By Russell Shaw

As you add a search engine to your site, you'll need to plan for its success by placing it in the right location, providing clear instructions for its use, and preparing your content for a productive search.

User Interface for Your Search Engine

Determine what your search engine's user interface will be. If one doesn't already exist, you'll need to create a form with a text field and a "Submit" button with the look you want. Make it simple and easy to use. This form usually includes a number of default fields hidden from end-users, which include search engine methodology instructions, such as whether the search engine should locate pages to match all search terms or any one of them. Another common hidden field is one that determines whether multiple search words should be combined with an "and" or an "or."

Write clear instructions to accompany your search engine. Offer some basic search tips for your visitors to increase their chances of success in finding what they're looking for. If your search engine offers multiple queries, data ranges, or stemming, make that clear in your instructions. You might want to include an example in your instructions or create suggestions that are served up when a search produces no results.

Prominent Positioning

Place your search engine where it will be easy to find. Leading venues post their main search engine boxes on the top left or center of their home pages. Post search fields on all pages of your site for quick and easy visitor access.

Prepare your content for search engines. The titles are the main element in a result listing, since most search engines use the presence of a word in a title as a clue that the page is a good match for searches on that word, and will rank the page high in the results list. Title your pages as descriptively as possible. Also, use the META description tag to summarize the contents of each page. Many search engines also use headings to rank a page in relevance for a particular search, so make sure your headings match your content.

Keywords that Describe Your Content

Keywords allow search engines to identify the most important elements of the page and to rank the results so that the most relevant pages are at the top. Choose keywords that you think users will type into your site search engine to find products or information on your site. You can use a thesaurus to look up synonyms, and remember to include brand names and generic names that you may use regularly.

Each customer will search for information in different ways. You'll need to provide several routes or cross-references to the same destination to ensure that your customers reach the information they need regardless of the particular words they use for their search. You may also want to include common misspellings or other words that may not appear anywhere on your pages. A good set of keywords addresses the specific topics the page covers. There are several resources, such as What People Search For , that allow you to eavesdrop in real time on the keywords people are entering into search engines; this can be an invaluable opportunity to enhance your own keyword list. Other resources includeWordSpot and CEBN's Free Global Keywords Search Engine.

Java and Framed Pages

Since Java pages are frequently generated from a company database, they may not actually reside on your Web site, and your search engine might not be able to find them. Framed pages may have hidden URLs that some site search engines aren't equipped to find.

Index Java and framed pages. If you're using Java to generate pages from a database, you should expand your search engine's indexing duties to include portions of your database that your search engine can find. Another good idea is to place this information in a knowledge base directly on your site, not only in a database that your site's server connects to. With the knowledge base residing on your site, your search engine should be able to find it in its daily or weekly updates. Some paid search utilities, such as SiteSurfer 1.0 , can index Java-scripted pages. The best way to index framed pages is by doing it manually. Better yet, don't use frames unless you've got a compelling reason to do so.

Prevent bad or expired links from being indexed. When you move or remove a page, let your Webmaster or site maintenance person know about it first. If you have pages that are prone to expire, such as product information that's now out of date, let the Webmaster know and ask him or her to update a site index that night.

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Russell Shaw

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