 New Search Engine Ranking
Algorithm - An Interview with ExactSeek.com's Mel Strocen
By
Shelley Lowery
ExactSeek.com
has teamed up with Alexa to provide a brand new search engine ranking algorithm
that ranks sites based on content relevancy and Alexa user popularity data.
This unique ranking system not only provides relevant search results, but
it also enables website owners to increase their site's ranking in ExactSeek
simply by increasing their Alexa ranking.
ExactSeek.com,
a Jayde Online company, is a search engine and directory that indexes over
25,000 websites each day. It currently indexes over 2 million websites and
is expected to exceed 5 million by the end of the year.
Alexa
Internet, an Amazon.com company, provides the Alexa Toolbar -- an invaluable
tool for the Internet marketer. This little browser plug-in provides a wealth
of information, including site statistics, traffic data and contact information
for every site you visit. Best of all, it won't cost you a dime.
You can download and install the Alexa toolbar
here.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Jayde Online's CEO, Mel Strocen.
The Jayde Online Network includes
ExactSeek.com,
GoArticles.com,
SiteProNews.com,
AllBusinessNews.com,
EzineHub.com
and
FreeWebSubmission.com.
Jayde Online Inc. has been internet-focused from its inception in 1998 and
primarily involved in the publication of email newsletters and the development
of niche and general search engines.
Here's what Mel had to say about the new ExactSeek search engine ranking
algorithm...
Shelley: Mel, thank you for taking time
out of your busy schedule to talk with me.
Mel: Shelley, I appreciate the opportunity
to provide some insight on recent developments at ExactSeek and our new site
ranking algorithm.
Shelley: Now that ExactSeek has teamed up
with Alexa, how exactly will websites be ranked?
Mel: The main factors in determining website
ranking will be page content relevancy and the site traffic data provided
by Alexa Internet with the emphasis being on the former versus the latter.
It will be several weeks, or possibly even longer, before we finalize the
exact weight we give Alexa data. What this means is that for the short term
webmasters might find their website ranking changing fairly frequently. Think
of it as ExactSeek's version of the "Google Dance" :)
Shelley: Prior to the new partnership, ExactSeek
ranked sites according to keywords displayed within the Title, Meta Description
and Meta Keywords tags. Will these tags still play a role in ranking a website?
Or, will sites be strictly ranked according to content and their Alexa
ranking?
Mel: Yes, Title and Meta tags will continue
to play a role, but not to the extent they did previously. The information
from these tags will be shown in the actual search result listings and will
also be compared to page content as an additional check of overall relevancy.
Shelley: As I'm sure you're aware, some
"experts" may make a case that Alexa rankings can be manipulated. How would
you respond to this analysis?
Mel: As mentioned, Alexa traffic data will
be an integral part of the ExactSeek ranking algorithm but not the dominant
factor, that being page content. Essentially, we've opted to emphasize user
popularity over link popularity. Either one can be manipulated by savvy
webmasters or SEO experts but, in our view, user popularity is less subject
to manipulation over the long term because it is more difficult to manipulate
the surfing public than it is to manipulate SE crawlers. The bottom line
is that people will always be able to better evaluate content than search
engine spiders.
Shelley: Will an increase in traffic from
other sources affect how a site ranks in ExactSeek?
Mel: Yes, the good news for webmasters is
that regardless of what they do to promote their websites, their efforts
will result in a better ranking on ExactSeek. So, increased traffic from
any source, be it ezine advertising, PPC campaigns, search engine marketing,
etc., will help boost site ranking in our search engine.
With other search engines, webmasters have been forced to learn what is important
to each engine and tailor their sites accordingly. The beauty of ExactSeek
is that webmasters can focus on making their sites relevant to people, not
our search engine.
Shelley: How does ExactSeek's new ranking
algorithm compare with other search engines?
Mel: With the exception of Google, the major
search engines have offered little in the way of innovation. Factoring user
popularity into a ranking algorithm is ground-breaking. User popularity is
a far more reliable indicator of where websites should rank and gives the
surfing public some input on the search results they see.
Shelley: How will this new ranking system
benefit website owners?
Mel: I've already mentioned the most obvious
ways that webmasters will benefit as a result of our use of Alexa traffic
stats. Indirectly, they will also benefit as searchers recognize the importance
of user popularity in delivering quality search results. More search traffic
for us will translate into more traffic for webmasters who have listed their
websites in ExactSeek. In addition, we will be introducing other ranking
factors specifically geared to webmasters which will give them an opportunity
to boost site ranking in some very unique ways never before employed by any
search engine.
Shelley: Is ExactSeek.com the only search
engine that will be utilizing this new ranking system?
Mel: No, the new ranking system will be
implemented on 6 search engines, those being
ExactSeek,
Aesop.com,
OnSeek.com,
SitesOnDisplay.com,
MaxPromo.com
and
Best-SearchEngine.com.
Four of these are using the new ranking algorithm now and the remaining two
will be within a week or two.
Shelley: What are your submission policies?
Should a webmaster submit just their main page or can they submit additional
pages? How often should they submit and how?
Mel: We prefer that webmasters submit primary
URLs, but additional pages can be submitted if they have unique content and
title and meta tags that reflect that unique content. Once a URL has been
incorporated into the ExactSeek database, follow-up submissions are unnecessary.
All URLs in our database are recrawled monthly. We also provide webmasters
the option of scheduling their own recrawls with our recrawl tool
(http://www.exactseek.com/srank.html).
Using this tool, a webmaster can have sites recrawled on a weekly basis.
Site submissions to ExactSeek can be made at:
http://www.exactseek.com/add.html
Shelley: It's been a pleasure talking with
you, Mel. Thank you for allowing me to interview you.
Mel: My pleasure, Shelley. Thank you.
Since Alexa site rankings will play a major role in determining how well
your site ranks in ExactSeek, I highly recommend that you download the Alexa
toolbar -- not only to track your site's status, but also to locate quality
sites for joint ventures and link partners. It's a win-win proposition no
matter how you look at it.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2003.
About the Author:
| Shelley Lowery
is the author of Web Design Mastery - An in- depth guide to professional
web design. And, Ebook Starter - Do-it-yourself ebook design kit. Visit
Web-Source.net to sign up for a free subscription to Etips and receive a
free copy of the highly acclaimed ebook, Killer Internet Marketing Strategies.
http://www.web-source.net |
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