How to Add a Search Engine to Your Site

When visitors arrive at your web site you want them to find the information quickly otherwise they will lose patience and move on. A great way achieve this is to add a search engine or search box to your web site. Since most visitors are already familiar with using search engines such as Google, they can easily use the search feature on your site.

In this article we will discuss:

A. The benefits of adding a search engine
B. Types of search service providers
C. Where to place a search box on your site
D. How does the search engine work

A. Benefits of adding a search engine and types of sites
where it can be used.

1. Ecommerce sites – your ecommerce site usually has many
different types of products so the navigation menu is not
focused enough to rapidly find the specific product your
visitor is looking for. Adding a search engine to your
ecommerce site will help the visitor to easily and quickly
zoom in on the product by entering their keyword in the
search box.

2. Dynamic sites – search engines have difficulty spidering
dynamically generated web pages. These are pages often
generated from a database, so the information on your pages
will not appear in the search engine’s index. Add a search
engine to each page of your site. If a visitor arrives on
that page from one of the large search engines, they can
then do a quick search from that page instead of searching
elsewhere.

3. Small sites – web sites that contain 5-10 pages don’t
need a search engine because visitors don’t have to search
through many pages to find the information. Instead, make
sure you create a simple navigation menu at the top or side
and bottom of your web pages.

B. Types of search service providers

1. Atomz (www.atomz.com) – Atomz Express Search is a free
service where you can integrate basic search capability on
your personal web site or on one of your commercial sites.
It can be used on sites with 750 total pages or less and
allows customization of look and feel to match your site’s
design. Some third-party text ads are shown above and below
the search results. You can use it for as long as you like
for there is no trial period.

2. Freefind (www.freefind.com) – features include the
ability to customize search and results pages. The free
accounts are limited to 3,000 pages or 32MB of storage.
Site search is hosted on FreeFind’s server. It generates a
site map for you, tracks visitors searches and indexes
password protected pages.

3. Google Free site search service
(www.google.com/services/free.html) – searches only the
specific domain(s) that you list when you create your
search box. You can customize your results display to
include background, text and link colors you select. The
search box itself will reside on your web site. The search
results page will be served by Google with the customized
look and feel you specify. Google may serve ads on the
results page. You can do an unlimited amount of searches.
You must display the Google logo on the web pages that
contain the search box.

C. Where to place the search engine on your site?

1. Place the search box in a prominent location on your web
page…preferably top center or top right.

2. Place the search box on all pages of your web site.
Visitors may enter your site from any page.

3. Make the search box large enough to accommodate all
search terms the visitor would use to find the information.

4. The search box should be a type-in box, not a link so
visitors don’t have to wait for another page to load.

5. Limit the search results to 50 per page. Visitors
lose their patience if they have to scroll through long
lists of results.

D. How does the search engine work?

It works similar to the major search engines that search
the web, however instead of crawling the web they search
engine spider will search your site. The results of the
crawl are stored in a database that resides on the search
company’s server.

The company provides the necessary code to add a simple
form to your web page. This usually consists of a search
box for inserting your keywords and a send button. When you
click the button it sends the query to the search company.
They process the query to create a search results page.
This shows those pages in your site that match the
visitor’s query.

The quality of the search results the search engine spider
collects depends on how much information is contained in
your site. Therefore take time to correctly optimize your
site i.e. provide lots of good content that includes your
keywords. Optimize your meta tags, images and create an
accessible navigation structure.

Optimizing your site will not only provide focused results
from your internal search engine but also boost your
rankings in the major search engines.

BENEFITS OF SITEMAMP BUILDING

Did you ever found how a search engine works? It must be fascinating figuring out how this search tool could direct you to several websites that are relevant to your keywords. Or, have you experienced examples where the link that supposedly contains your keywords is not exactly what you have in mind? You would probably think that there must be something wrong with the search engine that it generated irrelevant results.

Working of a Search Engine?
Two things figure greatly in making search engines work effectively and efficiently: the electronic search spider and the sitemap.

What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is basically a page or pages that serve/s as a directory by listing all the links to all documents and files found in a website. It is not merely a random listing of links, but organized in such a way that it gives the web user an idea of how all the information that can be found in the site fits into an outline or framework. It is like viewing the table of contents of a book, or viewing the “concept map” of the site’s content.

What is a spider?
In SEO language, spider is not an animal found in your closet. This electronic search spider is actually a bot which collects data and copies content to be stored in the search engine’s database when keywords are fed into the search dialogue box. The spider reads the content of the site and sends another bot to follow the links and copy the content contained in them.

What purpose does a sitemap serve?
A sitemap like any other map gives directions to a navigator. It primarily targets search engine spiders so that they are properly directed to your site and to the links where keywords entered in the search dialogue appears. As such, it is actually a useful tool in search engine optimization. A well organized site map would guide the spider to find the information it needs when keywords are entered during a search operation.

As an additional beneficial consequence, sitemaps have proven to be useful even to web users. Since a sitemap displays all the links to information found in a website, it helps the user to search for a particular topic in mind. Many users also use the sitemap to navigate between pages in a site.

What are the benefits of sitemap for my website?

1. No page would be left unturned
Going back to the purpose of sitemaps, having one would mean faster and easier tracking and crawling of spiders all over your site. As a result, search engines would surely get to the view all the pages of your site and not just the pages containing random keywords.

2. Easier navigation for site visitors
Once a web user has accessed your sitemap, they need not go back to the search engine page to look for what they need. If what they are looking for is in your site, then they would have an easier and faster way of locating it.

