search enging stuff

[jes]

Where can I learn about what search engines do to find information and how they order the listings once you do a search?

[Whyzman]

I haven't read through this whole thing, but it sounded interesting. Hopefully, it's not just an advertising gimmik!

http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/01/23/index1a.html

Try a Google search "search engine optimization"

[deddard]

With google (and others) the general rule is as follows:
Chuck 'em some money and you go to the top of the list.
Other than that the general rules are simple - the more people visiting your site, the more searches done from it, and the more referrals from other urls means you will be closer to the top. Keywords help, but it is generally either a really popular site or whoever pays the most.

[jes]

"the more searches done from it,"
Does that only apply to the sites that are search engines or the sites that have search engines on them?

[Paul Komski]

With google (and others) the general rule is as follows:
Chuck 'em some money and you go to the top of the list.
Not so with Google. One of the main reasons for its success was the "democratic" way that it ordered its results. It used elaborate algorithms and put a big weighting on 3rd Party links to any particular pages. It also got very clever at detecting sites that overdid keywords or tried to conceal them by using the same colored text as its background and other such tricks. A well constructed web page with good syntax and design and using headings and titles appropriately but linked to from other (particularly mainstream) sites could (and still does) get very good ratings without submissions or any overkill.

Google's advertising was also never "in your face" yet they eventually overtook all of the opposition. Why - because they produced a really good search engine.

Yahoo placed great emphasis on humans reading submissions made to them. So all of them differ - sometimes in subtle and sometimes in overt ways. It is a technology that continues to evolve.