1. Register a new website with nonsense keywords (e.g.
ishkabibbell.com)
2. Create multiple pages on that website, all targeting a similarly
ludicrous term (e.g. yoogewgally)
3. Test the use of different placement of text, formatting, use of
keywords, link structures, etc. by making the pages as uniform
as possible with only a singular difference
4. Point links at the domain from indexed, well-spidered pages on
other domains
5.
pages
6. Make small alterations to the identically targeting pages to
determine what factors might push a result up or down against
its peers
7. Record any results that appear to be effective and re-test on
pattern that is used by the search engines.
There is perhaps no greater tool available to webmasters researching the activities of the engines than the freedom to use the search
engines to perform experiments, test theories and form opinions. It is through this iterative, sometimes painstaking process, that a
considerable amount of knowledge about the functions of the engines has been gleaned.
Surprisingly, the engines do support many of these efforts, though the public visibility is
frequently low. Conferences on search marketing, such as the Search Marketing Expo,
engineers and representatives from all of the major engines. Search representatives also assist
webmasters by occasionally participating online in blogs, forums & groups.
Over the 12 plus years that web search has existed online, search
marketers have found methodologies to extract information
about how the search engines rank pages and use that data to
help their sites and their clients achieve better positioning.
