Is humsurfer.com a socialbookmarking site?? how are its results indexed so fast?

virtual site not indexed by google

• Yet another "Why don't I appear on Google?" We host a virtual site for a client on our web server machine. Our site (http://www.techsmiths.com/ is indexed and appears reasonably placed in Google. Our client's (http://www.phoenixoptions.com/) site is invisible. We submitted it 3 months ago. Our statistics show that Googlebot has visited the site from time to time, but never gotten more than one page. A Google search even specifically listing the domain returns no results. There is no robots.txt anywhere on the machine. The only visits the site gets is by people following the link from OUR site (which should be an "external reference/link" causing Google to look there when indexing our site). It also gets referrals from the web design and graphical design companies that helped develop the site. Those sites are visible on Google. Our client's site is not anywhere in the Google index, as best we can tell. Google has only been by to visit the site once, after we submitted the URL in May. It saw one page. Alexa, Scooter, Inktomi manage to find it, and crawl multiple pages. But no MSN, no Google. We've reviewed all the rules. There are no frames. We're at a loss to understand why our client is invisible. Repeated for emphasis: the client's site is an IIS "Virtual Site" using the same IP address as our site. Logs show Google has come by. It hits the home page and goes away. Someone suggested earlier that it is a local/geographic phenominon. I have clients/users/friends all over the world from Bombay, Hong Kong, Bogota, and France, as well as all over the US who tell me they can see it. Our statistics show that people from around the world get to the site and navigate to different pages (but they get to the site by directly typing the URL). Neither the "real" nor the virtual site are gateways for each other, they are independent companies. Another client site, also not indexed but should be, also virtual on the same server, is http://www.i-nativity.com/. Since Google comprises 80%+ of our hits to our main site, we obviously want google to work on the virtual sites.

• Answer:

