Guest Column
Search Engine Solutions
How To Find Stuff Online
- Jerry Spain, SEO Specialist
There is so much information on the internet it’s sometimes difficult to
find what you’re looking for because there are so many search results.
Let’s say you are looking for an Akita dog breeder, if you do a search on
Google for Akita you will get roughly 9,060,000 results. I don’t know about
you but I don’t have time to search through that many. Now if we narrow down
the search by adding a better description of what we’re looking for it will
greatly help. By using the search phrase Akita dog breeder you get roughly
278,000 results; by narrowing it down further using the exact phrase in
quotes such as “Akita dog breeder” you will only get 1,410 results.
Let me give you an example on a non-dog related search. FYI, I don’t have an
Akita, I have a Jack Russell.
We want relevant search results. Let’s say we are looking for an apple
orchard. That’s the results we really want to see. Here’s how to narrow down
your search.
Using Google as the SE, look at how our results vary by using different
search criteria: Apple = 333,000,000 links. This includes computers, the
Beatles, etc.
Orchard = 29,900,000. Everything you wanted to know and more!
Apple orchard = 1,580,000. Still too much info.
“Apple orchard” in quotes = 882,000 but at least now were talking about
apple orchards.
Apple orchard KS = 259,000. No way there is this many orchards in Kansas!
Apple orchard Wichita ks = 96,000. Close but no cigar.
“Apple orchard” ks = 23,900. Getting better.
“Apple orchard” Wichita ks = 675. Ah ha! I can start to work with this.
Let’s look for a Delicious apple. Ad the following:
“Apple orchard” Wichita ks delicious = 154 links and narrows it down
considerably.
But that’s still too many, including results from Wichita Falls, TX. Add
“ks” in quotes.
“Apple orchard” Wichita “ks” delicious = 66
We still get results about articles and recipes but you can browse through
66 listings pretty fast.
Solution? The more information you ad to your search query, the fewer and
more relevant results you will get. So the next time you are searching for
something, play around a little, add quotes for exact phrases or terms and
just watch the results! I think you will be amazed.
courtesy of PK4 Internet Marketing Strategy http://pk4-internet-marketing-strategy.com/index.html
Editor’s Note: Looking for a specific subject or story
on a website? Include the name of the site with search criteria, i.e. “AKC
judge” thedogpress Gregory or thedogplace corn food even without quotes
brings up some interesting reading. The more you play with it, the
quicker you become.
Why don't we have a site search? Now you know. We no longer need it. Not all pages have been optimized but we are so well ranked by top search engines like Google that information is easy to find by subject and content.
Need help with your website? Contact Jerry Spain at PK4.