What Determines Google Search Results

[Nix]

I did a search for windows problem forum

http://forums.techguy.org/ got a hit on the first page

by the third page we had a second hit for http://forums.techguy.org/
and one for http://cybertechhelp.com/forums/

by the end of the 5th page http://www.virtualdr.com/ had still failed to make a showing.

Not that these 3 are the be all and end all, just 3 I happen to be registered at and I was curious as why they might be coming out ahead of VDr

[BIG JOHN]

Hi Nix, we have been researching that problem & figured out it's because we are running an older version of VBulletin software. I assure you we are working to resolve that issue. BJ

[maxximilian]

BJ.....

Yeah...upgrade the software....it will help.

However.....you guys might be missing something. Here are your metatags taken from the source code:

<meta name="keywords" content="hardware tips solutions pcs laptops, spyware, anti virus, bugs fixes">

Here is TSG (Tech Support Guy)

<meta name="keywords" content="windows xp, windows technical support, free help, microsoft windows, windows 95, problems, computer problems, windows 98, win98, win2k, microsoft windows 2000, linux" />

You need to get "windows" in your meta tags.....

Just my opinion.....of course....

Besides.....no forum should end up behind TSG. That's like driving around the world behind a manure wagon. :rolleyes:

[Nix]

Must admit the off topics seem a little out of control on the TSG forums.

In fact I think that's why some people hang out there.

[maxximilian]

Out of control off-topic is exactly the reason I left there.....;)

[maxximilian]

I do believe that the meta tags are a problem, though.....

[Nix]

As for cybertechs this (http://cybertechhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37967&page=1&pp=15) thread made me wary about the quality of people repsonding there and I was not backward in saying so and pointing them towards somewhere that may be of more help.

I haven't really been back since although quite a few ex VDr folk are there now.

[maxximilian]

I was a moderator at Cybertech for a long time....it's a good forum....:)

Sorry I diverted this thread with my crack about TSG. ;)

Back on topic......there does seem to be some board software that lends itself to search engine bots very well. Invisionboard seems to do this well....although I don't know the nuts and bolts of why or if it is anecdotal.:confused:

Later versions of Vbulletin seem to do better than older ones for some reason. I haven't done a study or anything....just general observations from a forum addict. :D

[Nix]

Isn't there something called Google bombing or something liek that where the more sites that have a link to your site the higher up the google list you get ??

I"m sure I read it once.

[Nix]

Google Bomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_bomb)

[maxximilian]

Right....and this also helps sites like TSG. Most sites that review them (that I have read) include pretty much the same information that they include in their tags.

Here is an example:

Tech Support Guy Free help for users of Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP and Linux. This is a volunteer run site with a very active forum area covering a good range of subject areas. You can also search past forum messages, which can be a little slow but may still be the quickest way to get the answer to your problems.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_free_tech_support_sites.htm

Very close to what they use in their tags....

In contrast.....same linked page as above is VDR review:


Virtual Dr This site forms just part of the huge Internet.com group of sites. They offer a pretty good set of online resources plus a well-used forum area where you can pose questions to fellow users. Registration is required but is free.

Now this is an old review, but you can see that what is being said about the site does not match what the tags say. This review therefore doesn't help VDR as much as it might have....

[maxximilian]

Then again.....I could be all turned around on the subject.....:confused:

It's happened before.....LOL :D

[smurfy]

As BJ said, we've already been having extensive discussions and believe it or not, many have reflected precisely what has been mentioned above.

How many domain names does TSG have which have links pointing in a spiderweb back to the other domain names. Result - High "referral" rank in Google, result = Higher page rank in Google.

As for the vBulletin software, it is a clear feature of the updated version that it provides a more search-engine friendly "duplicate" of the thread pages which will undoubtedly improve V Drs search engine ranking, possibly even more than a few more relevant MetaTags (which generally speaking have less impact in the Google algorithm these days - primarily because of the Google Bomb techniques).


