What is the best site on Asian Pottery and Ceramics?

SIte listing

• Hello, I have just created a web page for advertising pottery supplies. When I go to search for pottery supplies, ceramics etc I am unable to find my site listed. Please could you tell me why this is? The site URL is www.bombadilo.co.uk Many thanks Edward Dishman

• Answer:

  Hello Edward ~ You said you have "just created a web page", but you didn't say when you actually put your web page up nor whether or not you have submitted your site to Google using Google's add URL tool, which can be found here - - ://www.google.com/addurl.html If you have submitted your site, Google advises "We do not add all submitted URLs to our index, and we cannot make any predictions or guarantees about when or if they will appear." - ://www.google.com/addurl.html But it can take as long as six to eight weeks to see your listing appear in Google. ========================== Other Search Engines & Directories ========================== A search on the following directories and search engines show you are not listed with them, either. * The Open Project Directory (DMOZ.org) - http://search.dmoz.org * All The Web - http://www.alltheweb.com * Alta Vista - http://www.altavista.com * HotBot - http://www.hotbot.com * Netscape - http://search.netscape.com * Teoma - http://s.teoma.com * Yahoo! - http://search.yahoo.com ==================== Getting Listed On Google ==================== Understanding Google's Page Rank ================================= To ensure your page does get listed under the search terms you want, you need to build a series of links to and from your site. Here are some of Google's recommendations and suggestions. From "Getting Listed" ====================== "The best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly." - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A2 From "How does Google rank pages?" =================================== "Google's order of results is automatically determined by more than 100 factors, including our PageRank algorithm. Please check out our "Why Use Google" page for more de- tails." - ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html And from "Our Search: Google Technology" ========================================= "PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." - ://www.google.com/technology/index.html A check of sites linking to www.bombadilo.co.uk show there are no sites linking to nor which contain the terms "www.bombadilo.co.uk". Without links to and from your site, your chances of getting listed are diminished, although not impossible. =========================== Establishing Links =========================== As noted above, Google's PageRank is based on the number of pages which link to your site. "The best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly." (SEE Google's " How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google? - 2. Submitting Your site") - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A1 There are many practical ways of establishing links which are beneficial to you in your endeavor to get respectable position placement on search engines. These methods may take time, but they also help in establishing credibility and help with your page rank. Approach like-minded or complementary businesses about linking to your site (with a reciprocal link from your own). This works without harming search engine positioning or page rank. A WORD OF WARNING: ================== Google specifically warns "Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links." (See Google's Quality Guidelines - Basic principles) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html It stands to reason that what's good for Google, currently ranked as the number one search engine is good rule to follow for other search engines. Articles on Link Popularity =========================== A couple of excellent articles on how to establish the right kind of links are available in Traffick's "Ten Steps to Building Links to Your Site", Craig Fifield - 5/3/2002 - http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=77 and "The Right Way to Improve Link Popularity", By Paul J. Bruemmer -4/14/2002 - - http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=41 Notice both articles offer suggestions which can be easily adapted for use on any website without resorting to link farms. They both point out the differences and offer easy ways to get started to the kind of linking search engines prefer. ============================== Google's Webmaster Guidelines ============================== You should become acquainted with Google's Webmaster Guidelines. For instance, the "Design and Content Guidelines:" "* Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link. * Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site ... * Create a useful, information-rich site and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content. * Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it. * Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text contained in images. * Make sure that your TITLE and ALT tags are descriptive and accurate. * Check for broken links and correct HTML." - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html Here are important links from Google's Webmaster Information and Webmaster Guidelines you should be familiar with. Webmasters who follow the guidelines and avoid Google's "Thou shalt nots" usually have no problem getting listed. * How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google? - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html * My Web Pages Are Not Currently Listed (a good 'primer' on how and why Google works so well) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html * PageRank Information (covers both Google's PageRank and SERPS) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html * Webmaster Guidelines (contains both the dos and don'ts) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html * Google Facts & Fiction (can you buy your way to a high ranking in Google?) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/facts.html * Search Engine Optimizers (some good advice on what to look for if you're going to hire a Search Engine Optimizer) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html * Frequently Asked Questions (pretty much what it says, but definitely worth wading through) - ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html Although you may be already familiar with the above information and links, it never hurts to check back occasionally to see if anything important has changed or been added. There is also good information from many of the top search engine optimization experts, such as * Detlev Johnson, Search Engine Guide - http://www.searchengineguide.com/detlev/ * Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch - http://www.searchenginewatch.com/ * Jill Whalen, High Rankings - http://www.highrankings.com/ * Shari Thurow, Web Pro News (and quoted all over the Internet) - www.webpronews.com/ who all have columns or newsletters to which you can subscribe and keep abreast of the best way to use good content for better positioning in search engine results. Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/ - has discussion boards on most of the search engines. While some of the discussions are anecdotal and/or questions for information, there is usually enough discussion to keep abreast of what seems to be happening. There is an entire section devoted to Google at: - http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/ It never hurts to keep track among these discussions, but remember, trying to optimize for search engines only is like trying to hit a moving target. You'll notice among the more experienced contributors to the discussions - plus the SEO experts listed above - that there really is no substitute for content, relevant links and good HTML. Edward, there is no one but Google who can tell you if or when your page might be included - and it is not their practice to comment on individual sites. You can, however, make some changes to your site in order to enhance the chances of your being included. Remember that search engines and directories are for the convenience of those searching for something using a particular set of words. Remember, too, that Google isn't likely to offer the information to Webmasters with specific suggestions and recommendations if they weren't important. The more you can bring your own site into alignment with those recommendations and get some relevent links TO your site, the better your chances of being included. ========================== Submitting to Search Engines ========================== Google also recommends you list with the Open Project Directory (DMOZ.org) and Yahoo!, saying, "Once your site is included in either of these directories, Google will often index your site within six to eight weeks." - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#B2 You might want to go ahead and submit to the rest of the important search engines as well. Nielsen Net Ratings - http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/ - lists the important directories and search engines below, which will get you started. * Google - - ://www.google.com/addurl.html * DMOZ - - http://dmoz.org/add.html * All The Web - - http://addurl.alltheweb.com/add_url * Alta Vista - http://addurl.altavista.com/ * Hotbot & Lycos InSite (requires registration) - http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/ * Yahoo! - - http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/ * Teoma - - http://ask.ineedhits.com/sitesubmit.asp?id=30129 MSN's search submit is located here: - http://search.msn.com/ which takes you to LookSmart, a "for-pay" listing, and can be found here: - http://listings.looksmart.com/?synd=zdd&sid=prt100933&chan=zddresults Just a logical observation: If you are listed on other important engines, it is pretty certain you will also be listed on MSN.com, or you can use the LookSmart submission. Hope this helps, Serenata Google Answers Researcher