthly. Have a peek right here: < http://www.searchshots.com/ > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== fantomTip Search Engine For File Extensions, and More ------------------------------------------- File formats have rapidly developed into a veritable jungle in the course of the last decade or so. It's a daunting task to keep up-to-date with all of their specs. But help is nigh: Karl Resch features a very nifty specialized SE for file extensions here: < http://ExtSearch.com/ > Another must see resource of his for all webmasters worth their salt is this portal covering meta search engines, search engine comparison charts, German search, site promotion tools, and lots more: < http://kresch.com/ > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sponsorship Notice ------------------ Zeus Internet Marketing Robot - The Automatic Reciprocal Link Generator and Link Directory Creator < http://www.fantomaster.com/tj.cgi?ln=ze > <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ====================================================== The Search Engine Grapevine: News 'n Stuff ------------------------------------------------------ Pseudo Life for Go: GoTo Takes Over Search Results -------------------------------------------------- Pay-for-play search engine GoTo has announced that they will provide all search results for Disney's zombified Go.com (formerly: Infoseek). From their press release: "The search implementation on Go.com includes displaying the top 15 GoTo listings on Go.com's search results pages. Since GoTo listings are the only search listings being delivered on Go.com, our advertisers are likely to see an increase in traffic." However, as the press release points out, the traffic from Go is expected to peter out over time. See the new setup in action here: < http://www.go.com > Scandalizing the Engines ------------------------ A site devoted to boycotting pay-for-play engines and directories calls openly for a boycott. While chances of actual success may seem slim, many webmasters will nevertheless probably appreciate the sentiment. < http://www.searchenginescandal.com/ > Euroseek Nixes URL Submissions ------------------------------ Euroseek has announced that URL submissions are a no go for the time being: "This service is unavailable until further notice. The crawler is still indexing and recrawling old sites. New sites will be added by following links." See: < http://addsite.euroseek.com/page.php?ilang=en > Foreign Google -------------- The following foreign (i.e. non-US) Google sites are now active. Also included: the URLs for submitting your foreign language/content site. UK < http://www.google.co.uk > Submission page: < http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/addurl.html > France < http://www.google.fr > Submission page: < http://www.google.fr/intl/fr/addurl.html > Germany < http://www.google.de > Submission page: < http://www.google.de/intl/de/addurl.html > Atomz Search Now Supporting Flash(TM) Files ------------------------------------------- Atomz Search now supports indexing and searching Macromedia(TM) Flash(TM) files on a Web site in addition to HTML and text files. (Thanks to Gerold + Caspar of < http://www.login.nl/ > for pointing it out!) This function is configurable, so if you're maintaining an Atomz site search engine and are offering Flash(TM) content, you may want to check up the details here: < http://www.atomz.com/support/01_search_faq/ 03_flash_faq.htm > GoTo Partners with Registrars.com --------------------------------- Registrars.com has announced that it is partnering with GoTo, promoting its pay-per-click venture. Moreover, users signing up for a domain registration with Registrars.com will receive an (currently unspecified) bonus in their GoTo account. Read Registrars' press release here: < http://www.registrars.com/registrarswire/new_feb_02.shtml > German Acoon Goes International ------------------------------- Germany's major search engine Acoon.de went international and is now targeting the global English speaking market. This is their new home URL: < http://acoon.com/ > You can submit your site at: < http://acoon.com/addurl.html > Google Acquires Deja's Usenet Discussion Service ------------------------------------------------ Read their press release here: < http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/pressrelease48.html > And here's where you can actually search the Usenet archive: < http://groups.google.com/ > Inktomi Paid Submissions Now In UK ---------------------------------- Webgravity has partnered with Inktomi to offer paid indexing for European web sites. With unabashed hype they promote it as a "revolutionary 'paid inclusion program'". So what's so revolutionary about suddenly charging money for something formerly offered for free? Before signing up you might want to compare their fees with Inktomi's US partner's Positiontech - you may find that Webgravity will charge you 50-100% more! A "revolutionary" ripoff indeed! Paid inclusion UK: < http://inktomi.webgravity.co.uk/ > Paid inclusion US: < http://www.positiontech.com/inktomi/ > French Search Phrases --------------------- French natural language search engine Infoclic offers an overview of frequently entered search phrases, sorted by the following categories: - Loisirs - Maison - Famille - Santé - Bricolage, Enfants, Education,.. - Internet - Informatique - Société - Argent - Business - Emploi - Droit - Formalités - Sciences et savoirs - Infos Utiles More: < http://www.infoclic.fr/ > Google Anti-Bush? ----------------- WIRED reports that when you enter search term "dumb motherf*****" (without the asterisks :-) at Google, what you'll get for #1 result is a site selling George W. Bush stuff ranging from T-shirts to baseball caps. The fun part being that is a fan site not at all critical of Bush! Irony aside, what makes this tidbit interesting is the ensuing discussion on how search results are being generated. While Google has acknowledged this to be a glitch in their ranking algo (categorically ruling out in-house sabotage), it does indeed raise more questions than answers. In any case, Google seems to have adjusted its algo in the meantime: now, #1 is held by HugeDisk Men's Magazine reporting on the matter. More: < http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,41401,00.html > Google's current #1 ranking: < http://www.hugedisk.com/story.asp?ar_id=57 > And this is the site formerly "honored" by Google's #1 ranking: < http://www.georgewbushstore.com/ > The Truth About the RealNames Hype ---------------------------------- fantomNews guest author Anthony Butcher reveals the truth behind the RealNames "Internet Keywords" hype: < http://www.aardvark-web-site-promotion.com/realnames.html > ABS Debunks Submission 2000 Professional ---------------------------------------- While Submission 2000 claims to submit URLs to some 1,800 sites, a recent report by ABS (Scrubtheweb) revealed that only 717 of these were actually available. You'll have to sign up for paid membership to read the full report here: < http://www.scrubtheweb.com/abs/members/ submission2000.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) Ranks.com Popular Search Directory Launched ------------------------------------------- Not a search engine, as some of the media would have it, but a human powered directory, Ranks.com was officially launched on 2001-02-07. Focusing on "popular search" only, it's a bit on the lean side but may well cover the mass market fairly well. The "Hot Site" tag is up for grabs, provided you're willing to pay for it: rates start from $250 per month and are based on category popularity. No traffic stats available yet, but promised as forthcoming. Check it out: < http://www.ranks.com/ > To submit your site (free), go here: < http://www.ranks.com/suggest.html > AltaVista - Bye-bye To Europe? ------------------------------ According to MediaGuardian, the online presence of UK daily The Guardian, AltaVista may be raising the drawbridge on Europe, cutting back to a mere Ireland based skeleton operation as CMGI, the investor group behind it, is continuing to slash unprofitable sectors of the business. Find more about this here: < http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496, 431001,00.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) Fast Launches World’s Largest Multimedia Search Service ------------------------------------------------------- See their press release for more: < http://www.fast.no/fast.php3?d=press&ol=about_investor_ links&c=press.php3&id=64 > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) AltaVista Streamlines Site Design Once More ------------------------------------------- In yet another effort to make its search engine more attractive, AltaVista has streamlined and uncluttered its site layout and design once again. Read more (straight from the horse's mouth) here: < http://tools.altavista.com/scripts/editorial.dll? ei=2375915&ern=y > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) Paid Listings ------------- So is it really worth it? "Test Results for Paid Search Engine Listings: Google Beats GoTo.com, Lycos and Sprinks" < http://www.b2bmarketingbiz.com/sample.cfm ?contentID=1396 > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) GO Guides Barred From Access - Looking For Buyer ------------------------------------------------ From their recent notification of GO editors: "GO is currently exploring the possibility of selling all or part of its assets, including the search and directory function. As a result, we do not yet know how the GO Guides community will be impacted. Please be assured, however, that we view the GO Guides to be one of the site's most valuable assets, and are hopeful this important community can continue under new ownership." GO.COM Shut Down Press Coverage ------------------------------- The demise of what was once probably the world's best search engine (Infoseek) - see how it's covered on the Web. Press coverage -------------- * Internet.com - "Disney to Discontinue Go.com Portal" < http://la.internet.com/news/article/0,2325,5321_573361 ,00.