As for cybertechs this thread made me wary about the quality of people repsonding there and I was not backward in saying so and pointing them towards somewhere that may be of more help.
I haven't really been back since although quite a few ex VDr folk are there now.
Don't worry, I'm not taking it personally :)

Ahhh, but look, another referral to help CTH's rating in Google. Easy eh? Except it won't because this page isn't going to be indexed by Google spiders anytime soon. But the page at CTH was, so that's 3 referrals that Google DID index and helped V Dr's Google rank (a lot of good that did us though). ;)

Bottom line, JM are working on it.

[maxximilian]

Originally posted by smurfy
As BJ said, we've already been having extensive discussions and believe it or not, many have reflected precisely what has been mentioned above.



You mean someone else called that forum a 'manure wagon' too? LOL http://omnimaxx.com/forums/html/emoticons/rofl.gif :D

[smurfy]

You mean someone else called that forum a 'manure wagon' too? LOL
Now THAT would be telling!
;)

[GodMonstr]

Google uses a different technique than most engines.
Forget meta tags!

Google looks at the number of other pages that link to a page.
worth saying again:
Google looks at the number of other pages that link to a page.


This makes it harder to "cheat" on search results, as you don't have control of those other sites.

Let me explain it specifically:

I own a site: PCKevin.com

I want it to be first page that comes up in a google search for "pckevin"

Another guy has page with "pckevin" as well.

Google looks at the number of pages on the web that have a link to my page and other guys page. The more people that put a link to MY page, the higher the google result. If everyone here puts a link to my site on their site, then google will bring my site to the top.

It is hard to cheat;
to get my page first on google because I have no control over other pages on the web...and the links people put on these pages. Ah, but here is a cheat: here on VDr I could have a link to my page (in my sig) , and google sees this link on VDr page and gives my pckevin page a higher rating.

Suppose you want to find a good page on some subject...let's say "volcanoes".

if there is a good, worthwhile page on the subject of volcanoes on the web, you can imagine many people will put a link to that good page on their own page. "Here is a good page on volcanoes" may be seen on several pages. A crappy web page may not get this exposure. A Google search of "volcanoes" involves counting the number of links to a specific volcanoe page so the top results in google are generally the top pages in popularity. The crappy page can put all the meta tags they want on the crappy page, but if nobody links to the crappy page, google will not put it near the top of the results.


Hope I make this clear...



Kevin

[GodMonstr]

Here is something fun...

go to google and search for "godmonstr"

check out the first result.

now how did that happen!!!

[maxximilian]

Hey....I just noticed something funny....

We have all fallen into the Google trap here......talking as if Google is the only search engine on the net. This would, no doubt, be music to ears of Google execs....but is a disservice. True, I use Google for about 90% of my searches (and I do alot) but you would be surprised what little gems that other smaller engines turn up.

Now I am not a fan of watching paint dry....but I do occasionally watch the spiders that visit my site. Googlebots visit pretty regular, but I have found that Inktomi bots are much more agressive and travel in packs up to ten or more. I haven't checked in awhile, but last I heard....Inktomi mines data for several engines and is a bigger bang for the buck in a sense.

About 6 months ago, I had a really aggressive bot hang around for days. Clicking threads and links all over the place. I did some checking and found out it belonged to MS and was deep indexing for their search engine. Sure enough.....shortly thereafter I got a major boost in an MSN search.

[Nix]

So we should all have links to www.virtualdr.com in our signatures then.

Or maybe just type it in the middle of a reponse www.virtualdr.com like this ?

[smurfy]

So we should all have links to www.virtualdr.com in our signatures then.

Or maybe just type it in the middle of a reponse www.virtualdr.com like this ?
Pointless (at the moment) for this reason:

Ahhh, but look, another referral to help CTH's rating in Google. Easy eh? Except it won't because this page isn't going to be indexed by Google spiders anytime soon. But the page at CTH was, so that's 3 referrals that Google DID index and helped V Dr's Google rank (a lot of good that did us though).

The reason V Dr even rates a mention on some Google results is more the Internet.com network of sites - some of the plain pages (that Google does index) have links to VirtualDr (and HardwareCentral, and SharkyExtreme etc etc).
The reason TSG rates so highly is a) their forums are indexed and b) their domain name "spiderweb" catches the Search Engine Spiders.