Content is a must in MSN
As with all of the major search engines, MSN Search
places heavy emphasis on content. Whether that content
is on the page, off the page, or entirely off the site,
care must be taken to ensure that content quality is
maximized. The MSN algorithm values content very highly,
and even allows for heavier than Google permissible
levels of keyword density. In many ways, MSN Search
is a content oriented website owner’s dream.
Because of the many benefits that accrue to a site
as a direct result of more keyword rich content, it’s
as good a place as any to begin your optimization efforts.
Keep in mind that content not only provides direct immediate
value in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but
also indirectly over the longer term, in the form of
incoming natural links.
Since links appear to be very important to MSN’s
algorithm, and in that regard it follows the Google
link importance bias, it’s important to attract
as many organic links as possible. One sure way to gain
incoming links is to provide interesting and useful
content. Not only does content add links, but it also
provides the important keyword phrases if presented
in many search engine friendly forms.
Content arrives in two ways. There is on site content
and there is off site content. Both are very important
to the MSN Search algorithm. By including both content
strategies in your MSN optimization efforts, the maximum
ranking benefits can and probably will be achieved.
Make certain that each page has unique title tags related
to the most important keywords on the page. It’s
also a good idea to use the title tag in the page’s
meta tags as well, to create a uniform themed appearance
to the page content.
Page URLs should be static html, preferably containing
a keyword, or even two keywords. Dynamic URLs are less
likely to be indexed in MSN, so they are best avoided.
That situation could change, however, as the MSN search
engine evolves past the beta stage, and its algorithm
becomes more diversified. In that event, dynamic URLs
would then be effectively indexed. In the meantime,
static html URLs are a far better option.
Keyword density on the page, with MSN apparently preferring
smaller word counts, can be slightly higher than in
Google. Like Yahoo’s algorithm, MSN is usually
more tolerant of somewhat higher keyword densities.
Caution must be exercised, however, to prevent being
seen as keyword stuffing, resulting in a much lower
search engine ranking.
Keep the on page themes and topics consistent and relevant,
and make certain that all of the pages are linked together
in some way. Orphan pages with no outgoing links to
other parts of the website are less likely to be indexed,
resulting in a loss of that page’s content. Orphan
pages also waste a valuable opportunity to use a link
with good anchor text to benefit another Web page.
Clean coding is a must with MSN Search, since its spider
has a strong preference for well written code. If a
website’s coding is poorly written, it appears
as if MSN Search downgrades the site’s search
rankings heavily. Be sure to run the Web pages through
a validation program to ensure the code is properly
written.
Double check that all html tags are closed, for example.
The MSN guidelines indicate that proper coding is a
factor in their algorithm, as it is for all search engines.
While correct code is important, it’s highly unlikely
to result in dramatically lower rankings if there are
a few coding problems. Of course, in some highly competitive
keyword searches, invalid code could be a major deciding
factor. Check the code with a validator to make sure
it’s all correct.
As always, SEO professionals are eager to discover
the wants, needs, and desires of the MSN Search algorithm.
How to rank well in MSN Search is the leading question
of the day. Achieving high search engine rankings in
MSN has some similarities to the techniques already
used in Google and Yahoo. As expected, the MSN algorithm
has a few twists and turns for SEO professionals to
navigate as well.
As with the other major search engines, MSN Search
requires good relevant content, and quality incoming
links featuring keyword rich link anchor text. That
said, there are some differences and similarities with
Yahoo and Google’s preferences. After all, all
search engine algorithms, while similar in many basic
ways, are unique in their requirements in other areas
of search optimization.
A more holistic optimization strategy stressing most
of the well known accepted SEO best practices techniques
appears to be just what the doctor ordered for MSN.
By taking an overall approach to MSN optimization, some
of the unique MSN algorithm preferences will be taken
into consideration, and steps taken to have them employed.
Perhaps the first and probably most important aspect
of the MSN Search Beta is the need for good keyword
rich content. Relevance of theme and topic appears to
be very important to MSN, as it is becoming for Google
optimization. There are also additional considerations
for levels of on page keyword density that differ somewhat
from Google. On the other hand, MSN seems to strongly
dislike keyword stuffing, and will drop a site’s
ranking accordingly.
As expected, links are important to MSN, as they are
important to Yahoo, and of course to the legendarily
link obsessed Google algorithm. Maintaining your important
keywords on the incoming and internal on site link anchor
text is important. That link text definitely requires
mixing and variation to appear as natural as possible
when crawled by the MSN spider.
Clean coding is a must with MSN Search, as its spider
has a strong preference for well written code. For non-programmers
or website owners with low levels of coding skills,
that necessity could become a problem. If a website’s
code is poorly written, it appears that MSN Search downgrades
the site’s search rankings heavily.
Like Yahoo, MSN Search seems to still place some importance
on meta tags. Long fallen into disuse because of their
lack of benefit in Google, dusting off some meta tags
appropriate for each page might be beneficial as well.
The MSN Search Beta offers some interesting optimization
challenges for SEO professionals and for website owners
alike. As always, juggling the needs and desires of
all of the major search engines is not easy. Of course,
no one ever said it would be simple, did they?
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