Find out more about:

Website design, front end, intranet, extranet
Copyright, Intellectual Property Rights, Internet Law
Domain registration and hosting
Search engines, How they work
Link analysis - Search engine optimisation
Link popularity - Search engine optimisation
Java Script, Flash, web animation
Back end programming, database generated pages

LINKS

Major Search Engines
Google Help Centre Search tips and Features
Google Adwords
Macromedia
Adobe

  Download Adobe Reader 7

Major SEARCH ENGINES

BBCi [bbc.co.uk]
UKindex
Euroseek
Mozilla Firefox
Camino [Mac OS10]
PositionTech
search.internet.com

Site Submit Links
Use these FREE site submit links for UK search engines:

Add your URL to Google
Enter your URL for a FREE Submission - Google say they crawl your site within a month of submitting.

Yahoo! Submit Site
You need to be a 'Yahoo User' and Sign In with your User ID and Password, before you can submit your URL.
(Use the link to sign up if you are not already a user.)

MSN Search URL Submission
Enter your URL for a FREE Submission - MSN don't say how long it will take for your site to be cached.

Mirago - Site Submissions Page
Enter your URL, site name and email address for a FREE Submission - Mirago submissions are checked manually for accuracy and relevance to the UK.

About Site Submission
Web site submissions and registrations are important in getting a website quickly visible to all the major search engines. Website performance monitoring and search engine optimisation, ongoing processes, improves your ranking with Search Engines. Keyword optimisation and key phrases should not be neglected, but these alone are not enough, link popularity is now a key factor in ranking and showing relevance for web pages.

Anyone involved in web design and production should have uppermost in their minds the answer to the question of what a visitor will want to get out of the site. You can't beat good 'content' to make your site popular - visitors will want to come back and other sites will want to link to you.

Advertising is important to increase the chances of your site being found through a search.

. . . about Google 'AdWords' ads

Google AdWords Ads reach buyers searching for products you are selling and services you are providing.
You create your own ads, choose keywords to help Google match your ads to your audience and pay only when someone clicks on them.  

You can decide where your ads will appear by choosing specific countries, territories or cities - you can define your own target area. . . more

Google AdSense is a way to increase your website's Revenue potential
Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site — or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts — you'll finally have a way to both monetise and enhance your content pages.

It's also a way for website publishers to provide Google web and site search to their visitors, and to earn money by displaying Google ads on the search results pages.

FAQ 1: What kind of work (including published work on the internet) is protected by copyright?

If it meets certain criteria, every work in the United Kingdom produced by the labour, experience and skill of individuals and institutions is covered by copyright (and copyright law). The criteria it must meet are:

a) The work must be original.

b) The work must be in a material form. It is not possible to copyright thoughts and concepts. However, if the expression of those thoughts and concepts is made concrete through the use of a physical media, this may be copyrighted.

c) The work must fall into a category.

In the 1988 Copyright Act and subsequent amendments and additions, there are various categories under which different materials are classified. Below are listed a few of the major categories:

Literary works including: lyrics, tables, compilations, computer programmes, letters, memoranda, email and WWW pages.

Artistic and Graphic works including: painting, drawing, diagram, map, chart, plan, photographs, collage, architectural drawings and plans, any of which may be produced conventionally or in a digital form.

Databases: independent works in a collection, data or other materials which (a) are arranged in a systematic or methodical way, or (b) are individually accessible by electronic or other means.

Films: any medium (including digital) from which a moving image may be reproduced.

FAQ 2: How do I make it clear that I have copyright over the work I have produced?

There is an automatic copyright in any work that you may have created (except for work produced whilst employed and subject to a contract) as long as the criteria in FAQ 1 answer is met.

You do not have to register the work (in fact there is no means to do so), pay a fee or follow any bureaucratic procedure. You do not even have to mark the work with the internationally recognised copyright symbol (©). If you do want to make it clear to everyone that copying your work would not be legal, you may wish to attach the copyright symbol to the work. It acts as a useful reminder to other people that what they are looking at is protected by copyright. The usual copyright statement looks like this: © 2005 orangebox Design All rights reserved

FAQ 3: What is the difference between intellectual property rights and copyright?

Intellectual property rights includes copyright and also covers a wide range of rights. For example trade-marks, patents, or performance and recording rights. So copyright is actually a part of intellectual property rights (not the other way round as it is sometimes understood). Find out about how companies are protecting their Names, logos, trademarks and brands by clicking on the link below.

