SEO Experiment
This SEO test will be a part of a series I want to write about on the effects of the sitemap protocol and if it is really working. Hopefully by the end we will all better understand sitemaps and core principals about XML sitemaps. Stay tuned for more articles on the different sitemap related posts and the tools used.
The experiments
I am going to run an experiment testing sitemap.xml and hanging pages. This will not be a flawless test but it will help me prove my assumptions.
I have been telling clients that if you add a url to an XML sitemap that it will be discovered. Why do I say this? Often times due to different varying factors search engines have a hard time finding pages inside of dynamic content pages. This test is not going to be about accessibility or how content is delivered. The SEO Experiement is only about sitemap files.
The test is going to be limited to hard coding the url into an xml sitemap and see if it can be found. My assumption will not be a solution to linking or standard url structure.
We already know that Google, Yahoo, and MSN will index urls similar to http://www.domain.com/?=123. We also know that pages with session id’s are usually not indexed because of the session variables. What I am trying to prove is that a url listed in an XML sitemap will be found by Google, Yahoo, and MSN without back links and only submitted through the different search engine webmaster tools .
How I am going to do this test is by creating a unique page that is not linked by any other pages and add it to its very own xml sitemap to be discovered. Once I created the pages I will add the sitemap to the webmaster tools section of each search engine. I am going to create another page and add it to a urllist.txt (an old protocol used by Yahoo. In the xml Sitemap I am going to put in 1 page only that is free floating and see how long it takes to get indexed by each search engine. In the urllist.txt file I am going to add another page and see if it is indexed.
Assumptions/problems/and forecast – Hypothesis
The file will be picked up in Yahoo and cached much fast than Google with xml sitemap file. The urllist.txt file will probably not be found on MSN which will be one problem. The other problem with MSN is they don’t yet have a way to add multiple sitemap files through their portal, even though they read robots.txt. The files from the urllist.txt will be picked up first by Yahoo and Google will follow.
Scope
2 html pages
1 sitemap.xml page
1 urllist.txt page
Result
To be continued
Because I don’t want to spoil the experiment I won’t give the specifics locations of the files or exactly how I am going to do it. The experiment could take 1 day or 2 weeks. For now we will see. Stay tuned for the results and summary. More experiments are coming.
SEO by Chris update
It has been a while since I have posted. Over the past few weeks there have been some interesting developments in Search Engine Optimization. One of the most interesting developments has been the discussions of Yahoo! and Microsoft’s Live.com merging together. There is a lot of speculation about what the consequences would be. The truth be known until it happens little will be known about how the merger will unfold.
Over the past few weeks increased additional security has been added. An Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to secure and encrypt data via the internet has been installed.
I have also done a lot of server work. Including .htaccess like the previous article. I have also been doing some design work for Bagley School. What started out as fixing broken image tags turned into a design and upgrade. You can see the work in progress here. Suggestions are welcome. I have taken this on for free using open source and currently available resources.
If you have been following this blog you know that I do this for entertainment and hold down a regular day job… Well, over the past few weeks I have been undergoing career changes. I am currently between jobs and actively seeking full-time employment. Being between jobs theoretically leaves more time for blogging. I have found that assumption to be the opposite. If you know of job opportunities please let me know. Don’t hesitate to share my online portfolio which includes my resume. portfolio.chris-estes.com Comments and corrections are greatly appreciated.
In other news you will notice some changes to Search Engine Optmization by Chris. In the month of January a new brighter more colorful design has been added. Also, Yahoo Publisher Network ads sponsored ads have been added. A different placement of ad’s has been put in to offer you a a much better range of services. As a supporter of Search Engine College I recomnd taking a look into one of their classes. All thought a class will help you get up to speed on SEO basices but n0thing is going to be as sufficient as an experienced professional. As always I have some affiliate marketers online that would like to put ads on the blog. So stay tunned to some deals I am tyring to work out for you the readers Discount programs and discounted SEO and other equipment.
You don’t want to miss out on some of the exclusive deals I am working out with companies like, Apple, Itunes, and dell stay tuned by subscribing to my feed.
. 04 Feb 08 | Business, Charity, Employment, Live, MSN, New-Design, SEO Budget, Search Engine Optimization, Yahoo | Read on | Comments (0)
Applied .htaccess for SEO
I have found .htaccess to be a great SEO tool. There are many how-to-guides about .htaccess and how to set them up. I am not going to outline how to set them up. If you want more information about how to set them up ask your server administrator, web professional, or don’t hesitate to contact me.
.htaccess File and commentary
There are several standard components but most of these I am using to try and prevent access. I also use the robots.txt standard to block Search Engine’s from indexing my portfolio.