The Other Search Engines

**tabloid** · 10-25-2003, 02:18 AM

(Should have posted this in this section in the first place.)

I'm learning search engine optimization.

Have gained some knowledge of the importance of the title and the description meta tag. I understand that text provided within the "description" tag can be used as part of the description in your eventual listing with a given search engine. Beyond that, I gather that content appearing near or at the top of your page gets used. This is where I have a question for anyone knowledgeable enough to lend insight:

At what point in the body of a page does a search engine typically start borrowing your content for use in its own descriptive listing of your site? What if it encounters a navigation bar first? A navigation bar doesn't usually qualify as readable text. Does it in that case intelligently move on to try to identify a heading or other piece of text to extract?

Kind thanks for any informed reponse.

tabloid

**TimSchroeder** · 10-27-2003, 02:21 PM

Quote:

At what point in the body of a page does a search engine typically start borrowing your content for use in its own descriptive listing of your site? What if it encounters a navigation bar first? A navigation bar doesn't usually qualify as readable text. Does it in that case intelligently move on to try to identify a heading or other piece of text to extract?

The easiest way to figure the out is to print out and view your HTML code. Whereever the first line of "text" starts in your HTML code is where the search engine will start grabbing your text.

In Google, your description will change depending on what keyword you search for. It will then pickup the line of text (or LINES) that contain that keyword and turn it into your description.
This is why some sites descriptions don't seem to make a lot of since on Google.

**amabaie** · 11-06-2003, 07:29 PM

Navigation bars are absolutely picked up, unless they are graphic buttons.

You have optimized your navigation bar, haven't you?

**Jamesanderson** · 09-07-2004, 01:13 PM

Include H1, H2, H3 tags on all your titles and sub titles with your important keywords. Google will also give exra weight to words that are displayed using bold text.