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * cluebot - "Disney Pulls Plug on Go.com" < http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/01/29/211230 > * CNet - "Disney to Shutter Go.com Portal" < http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4637253.html > * CNNfn - "Disney to stop GO.com" < http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/01/29/technology/ disney_go/index.htm > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * Excite News - "Disney to Close GO.com Portal, Take Charge" < http://news.excite.com/news/r/010129/14/net-media- disney-dc > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) - "Walt Disney Co. Says It Will Shut Down Go.com" < http://news.excite.com/news/r/010130/00/net-media- disney-dc > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) - "Disney Declines Comment on Internet Overhaul Report" < http://news.excite.com/news/r/010129/12/net-media- disney-dc > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * Financial Times - "Disney may cut jobs and abandon Go.com" < http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article &cid=FT3GTJX9JIC&live=true&tagid=IXLYK5HZ8CC > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * Inside - "Disney to Close Go.com, Fold the Internet Group Into Parent Company" < http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=22174& pod_id=13 > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * Los Angeles Times - "Disney's World Is Too Small, Critics Charge" < http://www.latimes.com/business/updates/ lat_disney010130.htm > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * The Standard - "Disney Puts a Stop to Go.com" < http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64547296& i=298107&d=962711 > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * The Street - "Disney Internet Unit Gets Order to Go" < http://www.thestreet.com/tech/internet/1281169.html > * MSNBC - "Disney’s Go.com to be shut down" < http://www.msnbc.com/news/523120.asp > * SearchEngineWatch - "Going, Going, Go.com-Gone" < http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/01/01- go-gone.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== Classified Ads ------------------------------------------------------ Inquire here for ad rates: fnads@fantomaster.com ------------------------------------------------------ UNFAIR ADVANTAGE FOR YOU: WIN THE SEARCH ENGINE WARS Learn why meta tags alone won't get you in the top 10 - and what you can do about it. Get the industry's most subscribed newsletter and online book on how to truly win the search engine wars. It's what the professionals read! (Offering the famous "The Dog Ate It" refund guarantee, too.) < http://www.searchenginehelp.com/fantomaster > ~~~~~~~~ MAKE YOUR RANKINGS SOAR - AND AUTOMATE IT! Analyze and improve your pages with SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZER client software. < http://www.fantomaster.com/t.cgi?ln=acSEO > ~~~~~~~~ ONLINE WEB TRAINING "Essential Foundations in Search Engine Positioning" Course offers a hands-on approach to Web promotion training with an experienced instructor standing by to assist at every step of the way. Students will learn the basic techniques for positioning their web pages in the major search engines and have a clear understanding of how to get a top search engine position. < http://www.fantomaster.com/t.cgi?ln=acOWT > ~~~~~~~~ THE USED BOOKS PARADISE Looking for used books, out of print books, rare books, discount books, antique books? Check out the world's largest repository: < http://verygoodbook.com/vgused_t1.html > Win $100 in books by signing up for the used books newsletter, too! ~~~~~~~~ The Globalnomads Campfire Site Unlocking Freedom - the smarter way! All things offshore: anonymous banking, offshore incorporation, tips & trick's for the PT's life, and more. < http://globalnomads.com > ~~~~~~~~ TEXT LINKS EXCHANGE PROGRAM Boost your traffic by exchanging text links with related sites. Check it out here: < http://www.fantomaster.com/t.cgi?ln=lb0 > ~~~~~~~~ WANT TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL E-BUSINESS? Require a good jumpstart on essentials to success? 101 E-Business Tips has gathered the best tips and tricks of the online industry and put them together in a handy, easy-to-read-and-understand format. No need to trudge through a lengthy or complicated book or go digging for information. You'll have information right at your fingertips, ready to use. < http://www.fantomaster.com/t.cgi?ln=ac101 > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== Guest Columnist Robin Nobles: "Cascading Style Sheets and Absolute Positioning - can they really be used to your advantage in optimizing your web pages?" ------------------------------------------------------ Intro: Robin Nobles is Director of Training for the Academy of Web Specialists. She has taught over 1000 students in her online and onsite search engine positioning courses during the last two years. Her second book on the subject, titled Maximize Web Site Traffic, Build Web Site Traffic Fast and Free by Optimizing Search Engine Placement was