3. Potential advertising value
If it so happens that a relevant product or service company reaches your site, then it would be easier for them to see how best they can position themselves in the different pages of your site as a paid page advertisement.

4. Encourage greater traffic to your site
If your company website has a sitemap then potential buyers would have an easier time in accessing your latest products and services. Moreover, they would not miss out on any product that might be off future interest to them since the sitemap would display all information found the site.

How are sitemaps formatted?
There are at least three major types of sitemaps: indexed, full categorical, and restricted categorical. An indexed site map appears as an alphabetical listing or directory.
A full categorical map displays all links classified into categories; while a restricted categorical sitemap displays all links listed in a chosen category at a time. The full and restricted sitemaps are very similar except that the former displays all links in all categories all at once in a page, while the latter focuses only the links under the selected category for easier and less eye-straining viewing.

The most widely used format is the full categorical. Based on the results of a 1999 SURL study on sitemap designs, the full categorical format is most preferred by users since it is easier to search for topics within the site and it allows easier comparison between and among categories.

Some tips in setting up your sitemap

1. Link the sitemap only to your homepage.
This is to ensure that the spider starts searching from your homepage down to all the pages listed in your sitemap. In this way, no page would be left unvisited by the spider.

2. Do not go beyond 30 pages for a sitemap.
Large websites having 50 or more pages should not go beyond 30 since this adds more pages to the site, and might make search engines think that the sitemap is a link farm. Also, this prevents overcrowding of links which could be tiring to view.

3. Check all the links listed in your sitemap.
It can be discouraging when you click on a link only to find out that nothing is displayed. Test your sitemap; click all links in every page to make sure that all links are indeed linked to the right page.

4. Give keyword-rich titles to sitemap links.
Keyword-rich titles give your site more advantage in being searched properly under the right category. But be sure to have this sitemap link linked back to the sitemap (e.g. back to sitemap).

5. Provide a short description for the links in the sitemap.
Doing so would give readers a better idea of what to find in the link and save them time on surfing.

6. Be consistent in designing your sitemap with the other pages of the site.
Employ a recurring design and the same HTML template for all pages to establish identity and build character to your website.

Now you know the benefits which will urge you to buil the same for your site…Don’t you want your own Sitemap!!!!

STUDIES IN GENIUS

“Every artist draws himself.”
M.C. Escher

One of the most brilliant artists of all time is M.C. Escher
(Maurits Cornelis Escher, 1898 – 1972, Holland). His work is a
perfect example of living creativity in pictorial form. If the picture
at the right is a form of self portrait, he has shown us what an
open mind would look like. Escher’s work is the epitome of an
open and enchanted mind.

He took his craft beyond the bounds of simply rendering in two
dimensional medium what he saw. He embellished his work with
imagination and stretched the limits of artistic expression. He
managed to capture a three dimensional quality that few artists have matched.

What also sets his work apart was his ability bring the Moorish concept of
tessellation to new heights.Tessellation involves the division of a two
dimensional surface into a periodic checkered mosaic pattern. This is used
heavily in Moorish art and architecture. Escher proceeded to invent new
rules of tessellating a plane surface. In doing so he managed to create
visions that defy reality as they interweave themselves in intricate but
believable illusions.

In the image to the left the movement of the flock of birds, which changes into
fish, utilizes a transformation of ground into figure. These transformations involve
the subtle use of brightness contrast and shading which force certain figure-and-ground
perceptions onto the viewer.

Escher also excelled in the portrayal of “impossible figures”. These
involve perceptual paradoxes that cannot be resolved in the mind,
though the eye can experience them. In the wood engraving Other
World to the right, we see that the creature appears to be sitting
on the sill of an arched opening. Behind the creature is a bleak
alien landscape. This section has a common horizontal perspective
in which the vanishing point is on the horizon of the landscape.
If you shift your eyes to the bottom of the engraving, you see the
vanishing point as the zenith; and you are looking up at the
creature, the background being an unfamiliar part of sky.

If you continue to study this picture you will see more visual
paradoxes. You can become quite fascinated at the intricacy and
plausibility of the changing visual perspectives, all accomplished
in one drawing.

We highlight Escher’s work here because he has a large portfolio
that can be studied by anyone who is interested in opening their
mind. Most public libraries have copies of his work. In fact, I have
found that just by sitting down with a book of his images, my mind begins to experience a literal feeling of expansion. He stretches the imagination to include visual patterning that is otherwise considered impossible to the mind. And yet, here it is, portrayed in a completely plausible work of art.

One way to develop your own creative gift is to study the work of those who
have expressed their genius. This cannot be overemphasized. Surround
yourself with the work and ideas of those human beings who have ventured
beyond the known of their time, bringing back their ideas for others to
experience. I guarantee you that if you spent half an hour a day looking or
listening to the works of brilliant minds, you would begin to have thoughts
of your own that reveal your own personal genius. Everyone has some
special talent waiting to unfold. All we need is the impetus and the
exposure to inspired minds to bring this hidden talent to the surface.
Once you know where your passion lies, there are no limits to how far or
wide your own journey into the unknown will be.

Perhaps that is what life was created for. To perpetually journey into the
unknown and bring back to concrete form what we have found. The drawing to
the left shows the creatures looking into the unknown. If this was another
“self-portrait” of Escher’s, then he was showing us that a 360 degree
perception on the unknown could reveal a fantastic perspective on reality. Looking in unusual places for unusual things, rendering them coherent to ourselves and others, is the very heart of creative thinking. Begin your journey today.