Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The Art Of Networking
Wikipedia defines the World Wide Web (“Web”) as “a system of interlinked, hypertext documents that runs over the Internet. With a Web browser, a user views Web pages that may contain text, images, and other multimedia and navigates between them using hyperlinks.” The Web has only been around since 1990, and yet, it already counts trillions of Web pages.
With so much information and the number of Web surfers increasing on a daily basis, the challenge of directing users to the appropriate source of information is becoming increasingly complex. That role belongs to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN who are competing fiercely in order to come up with the best and most accurate search results. Search engines act as “filters” in differentiating between the relevant and the irrelevant. Yet, how do they know what is “relevant” and what is “irrelevant” or “less relevant”?
They rely on whatever is found on a Web page and they rely on links that direct to a specific Web page. Whatever is found on a Web page can easily be manipulated, but what is found on another person’s Web page is harder to control. That leads us to the intrinsic nature of the Web, which is a network of “interconnected” Web pages. The connectedness of Web pages is complicated by the fact that webmasters, the creators of the Web pages, have their own agenda, which often conflicts with the objectives of Web surfers. Webmasters want to increase their websites’ exposure (which would translate into increased traffic), whereas Web surfers want to find information that is the most relevant to them. It is in this type of environment that search engines come into play in trying to act as arbitrators.
How do they do that? They evaluate the quality, relevancy, and weight of each incoming link in order to assign a value to it. The whole idea is based on the “democratic” nature of the Web. Why is it necessary for search engines to “assign a value” to incoming links (or, in other words, why aren’t all links of equal value)? Because search engines recognize the fact that “corruption” exists within the system and assigning a value to incoming links is a way to fight that corruption. The corruption comes mainly from webmasters that are trying to bend the rules in their favour in order to achieve higher rankings.
In this kind of environment, how to maximize a website’s exposure while respecting generally accepted guidelines of website development and promotion? By networking with other websites and making the case for votes. Sounds like an election? It is! Except that this election does not take place every four years, but every minute of every day, with no end in sight. The never-ending election it is called.
There are two facets to networking: (1) expanding a network and (2) strengthening a network. Expanding a network means to have the most exposure as possible while strengthening a network means getting votes. Other webmasters might know about a certain site, but they are under no obligation to link to that site. In that regard, the easy way to win a vote is to provide some incentives to other sites, meaning paying them a fee to add a link on their site (“sponsored link”) or reciprocating with a link back. The problem with this approach is that it costs money, is time consuming, and might only trigger a “vote” coming from a “link exchange” page, which is of poor quality. A more difficult approach to networking is to create “partnerships” with other websites where each side would benefit or creating quality content that would warrant inbound links.
This latter approach to networking has the advantage of (1) creating links that are more contextual, meaning that they will also have more value for search engines; (2) costing nothing because they are given out of free will; and (3) meeting accepted guidelines of proper website development.
This is where the two aspects of search engine optimization connect. On-page and off-page optimization go hand in hand because quality content is key to successful and sustainable networking. This is also where webmasters and Web users connect as quality content is also what most people are looking for when they search the Web.