released in August 2000. Visit Robin's site to learn more about the Academy's search engine training courses: < http://www.onlinewebtraining.com > ------------------------------------------------------ (Note: In the following code examples, please remove the period following the pointed bracket as in "<." before copying by cut and paste. This was introduced to avoid browser and email client display problems.) ------------------------------------------------------ Although web designers are usually familiar with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), many search engine optimizers aren't really "web designers". So, in case you're unfamiliar with this technology, let's start with a few definitions. CSS Definitions and Advantages ------------------------------ W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) defines Cascading Style Sheets as, "... a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to web documents." In other words, instead of the traditional method of setting style and layout on each individual web page, CSS allows web designers to use a single file to control the style and layout of multiple web pages. This enables the web designer to set attributes such as font size, line spacing, indents, and element positioning into a single file and then easily apply those attributes across multiple web pages. Incidentally, both IE and Netscape 4.0 support CSS. Besides possible search engine positioning advantages that I'll cover later, CSS offers several other potential advantages such as ... * Smaller files sizes - meaning, your pages will download faster. * The ability to edit the style (font style, size, spacing, etc.) on hundreds of pages at one time by editing a single CSS file. * More control over your page's layout. * Possibly even keyword density advantages. The main disadvantage to using CSS is that it is not supported in browser versions earlier than IE 3.0 or Netscape 4.0. However, we suspect that very soon that won't be an issue as users discover that the old browsers are increasingly incompatible for other important Internet functions as well - like purchasing online. In any case, at the end of this article we'll recommend links to online resources and tutorials for CSS but, for now, let's move on to "absolute positioning." Absolute Positioning -------------------- Absolute positioning allows you to put a layer on a specific place on your screen, so that it stays the same no matter what screen resolution or browser window sizes a viewer uses. Absolute positioning is used in conjunction with the <.DIV> tag. With absolute positioning, web designers can fix a layer to a specific place on a web page down to the pixel. Absolute positioning is viewable only in 4.0+ browsers. While all of this is fine and good, what you really want to know is how to use CSS and absolute positioning to your advantage when optimizing web pages. Introduce Bill Gentry --------------------- To write this article, I interviewed Bill Gentry, Search Engine Specialist with The Selling Source < http://www.sellingsource.com >. Bill is also a professional web designer who frequently uses CSS when designing pages. Bill has been testing different optimization strategies while using CSS and absolute positioning, and this article discusses those tests. Please note that many of the tests are still in progress. However, the results are encouraging enough to warrant a good, long look. Using CSS --------- According to Gentry, "A style sheet's biggest advantage for search engine optimizers is that you can eliminate many HTML tags. The second biggest advantage is that you can change the inherent properties of HTML tags." Though there are actually three ways to apply styles to a web page, Gentry says that the best way for optimizers to use style sheets is to link them from an external.css document. However, as a means of explanation, the three ways to apply styles along with examples are: 1. Inline with the HTML tag, such as <.P STYLE="font- size: 9pt" >. This defines the size of the text for one paragraph only. 2. In the <.HEAD> section of the web page, such as <.HEAD><.STYLE> a {text-decoration: none} <./STYLE><./HEAD>. This removes the underlining for all links on the page. 3. In an external style sheet, such as <.LINK REL="stylesheet" HREF="stylesheet.css">. This links an external style sheet to the page. This one style sheet can be referenced on many web pages and can affect every one of those pages. We mentioned that the best way for optimizers to use styles is to link them from an external .css document. Let's look at an example of an <.H1> style sheet definition. An Example, Using an <.H1> Tag ----------------------------- The following code is what Gentry is using in his style sheet ... h1 { font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: 300; color: #666666; text-align: center } With this style sheet, Gentry has assigned the Verdana font in a font size of 14 points. He also assigned a font weight of 300, which removes the bold text from an <.H1> tag. "You can assign font-weight values from 100- 900 in increments of 100. 