[CH] Somewhat off (perhaps way off) subject: Rank This

Art Pierce (pierces@cruzio.com)
Wed, 23 Dec 1998 13:13:40 -0800 

Somewhat off (perhaps way off) subject.

Spam: about 25% of mine is some variation on: GET YOUR WEBSITE TO THE
TOP OF THE LIST ON OVER ONE GAZILLION SEARCH ENGINES FOR ONLY
$$$$$$$$!!!!! (Brooklyn Bridge extra $$$$.)

I am in no way affiliated with any of the below, just thought it might
be worthwhile to those willing to spend the time to scope it out.

Please email me back directly with any comments or flames ("Rank" and
"Rank This" bring a lot tempting possibilities to mind) so we don't
further clutter the CH list. Thanks.

Art

~~~

For those of you CH-ers that are marketing online, here's a site that
gives you all the same advice, and more, for free:

The 12/23/98 Dummies daily internet tip says:

DO YOU RATE?

If you have a website, you ought to visit this page. Want to know where
- or if - your Web site turns up in a search on particular keyword
phrases? Rank This, at
http://www.rankthis.com
can tell you in about 30 seconds.
[Art: I found it to be a whole lot slower.]

Just

enter the keyword(s) in question in the SEARCH KEYPHRASE box
(mandatory),

your URL in the URL TO RANK box (currently optional)

and don't check the INCLUDE SUB-PAGES box {optional, unless you want (a
lot of extra hits) to see how each individual page at each site is
positioned by the search engine};

then click one of the following ten search engines buttons: Yahoo,
AltaVista, Excite, (WebCrawler), Infoseek, Lycos, GoTo, HotBot, Snap &
Planet Search.

Rank This tells you whether your site appears in the first 200 results,
shows you the top ten results, and even lets you review the entire list
of sites found in each search.

~~~

The Rank This! Guide to Search Engines page at:
http://www.rankthis.com/guide.html
sez:

Surveys have found that 99% of all Internet users use at least one of
the eight major search engines to find something they are looking for.
If your web site is not found among the first 200 results of a search
engine query then the odds your web site being found are close to
non-existent. Why? Most search engines only display the first ten or
twenty results to the keywords you used to find something. When was the
last time you clicked on "Next Ten" more than four or five times to find
a web site that contains the information you were looking for?

Let's face it, humans are impatient: We want our information now! This
guide covers some of the basic elements to consider when trying to get
your web site listed or indexed towards the top of any major search
engine.

Before we begin let's go over some basics.

How most Search Engines work
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/engines.html

Your HTML code
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/yourhtml.html

Doing it right the first time
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/doright.html

Using META Tags
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/metatags.html

Patience is a Virtue
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/patience.html

Other Sources of Info & Advice
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/other.html


We also have some "search engine specific" advice on how to move up in
the ranks:

tips for Yahoo
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/yahoo.html

tips for AltaVista
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/altavista.html

tips for Excite
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/excite.html

tips for WebCrawler
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/wecrawler.html

tips for Infoseek
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/infoseek.html

tips for Lycos
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/lycos.html

tips for Hotbot
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/hotbot.html

tips for Open Text
http://www.rankthis.com/guide/opentext.html


Should you want a complete understanding of how search engines work and
all the details regarding each of the major search engines, we strongly
suggest you check out WebPromote Top Ranking Guide ($95) at
http://www.webposition.com/
It's packed with everything you need to know about each search engine as
well as information on other free resources used to promote your web
site. Also included in this guide are tips and tricks that exceed the
boundaries of conventional marketing. [Art: Gee, I wonder who's
sponsoring Rank This; cheaper - I don't have any idea whether either of
them is any good - is the s/w free for a trial at:
http://www.webposition.com/ ]

You can also subscribe to a newsletter of tips and techniques for
improving your rank and you can also join in a discussion group.

~~~

Sorry for the intrusion, CH-ers, but, for those who are selling online,
this looks like it might be worth investing a little learning time in.

I wouldn't personally blow $95 for unseen s/w unless it was burning a
big hole in my pocket AND I could write it off as a business expense.
~~~~ Art