Well put, Scott.

Regarding search engines placing more value on words contained in headings:
I mentioned it. It is just one of the many techniques I have in my arsenal
of "search engine optimization" that HAVE worked for me in the past and that
work currently. Of course, search engine algorithms are continually
changing, so it definitely isn't what works for "all" search engines today.

But it all gets back to structure. What is the title of your page? My pages
ALWAYS have a title, and they ALWAYS express that title again (whether
exactly or in some edited form) in an H1 heading, which is the first bit of
text on my pages. Because it is first (whether or not coded as an H1) there
are search engines that value it.

Here are some excerpts from Altavista's Advanced Search Help Tutorial:

http://doc.altavista.com/adv_search/ast_haw_query.shtml:

"Content counts; content near the top of a page counts more than content at
the end. In particular, the HTML title and the first few lines of text are
the most important part of your pages. If the words and phrases that match a
query happen to appear in the HTML title or first lines of text of one of
your pages, chances are very good that that page will appear high in the
list of search results."

http://doc.altavista.com/adv_search/ast_haw_wellindexed.shtml:

"Your rule of thumb should be to have at least one full set of your content
available in a form that the blind can read. The blind are some of the best
users of the Internet today. They use text-only browsers and text-to-voice
converters, and they are able to navigate very well unless people put up
barriers. The same kinds of barriers that stop the blind also stop Web
crawlers. Label pictures clearly with ALT text in the background, to explain
what a sighted person would see. And by designing your site to accommodate
the needs of search engine crawlers you will also probably make sure that
your site complies with the provisions and the spirit of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Check your sites for disabled access with Bobby."


But that's just me. Do whatever works for you. ;)

---------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Evans
Web Marketing Manager
Captura Software, Inc.
(425) 424-1155
chucke(at)captura.com
www.captura.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Bowling [mailto:scottbff(at)erols.com]

<incredibly large snip>

>         Which search engines have this practice?
> 
Actually, someone else mentioned this, and I'm not sure. I doubt many,
and I couldn't find anything specific about it at Search Engine Watch,
not that I spent a lot of time looking.

<a little bit more snipped>

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