300 is normal, 500 is bold, and anything higher than 700 is extra bold," explains Gentry. He assigned the font color to be medium gray, and he center aligned the tag. So how could this possibly help a search engine positioner? To explain, let's look at the HTML code that would be needed to produce the same effect: <.CENTER><.H1><.FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="4" COLOR="#666666">Some Text<./FONT><./H1><./CENTER> With the HTML tag, however, you can't remove the bold face property or fix the font size of the <.H1> tag. Here's the code using a style sheet: <.H1>Some Text<./H1> "By using the style sheet, I completely eliminated a lot of source code that gets in the way of the text. However, except for the bold face and probably the size of the text, the two look similar in a browser," says Gentry. Not only are you getting rid of a lot of extra tags and reducing the overall size of the page, but with this tag, you're also able to use a headline tag with every instance of your keyword phrase, if you choose. Therefore, with those engines that place more relevancy on text found in headline tags, you're increasing the relevancy of your page, and the text itself looks similar to your other text. Pretty slick, eh? ...now I hear you asking, "Are there other ways of using CSS in positioning strategies?" Read on. Name Your .css Files after Your Keyword Phrase ---------------------------------------------- When creating your external style sheets, consider naming them after your keyword phrase, such as: <.STYLE SRC="keywordphrase.css"><./STYLE> Gentry says, "While I haven't fully tested whether search engines will pick up this use of a keyword phrase, it's possible that you might get a small boost. I suspect that Inktomi might index this. It seems to index virtually everything." One thing for sure, it positively won't hurt you and it certainly could help. After all, external style sheets are referenced in the <.HEAD> section of your web page. If you name your CSS after the keyword phrase, you're inserting another instance of your keyword phrase in the <.HEAD> section of your page. Remember that relevancy is based on many factors, including prominence (i.e., how early on your page and in your tags your keyword phrase is used). Name Your Custom Style Classes after Your Keyword Phrase -------------------------------------------------------- Try naming your custom style classes after your keyword phrases. For example: textlinks { font-family: Verdana; font-size: 7pt; text- align: center; color: #666666} ... could be changed to, keyword { font-family: Verdana; font-size: 7pt; text- align: center; color: #666666} Gentry further explains how to apply a custom style tag when using the styles inline with the HTML tag. "When you apply a custom style class to an HTML tag, the code looks like this: <.P CLASS="keyword">Some text goes here

"So you can see that the custom style class name shows up in the source code." Gentry is currently testing these ideas and we should have results for you in a month or so. While there are a few optimization advantages to using CSS, the major advantages come from absolute positioning. Using Absolute Positioning -------------------------- What is the advantage of using absolute positioning? Gentry explains, "The single biggest advantage that absolute positioning affords the search engine optimizer is that you can order your source code however you want without affecting the way a visitor sees the page in a browser." Let's Study Some Examples Move Text Layers to the Top of the Source Code ---------------------------------------------- First, visit the two URLs mentioned below: (Editor's note: right mouse click on the links and select 'Open in New Window'. This will allow you to compare the pages side by side). < http://www.rookiesnstars.com/class/index.html > < http://www.rookiesnstars.com/class/css-p-example.html > On the surface, these pages look identical, don't they? Now, go ahead and "View | Source" ...and take a look at the source code. In the first example, take notice how the table code pushes the content -- the text containing the important keywords -- toward the bottom of the page. However, in the second example, Gentry uses layers, <.DIV> tags, and absolute positioning ending in a result where the keyword containing text is physically higher in the source code. Here's the tag: <.div id="Layer12" style="position: absolute; left: 15px; top: 431px; width: 610px; height: 511px; z-index: 12"> Gentry explains, "Notice that these two pages look exactly the same in a browser. However, you'll notice that in the second example, because of the use of absolute positioning, I moved the text layer to the top of the source code so that search engine spiders 'see' it early in their indexing activities. In the first example, a spider has to go through a significant portion of the page before it gets to the all-important text." Using a WYSIWYG Editor Makes it Easier -------------------------------------- If you're not a web designer, this may seem a little