MarkMonitor
A Corporate Identity is fundamental to conducting business online. Names, logos, trademarks and brands are valuable assets that drive revenues, establish trust, and protect customer experience. MarkMonitor is the global leader in creating and protecting corporate identities on the Internet. MarkMonitor provide end-to-end solutions that address the growing threats of online fraud, brand abuse and unauthorized channels, making the Internet safer for businesses and their customers.

Arts and Humanities Data Service Copyright FAQs provides interesting reading for anyone who wants to find out more about: Copyright and the Internet

SEARCH ENGINES — How they work, Submission

How they work
Once a web site is finished and 'live', (ie published to the hosting package provided by your ISP), it can be seen by anyone who visits its URL (web address). Type the address (eg http://www.yourdomain.co.uk) into the 'address' bar at the top of the browser and the site will come up.

After a website has been published, it takes a short space of time (usually within 48 hours) for the 'spiders', also known as 'crawlers' or 'robots', to find the site. They will visit, analyse and add their findings (this includes ALL the web pages that make up the site) to the search engine 'cache'. This is an automatic process, part of search engine technology and not under anyone's control.

Search engine experts agree that submission to search engines is no longer necessary, as the technology is much better at discovering new sites unaided. Search engine technology is advancing rapidly and many services are being offered to help visitors find information in different ways. Major search engines such as Google provide search facilities for mobile phones and they also offer a comprehensive 'image search' service. For more info on using Image Search visit http://images.google.com.

Spiders, Crawlers or Robots
Once a search engine is aware of a new site, it visits and examines the site using a program called a spider (ie a 'crawler' or 'robot'). The spider visits a web page, analyses its content, and then follows links to other pages within the site. This is known as being 'spidered' or 'crawled.' The spider returns to the site on a regular basis to look for changes.

Everything the spider finds is sent back to the second part of the search engine, the index. The index is like a catalogue containing a copy of every web page that the spider finds. If a web page changes, then this catalogue is updated with the new information.

Sometimes it can take a while for new pages or changes that the spider finds to be added to the index; a web page may have been 'spidered' but not yet 'indexed.' Until it is indexed—added to the index—it is not available to people searching using the search engine.

Search Tips
Search engines such as Google provide support pages with information about the Basics of Search, Advanced Search, setting preferences and Search Tips - visit http://www.google.co.uk and click on About Google and then the support link 'Help and How to Search'.

Submission
Search engine submission involves visiting sites such as Google and filling in a form that tells them about the new site—the web address, the name of the site, and sometimes a short description.

Once the site has been submitted, the search engine will add it to the queue of new sites which it will examine in turn — sometimes this takes 48 hours. This process is completely outside of our—or anyone else's—control, and is run by the search engine's own software.

Paying for Submission
Increasingly, search engines and directories such as Yahoo offer the option to pay for faster inclusion in their index. It is important to realise that this does not guarantee a good listing, it simply means they will examine your site sooner. Some search engines now demand a fee before they will accept a site submission.

Beware of Automatic Submission
There are companies that offer to submit your site to multiple search engines in one go. We do not recommend this, as the major engines prefer people to submit each site individually and will sometimes penalise bulk submissions. These companies often promise to submit your site to thousands of search engines, but as the vast majority of visitors tend to use only the half-a-dozen or so major search engines and directories, this is largely pointless (the main engines often re-sell their services under different branding to Internet Service Providers). Additionally, some of the very small search engines are just fronts set up to gather email addresses for spam.

LINK ANALYSIS — Search engine optimisation

Why is it fundamental to search engine optimisation? Link Analysis and Link Popularity are key areas of concern to internet marketing and search engine optimisation companies today.

If a web page features in the top ten listings, (also known as 'front page listing'), for a particular keyword or keyphrase, it is more likely to be viewed than a page listed on page four.

As any search engine optimiser will tell you, achieving a front page listing simply doesn't happen by chance. Years ago, an optimiser could rank a page successfully, for a set keyword or keyphrase, by simply delivering the correct keyword density, within the page content, but search engines soon changed their algorithms to prevent 'keyword stuffing' as it had become known.

On top of the regular changes to their algorithms , search engines introduced link popularity as an additional way to rank a web page. Link popularity was calculated on the number of hyperlinks, from other websites, that pointed to your web site. The more links that were pointed to your site, the easier that it was to gain a front page position on the engines.

