| There is one thing you have learned about robots, it is | | | | with the large organizations pouring millions into their |
| that there isabsolutely no pattern to them. Most robots | | | | marketing. |
| are stupid and wander randomly. | | | | Completely forget about Search Engines after |
| For example, 50% of robot hits to my sites ask for the | | | | submitting to them and go afterthe reciprocal links. The |
| robots.txt page andthen go away never asking for | | | | Search Engines will then believe you are a |
| anything else. Then they come back a weeklater, ask | | | | heavilyvisited site because you will be. You will now be |
| for the same thing and then go away, again. This | | | | getting the traffic youso richly deserve. |
| happens overand over again for months. You will | | | | Search engine visitors to your site, are oftentimes not |
| never never figure it out. What arethey doing? If they | | | | qualified visitors. |
| wanted to see if the Web site was really a Web | | | | Too many visitors pop into your home page for 2 |
| site,they could just Ping it. This would be much faster | | | | seconds and then leave. |
| and much more efficient. | | | | You know how it is. We all do it when we are using |
| They seldom visit another page and if they do, they | | | | the search engines. Eitherit wasn't the information we |
| ask for one other pageevery visit or so. Some come | | | | were looking for, or they had this huge graphicon this |
| in and issue rapid-fire requests for everypage in the | | | | stupid portal page, which just took forever to load. |
| Web site. How rude! You have to quit worrying so | | | | These visitorsshouldn't even count, but they get |
| much aboutrobots. It takes 6 months before they | | | | counted as 12-18 hits in your serverlogs. Hits are |
| request enough pages to do you anygood. We really | | | | requests to the server. One page request can incur a |
| quit thinking about them a long time ago. Build a lot | | | | lotof hits: requests to the page itself plus the graphics, |
| ofpages correctly, and, if you have reciprocal links to | | | | each count as ahit. |
| them, the robots willfind them someday. | | | | Reciprocal links bring in qualified visitors. These are |
| Try this: Go to AltaVista and type into the search box | | | | visitors who werealready on a Web site which had |
| "link:YourSite.com" | | | | matching Themes to yours. They already havea good |
| (Leave off the www). This will list the reciprocal links to | | | | idea of what type of site you are. They will come into |
| your Web site. | | | | your siteand actually stay awhile. These visitors should |
| Try and you get 136 links to it. Think about this now: | | | | count as double credit,they are so good. |
| The robots say to themselves, "Here is a site that | | | | We know which type of visitor we would rather have. |
| must be popular or whywould so many Web sites | | | | How do you get people to WANT to put your link on |
| SIMILAR to it have it's link on their pages?" | | | | their Web sites? Why woulda similar site put a link to |
| Rememberthat only SIMILAR sites with SIMILAR | | | | your site on theirs? Simple, you have similar |
| THEMES would probably have a link toyour site. They | | | | Themes. You are similar, but not competition. |
| give more importance to this than you submitting your | | | | There is one very important lesson to be learned from |
| linkto them. Wouldn't you? | | | | this crazy robot behavior. |
| Go to heavily trafficked sites matching your Web site's | | | | You need to make the navigation in your Web site so |
| Themes and use AltaVistato find out how many | | | | easy that a visitorcan find any page within 2 clicks of |
| reciprocal links they have. This will prove to youwe are | | | | your home page. One way of doing thisis installing |
| right. | | | | hidden DotLinks. Dotlinks are little periods that are |
| Search engines are nothing more than a measure of | | | | linkedto other pages which are not really noticeable on |
| reciprocal links to yoursite. The problem is, you are | | | | your page if you put itas a period. Although they are |
| constantly having to fight for your positioningin the | | | | not easily seen by the human eye, they area link that a |
| search query listings. Forget about that. Leave the | | | | robot can follow in your Web site. When you do this, |
| fighting to peoplewho are able to spend 24 hours a | | | | robotscan find your pages faster and more easily. |
| day trying to trick everybody. Quit tryingto compete | | | | |