too complex for you. However, according to Gentry, it really isn't hard to do. "Using a WYSIWYG HTML editor makes creating these layers much easier. If you create them by hand coding, putting the layers exactly where you want will take a lot of trial and error." Being able to move your content to the top of the page without affecting how the page looks is certainly an advantage. But what are some other advantages to using absolute positioning? Your Visitors Don't Have to See the Content of your Layers ---------------------------------------------------------- Another optimizing advantage to using absolute positioning is that you aren't limited to placing layers where your visitors can't see them. Yet, the engines can. Let's look at an example: <.DIV ID="Layer12" STYLE="position: absolute; left: - 800px; top: -800px; width: 610px; height: 511px; z- index: 12; visibility: visible"> "By changing the left property to -800 and the top property to -800, I have told the browser that this layer now exists 800 pixels to the left of the left browser edge and 800 pixels above the top browser edge. What does this mean? It means that you can put content that you want search engines to see, but not visitors, in this layer. Because the layer is left of the left edge of the browser, there is no way that a visitor can see it unless he or she views the source code. Browsers only allow people to scroll to the right and down. Anything placed left or above the browser window [x,y coordinates 0,0] is not viewable by visitors." So, if you don't want to change the text of your web page but need to add more content, you can add content through layers that only the search engines will see. "It's very similar to the using a <.NOFRAMES> tag for adding additional content, except that you don't have to remember to put all of your content inside of angle brackets so that it doesn't appear in a browser," says Gentry. What are some other advantages to using this strategy? ------------------------------------------------------ 1. What if your client wants you to optimize pages in the search engine rankings, but you aren't able to make any visible changes to the pages themselves? Using layers, you can add valuable content to the pages and place it at the top of the source code for an added boost in prominence and relevancy. 2. What if your site uses Flash and you don't want to change that? Of course, you could create doorway/information pages, but using layers would allow you to use the importance of the index page to your advantage. "You can put in a layer far to the left and/or above the viewable browser area and put relevant content inside the layer," says Gentry. 3. What about using layers outside of the viewable browser area or making them hidden for your related link lists for link popularity? After all, you don't want visitors clicking through and leaving your site through your link lists, so this is a way to solve that problem. 4. What if you've created your web page just the way you want it, yet the keyword weight isn't where it needs to be to achieve a top search engine ranking? You can add additional content in layers that won't affect how your page appears to visitors, yet engines like Inktomi will find and index that content. But what if your site visitor is using an older browser? "Change the visibility property to hidden and leave the layer at the bottom of the source code," Gentry says. "That way, if a viewer is able to see the layer, it shows up at the bottom of the page and viewers will have to scroll to see the content. Not a super big deal since most people are now using 4.0+ browsers," he adds. How does absolute positioning look in both browsers? There's no problem with IE, but in Netscape, pages using absolute positioning look messed up if you have JavaScript turned off in your browser. By the way, here's the layer code for this example: <.DIV ID="Layer12" STYLE="position: absolute; left: 15px; top: 431px; width: 610px; height: 511px; z-index: 12; visibility: hidden"> How Does This Work with the Engines? ------------------------------------ Gentry explains, "I have tested hidden layers in several pages, and Inktomi indexed the test keyword phrase. It appears that the other search engines can tell if a layer is hidden and won't index it. None of the nonsense keywords I used in testing ever showed up in the search engines. I haven't tested layers outside of the browser's viewable area, but I will be doing so this month. "When using absolute positioning, each layer must have a unique ID. I will also be testing to see if engines will index layer IDs." Insert your Keyword Phrase in your <.DIV> STYLE Tag -------------------------------------------------- Another place to put your keyword phrase is in your <.DIV> STYLE tag when using absolute positioning. Here's an example: <.DIV STYLE="visibility: hidden; left: 5; top: 5; width: 20; height: 15;">keyword-phrase<./DIV> Gentry has tested this technique, and the keyword phrase was indexed by the Inktomi engines. We're expecting the results from further testing soon. In