  Hi Techsmith ~ You're right, we do get a lot of questions about sites which don't show up in Google, or how to get them to show up better, or how to increase their PageRank, and often we are able to pinpoint difficulties which can help solve the problem. I'll remind you, though, that Google Answers Researchers are independent contractors, we do not have access to the inner workings at Google or any insider information about its closely-guarded algorithms. However, based on information available from a number of reliable resources -- especially Google, I can point out some problems that prohibit the sites getting listed in Google's directory and how to increase your chances of getting listed. Other sources, generally acknowledged to be reliable, are cited within this answer; but let's start with what Google has to say about it. ========================= Getting Listed in Google ========================= Google's Webmaster Information explains that the best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites, and explains that "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 Google explains it again in "Our Search: Google Technology" explaining to the extent it is going to the importance of links to your site - "PageRank Explained 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." combined with the integration of relevant content - "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 You mentioned three sites, your own (www.techsmiths.com - referred to as Techsmiths), and those of two clients, (www.phoenixoptions.com - referred to as Phoenix Options), and (www.i-nativity.com - referred to as i-nativity). Using Google's link:tool, which is explained here (://www.google.com/help/features.html), I checked Google for links to your three sites - * Techsmiths - 2 links only (both internal links) * Phoenix Options - none listed * i-nativity - none listed The lack of relevant links to your sites greatly reduces the chance of inclusion in Google. While it's not impossible, it becomes more difficult, based on Google's PageRank explained above. =========================== Establishing Links =========================== As stated, 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." ("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. ============================== What About The Other Directories & Search Engines? ============================== If you are having difficulties getting listed, Google recommends that you list your sites with the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, explaining that you will often be picked up and included within six to eight weeks after you show up in those. (See "What else can I do to get listed in Google?") - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#B2 Checking the other directories, here's what I found: Search engine or directory Techsmiths Phoenix Options i-nativity ============= ========== =============== ========== DMOZ -none- -none- -none- All The Web yes w/links -none- -none- Alta Vista yes yes -none- Hot Bot yes -none- -none- Yahoo! yes, but not -none- -none- the first Submitting to these sites enhance your chance for inclusion in Google's search engine, so you should look to including them in those directories or search engines, especially the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) and Yahoo! ===================== Designing a Google-Friendly Site ===================== In addition to the above, Google has recommendations and suggestions which, if followed, make your site "Google-friendly" and most sites who follow their guidelines have little difficulty in getting included. In Google's Design and Content Guidelines, Google recommends: "* 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. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the site map into separate pages. * 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 Using Phoenix Options as an example, I found the following recommendations lacking: 1. Text links Okay, there are links which show in the browsers (well, a browser that has javascript enabled. There are NO links showing if your browser has turned javascript off, and more important, Google doesn't follow javascripting, so since both your top and bottom menus are called with javascripting, (ie., <script language="javascript" src="/serverincludes/bottom_nav.html"></script>), Google can't follow those pages. Without links from another site to your inner pages, Google doesn't know they exist, and certainly cannot index them. 2. No site map (which for so small a site wouldn't ordinarily be necessary), and with no text links to follow, the problem is compounded by the lack of a site map. 3. "useful, information-rich site and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content" - The header for Phoenix Options is a graphic with no ALT tag. Google can't read the text on a graphic, so the header, "Bringing New Life to Living Space" doesn't show up at all. The only text showing is the paragraph beginning with "Mankind has valued the design of interior spaces since the dawn of time ...", and even there, it is difficult for your visitor (or any search engine) to determine what this site is about. The keyword or description metatags are almost universally ignored by search engines any more. Some directories (such as dmoz.org) may include the wording if you have content on the page which is hard to paraphrase for a description. But you have to state the purpose of the site within that first page full of information. The name of the business, Phoenix Options, does not give a hint what the site is about, and the logo, which doesn't have an ALT tag is the only place on this first page that "interior design" or "interior designers" is even found. If you want to be found under "interior design", "interior designers", both of which are VERY BROAD listings with millions of pages there, or even the more closely geographic listing of Seattle or Washington interior designers, you need to mention that within the content of the page. You might be interested in putting these pages through Search Engine Watch's Keyword Density Analyzer and see how your important terms are actually used on the pages. You can find the Analyzer here - - http://www.searchengineworld.com/cgi-bin/kwda.cgi 4. Using text for links, and making smart use of the TITLE and ALT tags are included above in this discussion. ================== Redirects and "Virtual Hosting" ================== Although you said, "Neither the "real" nor the virtual site are gateways for each other ...", when I typed phoenixoptions.com (without the "www" in front of it), I was taken to Techsmiths.com, instead of to the Phoenix Options site. Google does not consider a virtually hosted site as a duplicate, but the fact you haven't used a 301 redirect for the Phoenix Options and i-nativity sites for the domain without the "www" could certainly be confusing to your visitors and *** MAY *** be misleading to search engine crawlers. You can fix that easily enough by including the redirect for the domains minus the "www" with a permanent 301 redirection. I'm not sure of the method you are using on your IIS server, but this can easily be handled server-side within the .htaccess file. When you feel your site is ready, you can also submit to the following Search engines: ========================= Search Engine Submission ========================= Below are top search engines (as determined by Nielsen Net Ratings): - http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/ * Google - - ://www.google.com/addurl.html * DMOZ - - http://www.dmoz.com/ * All The Web - - http://www.alltheweb.com/help/webmaster/submit_site.html * Hotbot & Lycos InSite (requires registration) - http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/ * Yahoo! - - http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/ * Zeal - - http://zeal.com/ Submitting your site to the above will help reach the greatest amount of potential customers, as well as enhance your chances for inclusion in Google. ========================== Good Information from Google & Other Sources ========================== You may want to make yourself familiar with all of Google's information for webmasters. * Getting Listed - do's, dont's, and link information - ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html * Not Listed after trying - what could be stopping you - ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html * Google's Rank Questions - the basics - ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html * Webmaster Guidelines - make this your bible - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html * Facts & Fiction - some common misconceptions about Google - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html * SEOs - determining the good, the bad, and the total waste of bandwidth - ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html * Google's FAQs - the nitty gritty for webmasters - ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html There are other sources which contain information, if only speculation and anecdotal, about Google and what seems to be happening now. * Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/ Watch for any postings from a regular by the name of GoogleGuy - this poster is actually a Google employee and may be the closest you'll ever get to any 'official' explanation. * Search Engine Watch - http://www.searchenginewatch.com/ Danny Sullivan is considered one of the foremost authorities on search engine optimization, and if there is information you *should* have, you can find on finding it here. ============== Summary ============== While the sites look nice, they are not particularly friendly for search engines, which crawl websites differently than Web Browsers. Increasing relevant links to your sites, changing the internal link structure so it can be found and followed by search engine crawlers, adding content rich in the terms you under which you want to be found and making sure you take advantage of the TITLE and ALT tags will take you a long way toward being crawled and included in Google's search engine. Search terms - In addition to the searches explained above in analysis of the sites' status, I relied on regular bookmarks for search engine optimization and Google's locations for information on Google's search index. Best of luck, Serenata Google Answers Researcher