Utafutaji Engine Optimization (SEO): Sanaa ya Mtandao Wikipedia inafafanua World Wide Web (<unk>Web<unk>) kama <unk>mfumo wa interlinked, hypertext nyaraka ambayo anaendesha juu ya mtandao. Kwa kutumia kivinjari cha wavuti, mtumiaji huona kurasa za wavuti ambazo zinaweza kuwa na maandishi, picha, na multimedia nyingine na kusafiri kati yao kwa kutumia viungo vya juu. <unk> Mtandao umekuwepo tu tangu 1990, na bado, tayari unahesabu trilioni za kurasa za wavuti. Kwa kuwa kuna habari nyingi na idadi ya watalii wa mtandao inaongezeka kila siku, changamoto ya kuelekeza watumiaji kwenye chanzo sahihi cha habari inakuwa ngumu zaidi. Kwa hivyo, injini za utafutaji kama Google, Yahoo, na MSN zinashindana sana ili kupata matokeo bora na sahihi zaidi. Injini za utafutaji hufanya kazi kama "filter" katika kutofautisha kati ya muhimu na isiyo muhimu. Hata hivyo, wanajuaje ni nini <unk>mahususi<unk> na ni nini <unk>haifai<unk> au <unk>haifai sana<unk>? Wao hutegemea kila kitu kinachopatikana kwenye ukurasa wa wavuti na hutegemea viungo vinavyoelekeza kwenye ukurasa maalum wa wavuti. Chochote kinachopatikana kwenye ukurasa wa Mtandao kinaweza kudhibitiwa kwa urahisi, lakini kile kinachopatikana kwenye ukurasa wa Mtandao wa mtu mwingine ni vigumu kudhibiti. Hiyo inatuongoza kwa asili ya asili ya Mtandao, ambayo ni mtandao wa <unk>kuunganishwa<unk> kurasa za Mtandao. Kuunganishwa kwa kurasa za wavuti ni ngumu kwa sababu webmasters, waundaji wa kurasa za wavuti, wana ajenda yao wenyewe, ambayo mara nyingi hupingana na malengo ya watalii wa wavuti. Wasimamizi wa wavuti wanataka kuongeza mwonekano wa tovuti zao (ambayo itatafsiri kuwa ongezeko la trafiki), wakati watalii wa wavuti wanataka kupata habari inayohusiana zaidi nao. Ni katika aina hii ya mazingira kwamba injini za utafutaji kuja katika kucheza katika kujaribu kutenda kama mahakimu. Wanafanyaje hivyo? Wao kutathmini ubora, umuhimu, na uzito wa kila kiungo inbound ili kugawa thamani yake. Wazo lote ni msingi juu ya <unk>democratic<unk> asili ya Web. Kwa nini ni muhimu kwa injini za utafutaji <unk>kuweka thamani<unk> kwa viungo vinavyoingia (au, kwa maneno mengine, kwa nini viungo vyote havina thamani sawa)? Kwa sababu injini za utafutaji zinatambua ukweli kwamba "fisadi" ipo ndani ya mfumo na kugawa thamani kwa viungo vinavyoingia ni njia ya kupambana na ufisadi huo. Ufisadi hutoka hasa kwa wasimamizi wa wavuti ambao wanajaribu kupotosha sheria kwa niaba yao ili kufikia nafasi za juu. Katika aina hii ya mazingira, jinsi ya kuongeza mfiduo wa tovuti wakati kuheshimu miongozo ya kawaida kukubaliwa ya maendeleo ya tovuti na kukuza? Kwa kuunganisha na tovuti nyingine na kufanya kesi kwa ajili ya kura. Je, hiyo inaonekana kama uchaguzi? Ndio, ni hivyo! """Hata hivyo, uchaguzi huu haufanyiki kila baada ya miaka minne, bali kila dakika ya kila siku, bila mwisho unaoonekana." Uchaguzi usio na mwisho unaitwa. Kuna mambo mawili muhimu katika kuunda mtandao: (1) kupanua mtandao na (2) kuimarisha mtandao. Kuongeza mtandao inamaanisha kuwa na mfiduo mwingi iwezekanavyo wakati kuimarisha mtandao inamaanisha kupata kura. Webmasters wengine wanaweza kujua kuhusu tovuti fulani, lakini hawana wajibu wa kuunganisha kwenye tovuti hiyo. Kwa upande mwingine, njia rahisi ya kushinda kura ni kutoa motisha kwa tovuti nyingine, ikimaanisha kuwapa ada ya kuongeza kiungo kwenye tovuti yao (kiungo cha udhamini) au kubadilishana na kiungo nyuma. Tatizo na mbinu hii ni kwamba ni gharama ya fedha, ni muda mwingi, na inaweza tu kusababisha <unk> kura <unk> kuja kutoka <unk> kiungo kubadilishana <unk> ukurasa, ambayo ni ya ubora duni. Njia ngumu zaidi ya kuunganisha ni kuunda "ushirikiano" na tovuti nyingine ambapo kila upande utafaidika au kuunda maudhui ya ubora ambayo yangehakikisha viungo vya ndani. Njia hii ya mwisho ya kuunganisha ina faida ya (1) kuunda viungo ambavyo ni vya muktadha zaidi, ikimaanisha kuwa pia vitakuwa na thamani zaidi kwa injini za utafutaji; (2) hazina gharama kwa sababu hutolewa kwa hiari; na (3) kukutana na miongozo iliyokubaliwa ya maendeleo sahihi ya wavuti. Hii ni ambapo mambo mawili ya utafutaji injini optimization kuunganisha. Ufanisi wa ukurasa na nje ya ukurasa huenda mkono kwa mkono kwa sababu maudhui ya ubora ni ufunguo wa mtandao wa mafanikio na endelevu. Hii pia ni mahali ambapo wasimamizi wa wavuti na watumiaji wa wavuti wanaunganisha kama maudhui ya ubora pia ni nini watu wengi wanatafuta wakati wanatafuta Mtandao.