Conclusion ------------- Though Cascading Style Sheets and absolute positioning are techniques used by web designers to control the formatting of web pages, they also produce encouraging results when used in conjunction with search engine optimization strategies. As the strategy matures we'll report the refinements here. Stay tuned. For more information, visit: * World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Cascading Style Sheets Home Page - < http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/ > * WebDeveloper.com - < http://webdeveloper.com/advhtml/ > * Web Design Group - < http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/ > * CNET Web Building, Getting Started with Cascading Style Sheets - < http://www.builder.com/Authoring/CSS/ > * Cascading Style Sheets Tutorial - < http://nowheres.hypermart.net/ > * ZDNet Developer - < http://www.zdnet.com/devhead/filters/0,9429, 2133212,00.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) * Absolute Positioning with CSS - < http://www.zdnet.com/devhead/stories/articles/ 0,4413,1600433,00.html > (Unwrap link text before clicking!) For More In-Depth Information, Gentry recommends the following books: Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide -- Eric A. Meyer; Paperback Core CSS Cascading Style Sheets (With CD-ROM) -- Keith Schengili-Roberts; Paperback Cascading Style Sheets, Second Edition: Designing for the Web -- Hakon Wium Lie, et al; Paperback Dynamic HTML: The HTML Developer's Guide -- Jeff Rule, Jeffrey S. Rule; Paperback (November 1998) Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference -- Danny Goodman; Paperback (August 1998) Dynamic HTML For Dummies -- Hyman, Michael Hyman; Paperback (April 1999) --- Copyright © 2001 by Robin Nobles. ----------------------------------------- How to Be Featured as Our Guest Columnist ----------------------------------------- While we welcome all pertinent contributions, we strongly suggest you read our "Article Submission Authors Guidelines" before submitting an article. 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More: < http://www.networksolutions.com/en_US/catalog/ searchsubmit/ > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ====================================================== Spider IPs: Lots of New Excite Spiders Detected Plus - New WholeWeb.net Spiders Plus - New Claymont Spiders Plus - New SPEEDFIND Spider ------------------------------------------------------ (bro) Here's a verified list of Excite spiders: #SE Excite #UA ArchitextSpider voltaire.excite.com 198.3.103.24 #UA ArchitextSpider aloo.excite.com 199.172.149.129 #UA ArchitextSpider bakra.excite.com 199.172.149.131 #UA ArchitextSpider daal.excite.com 199.172.149.135 #UA ArchitextSpider dosa.excite.com 199.172.149.136 #UA ArchitextSpider keema.excite.com 199.172.149.143 #UA ArchitextSpider ariel.excite.com 199.172.149.166 #UA ArchitextSpider charles.excite.com 199.172.149.168 #UA ArchitextSpider diana.excite.com 199.172.149.171 #UA ArchitextSpider duncan.excite.com 199.172.149.172 #UA ArchitextSpider joseph.excite.com 199.172.149.176 #UA ArchitextSpider perdita.excite.com 199.172.149.182 #UA ArchitextSpider ursula.excite.com 199.172.149.187 #UA ArchitextSpider iguana.excite.com 199.172.149.192 #UA ArchitextSpider macaw.excite.com 199.172.149.194 #UA ArchitextSpider matamata.excite.com 199.172.149.196 #UA ArchitextSpider xenosaur.excite.com 199.172.149.204 #UA ArchitextSpider lafleur.excite.com 199.172.149.208 #UA ArchitextSpider nolan.excite.com 199.172.149.209 #UA ArchitextSpider orr.excite.com 199.172.149.210 #UA ArchitextSpider hera.excite.com 199.172.149.217 Here's a verified list of new WholeWeb.net spiders: #SE WholeWeb #UA DaviesBot 1.7 (www.wholeweb.net) 63.140.184.168 #UA DaviesBot/1.7 (www.wholeweb.net) 63.140.184.171 #UA DaviesBot/1.7 (www.wholeweb.net) 63.140.184.172 Here are two new spiders from Claymont: #SE Claymont #UA OliverPerry 198.138.63.1 #UA OliverPerry 198.139.155.10 And finally, here are two new spiders of the German search engine SPEEDFIND: #SE SPEEDFIND #UA speedfind ramBot xtreme 8.1 new.speedfind.de 194.97.8.162 #UA speedfind ramBot xtreme 8.1 eins.speedfind.de 194.97.8.163 source: fantomas spiderSpy(TM) botBase: < http://fantomaster.com/fasvsspy01.html > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ----------- fN Archives ----------- Review or download previous issues of fN here: < http://fantomaster.com/fantomnews.html#previous > For a contents list of all fN issues check: < http://fantomaster.com/fantomnews.html#content > Archived issues of the fantomFlash Bulletin: < http://fantomaster.com/fantomnews.html#fflash > -------------------------- Articles Reprinting Rights -------------------------- Free fN articles for reprinting and/or presentation on your web site are available here (please check the republication terms!): < http://fantomaster.com/faarticles0.html > -------------- Privacy Policy -------------- Your email address and all other personal data will not be sold or leased out to third parties. 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