Web indexing

Web indexing is the work of reference, that is to say mention something or refer to search engines.

Indexing is used in two very specific contexts:

In big distribution in the management of product catalogs: products are referenced in displays. The same services can be referenced as potential providers.
On the Internet, Web indexing work is to improve the positioning and visibility of websites in search results pages of search engines or directories.

Web indexing is based on two distinct and complementary strategies: SEO (or organic indexing) and paid search (or PPC).

Indexing a product or service

Indexing of products

Indexing is defined, in big distributions, as a clause or a contract by which a purchasing or referencing allows a supplier, in return for negotiated sales terms, to offer its products for resale to its affiliates distributors. These, however, remain free to provide or not referenced with the supplier.

Indexing providers

Some companies, when they wish to cut costs by selecting a limited number of potential suppliers to tender, organize an indexing of service offerings. The companies say are referenced. This practice is very common, especially in IT, where the “key accounts” reference a limited number (between four and ten on more than a hundred) of computer services companies (SSII).

Organic indexing

Making a link from page A to resource B is to refer and therefore reference the resource page B from A. By extension, the generic action of indexing in the search engines is called web indexing. Today, his practice focuses on research tools, in particular engines and search directories, trying to improve the positioning of sites (and therefore visibility) in their results pages.

Positioning on the search engines is one of the main sources of traffic building on a website. Indeed, it allows users to access a site without knowing its address. The major search engines are able to detect new documents on the web (and new sites).

A good web indexing on the web is essential since “34% of users click on the first natural bond of a results page.” Before the advent of search engines, it was also necessary to be listed in web directories. It may also be interesting to be referenced to external sites, including sites of bookmarks or favorites link pages or on blogs or via an item, or by using the so-called exchange method links.

Local indexing

Local indexing is the act of optimizing a website for its pages are positioned in a search including city, postal code, or made by a user authorizing its geolocation. This part of indexing is becoming increasingly important in recent years and is increasingly taken into account by Google, including in mobile navigation.

Formerly it was enough to register a site in local directories like the Yellow Pages or Google Maps.

Indexing on directories

A web directory is a site ranking thematically sites it selects itself or referred to it. Editors then analyze the content of pages and create summaries of their content in order to direct visitors. Directories offer a search by categories and subcategories. There are thousands of specialized or general called directories (eg Yahoo! Directory or Dmoz). The criteria for acceptance of a site on a directory depend on each directory. This practice has been heavily used by indexing to artificially increase their PageRank. That said, Google has started to penalize web directories since 2008, this technique is less used.

Paid search

Paid search, or Search Engine Advertising (SEA), consists of the establishment of sponsored links in search engine results, via a specific advertising like Google AdWords, for example.