Search Engines are like directories and list almost all the websites that are available on the internet. Which page of a website appears first in a search engine result is calculated by a special formula called an Algorithm.
Each search engine have their own formula/algorithm for deciding which page is the most relevant to a particular search, and this remains a secret. To add to the mystery, this formula is frequently changed.
Not knowing what the ever changing algorithm is, makes it almost impossible to design a page that is guaranteed to get a good position in a search. It is therefore best to follow a more logical path when creating a webpage and hope for the best. Quite often this produces the best results over a period of time.
The three main players as far as search engines are concerned are: Google, Yahoo and MSN (in that order). When you create a new site it is best to submit your details to all available search engines (for listing), although this can happen automatically in some cases.
Search Engines collect information on your site with the use of a "spider". This is some software that can visit your site and record the information that it finds (also called crawling). This information is stored by the search engine and can be displayed in searches. Your site will be "spidered" by a search engine quite frequently, depending on how often you change the information on your pages.
Generally speaking, most people will not search beyond the first 3 pages of results presented by a search engine, so it is important to get placed as high as possible.
Whilst everyone would like to get a good position on a search engine like Google, there are advantages to being listed on smaller engines. Our own search engine (Profindsearch.com) does not compare to the major players (yet), but with less sites listed, there is a greater chance of being noticed!
There are of course some "tricks" to creating a good webpage and gaining more visibility, and this is something we can help you with if required. This is commonly called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
