The Yahoo/MSN Algo update

[jaydilla]

Ok guys you know about what a month ago when it seemed yahoo and msn did a algo update like the same hour. Well I was ranked #5 on msn for my keyword HIV, but after the algo change wasnt in the top 250. I slowly by link building and being added to yahoo dir i have crawled back to page 2, but my question is, did anyone really figure out what the changes were in the msn algo? Did they start weighing outbound links more than before? Well thanks for your time guys.

[wrmineo]

Nothing against the peers and pros here at WPW, but you first may want to research what MSN has to say on this issue and then formulate your query based on what does or doesn't make sense there ...

MSN Site Owner Help (http://search.msn.com/docs/siteowner.aspx?FORM=WMWM)

From my perspective, these elements have been good to help in getting good SERP at MSN:

Content, content, and more good content
(content should be keyword relevant, but not spammy)

Page Title

Meta Description

URL/File Structure

IBLs

[jaydilla]

thanks, now since youi brought it up file structure.....uhm not sure howq that should go. any suggesttions as to researching?

[wrmineo]

thanks, now since youi brought it up file structure.....uhm not sure howq that should go. any suggesttions as to researching?

To that end, I simply mean that we cannot all have the best domain name available for our keywords, however, you can give yourself a "leg-up" IMO in how you name files, create directories, name images, etc.

Don't simply call something page2.html - name it something that is relevant to the page content and if possible keyword relevant.

For example, if I had a web design site, I would not call my services page, page2.html or even services.html necessarily, but maybe web-services.html.

However, you want to be specific without convoluting the site structure and confusing the user.

A more "real-world" example maybe. I have a female celebrities sites for fans. I might have a page about a specific celeb like:

http://www.freshdames.com/brittany_murphy.html

but then to "compliment" the file structure beyond this for additional pages, I have

http://www.freshdames.com/brittany_murphy/photos/

HOWEVER, I will add that this isn't the BEST example, as I have only recently discovered that a dash "-" is better to use than an underscore "_" in most cases, and I've been employing that in newer pages and additions like:

http://www.freshdames.com/monica-bellucci.html

and so on ...

Good Luck and Happy Ranking!

[khurramali]

All file name to be in Small letters, no caps

use dashes insted of underscore in file naming.

use one naming convention, either htm or html, but not both. I recommend to stick with .htm

example : "search-engine-optimization.htm"

Place all your picture files in the folder "images"

use a sitemap file and name it as "sitemap.htm"

user 404 error pages.

Avoid JAVA or use external JAVA code

Place your CSS in a seperate file and link to it, don't include it in every page as it will make your content in the middle or lower portion of the file

don't use fancy mouse over Java functions, use CSS instead.

don't use server side includes, use client side includes, in dreamweaver they are called library item.

check your broken links.

check your keyword density.

use text in the beginning of the page with keywords / phrases insted of big fancy pictures

Use Good Content instead of having a photo album "all image site".

Avoid Flash Content or make html and flash version both.

Use Keyword in TITLE TAG, example " ARFY.NET internet marketing in Karachi"
or better "Internet Marketing in Karachi by ARFY.NET" take your pick

don't forget the meta keyword and description tag.

don't over do "SEO" over kill, over optimize. KAPISH
if you make the mistake then just remove some optimization.

that covers the basics.