Search engines had decided that link popularity was now a key factor in ranking and showing relevance for web pages. The engines believed that if other web sites were using your site as a reference point, your site must contain more relevant content than other sites with similar content, so your site received a boost in the search engine rankings. As the engines, at that time, were not analysing the links, it really didn't matter where they came from - it was a case of quantity, rather than quality. Some search engine optimization companies and web marketers then set up link farms to get around the introduction of link popularity. Unfortunately, they overdid it, with the result that the engines were crowded with pointless links.

What is Link Popularity? Link popularity can be simply defined as the total number of qualified web sites or web pages linking to your web site. Measuring the link popularity of your web pages is key to achieving a front page position on the search engines.

Why is Link Popularity important?
Link Popularity is important to search engine optimisation as it is the most efficient way to increase traffic to your web site and to boost your search engine rankings. Increasing your link popularity is both time consuming and laborious but it does bring its rewards.

Benefits of increasing the number of relevant web sites linking to yours . . .

Link Popularity - Direct Traffic
Increased Link Popularity brings with it a constant stream of highly targeted visitors. Other than time and labour, this increase is achieved without having to spend an advertising penny and has no recurring cost. The web traffic that is generated through links from other web sites is both constant and regular. If you own a retail site, it is fair to say that linked visitors may also view your site in a better light, as they have arrived at your web site via a recommendation (link) on another site.

Link Popularity - Search Engine Rankings
By increasing the link popularity of your web site, you can substantially improve your search engine positioning. Search engines taylor their algorithms to promote web sites which have high link popularity. The engines judge a site to be more relevant, if thought to be pertinent by other webmasters, working on the basis that it wouldn't make sense for a site owner refer his visitors to a site that has no relevance to their needs.

Link popularity is an ideal weapon for the search engines, as they are constantly waging a war against rogue search engine optimisation companies, who use underhand techniques to try and trick the search engine spiders into believing that a web site is something that it isn't. Link popularity is difficult to abuse, as it's difficult for optimisation companies to have control over thousands of websites with high page ranks with relevant content. If they do try to dupe the engines in this way, it is fairly easy for the search engines to spot the underhand tactics and take the relevant action. This means that link popularity is a safe bet for the future, as search engines are likely to reward link popularity for some time to come.

Link popularity and Google
Link popularity has seen search engines like Google, re-write the standards in search engine optimisation. The methods that worked three years ago no longer work and in many cases are considered as spam by the engines. In fact, Google's approach to ranking web sites now relies heavily on link promotion and link quality. In describing their own ranking system (PageRank), Google's web site states, 'PageRank' relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves 'important' weigh more heavily and help to make other pages 'important'.

Link popularity is not as simple as arranging for hundreds of unrelated web sites to link to you, as this approach will not help you attain first page recognition. For Link popularity to benefit your web site, you must be linked to established web sites that already have a search engine listing, and who have relevant content, related to your own web site. Links from relevant sites are considered to be 'more relevant' by the search engines and will help your rankings improve. On top of that, any visitors that follow a link from a relevant site are likely to be a more targeted and a better quality prospect.

Link Popularity summary
If link promotion is carried out correctly it can have a significant effect on both search engine positioning and on the targeted traffic visiting your site.

Link promotion is not a difficult process, but it is time consuming. It is, however, worth investing the time to increase your link popularity.

An effective link campaign involves locating well ranked websites with a theme relevant to your site and contacting the webmaster in a professional manner asking for a link and explaining how a link to your web site will benefit his site. Once you have increased your link popularity you need to organize your link promotion campaign, ensuring that you can track the responses and follow-up on the original email where necessary. Don't become a nuisance - if you don't receive an answer for your second email, simply target another web site to link to.

Link popularity is important. Once you have set up your promotion campaign, put aside time each week to ensure that it runs smoothly and that your link popularity grows steadily, week on week.

Link Popularity - why is it key to the success of your online business?
Until recently, search engine optimisation focused on building web pages using flat html and then doing extra optimisation work on areas of the page that were known to influence search engine positioning. With the addition of link popularity and link analysis, to the search engine optimisation mix SEO companies require a whole new skillset . Link popularity now plays a major role in achieving a first page ranking on the search engines. For a site to rank well, the optimiser must understand how content, link popularity, page reputation, and page importance work together in determining the relevancy of your webpage or web site. Almost every web page has a link popularity score, based on the number of links that are pointing to them. If a site or page has no popularity score, it is usually because the site or page is new, has no relevant content or is under a search engine penalty for infringing search engines rules.

Please Note: Technical information and FAQs are to the best of our knowledge correct at the time of publication.

Published 2007