MSN Search Summary

[Titan]

What have I learnt about the new MSN web search? Search Engine Optimisers and webmasters have been praising the search results because for them MSN ranks their web site well. These people are using SEO techniques such as “link text” from many pages where Google have started filtering them out.

Pros:
1. Compared to the old MSN search many random doorway pages are filtered
2. The number one spot for many keywords are often better than Google!

Cons:
1. Its too easy to spam using repetitive keywords on page.
2. Inbound links from mass pages all on a non unique Class C IP address have too much power.
3. MSN Search seems to index less pages from some sites.
4. Pages linking from a Query String page only are not indexed.
5. DHTML menus not indexed
6. (Opinionated) Blogs and forums are ranked above authority sites.

[Winetalk.com]

Originally posted by Titan@Feb 13 2005, 02:55 PM

6. (Opinionated) Blogs and forums are ranked above authority sites.
I was always wondered if me being VERY opinionated will ever pay off...again
;)

I bought MSFT stock betting that it will
;)

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by Titan@Feb 13 2005, 02:55 PM
Cons:
1. Its too easy to spam using repetitive keywords on page.

"con" for whom?

[Titan]

for people called colin or nick im guessin ;)

[Cyndalie]

Here is my observations I posted on kblogger at http://kblogger.com/blog/index.php/weblog/...cyn_commentary/ (http://kblogger.com/blog/index.php/weblog/microsoft_formally_launches_search_engine_cyn_comm entary/)


Microsoft Formally Launches Search Engine: Cyn Commentary
2/1/05

"SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. is formally launching its new Internet search engine, several months after it debuted in test form.

Beginning Tuesday, Microsoft's own search engine will permanently replace the Yahoo search technology that has been used on Microsoft's MSN Web site. But Yahoo's technology will be still be used for the "sponsored" listings that companies pay for, and that appear separately alongside the main search results.

Previously, Microsoft's search system was mainly available on a separate, test site."

And what does this mean...? Absolutely nothing! LOL With Google Stock over 8 times more valuable than Microsoft, there's not much of a market share for MSN to brag about. In fact, they are so late in the search game many find this feeble attempt to compete with Google a last ditch effort before conceding entirely in the search game.

Gates is out in full force promoting the engine - (why they don't hire a model or spokesperson is beyond me - NO ONE can identify with Gates) so I took it for a test drive.

Odd Phrase Matches seem to have a higher chance at a top ten single keyword search. For example a search for 'fetish' returns results for sites like "violence fetish" "sneeze fetish" "zuni Fetish" "rock fetish" even "extraterrestrial sex fetish" LOL This could be an attempt to give less dominance to sex sites in the rankings. IN fact, you wont really find any! A search for "hardcore porn" return "Morality in the Media" in the top ten. And at the bottom.. wouldn't you guess - Holy Moly it's identified as paid finally .... NIGHTSURF
Bah!

Blogs are ranking well. In fact a Sex Blog may be a good gateway domain to promote in MSN that links through to your adult sites.

Actually with the identifying the lack of porn sites and the addition of free access to Encarta encyclopedia - it's obvious MSN is targeting schools, libraries, office environments and other "clean result" search locations.

Not all adult content is blocked. Klixxx and other webmaster sites rank well but you have to be specific. A search for "Adult affiliate programs" does not return your Silvercash, Topbucks, or other programs, rather you get affiliate program directories with adult categories. Resource sites and portals (larger sites) seem to have a better chance in the rankings than single entity domains.

Keyword friendly domains help.
Exact search phrase matches in the title helps.
Meta descriptions are default descriptions for your indexed listing. If no description is found it looks to pull visible text off the page. Different descriptions are pulled to match different keyword phrases in your page to match the searched term. From this you can determine that if you have a text heavy/friendly page, don't use a description tag for a better chance to match exact phrases in the text of your page. If you're page has little or no text on your page, then use a keyword friendly description, helps to match keywords in your domain and title.

Overall, like Google, exact search term phrase matches in the text of your page will help your chances for ranking for that term, even without a keyword friendly domain or title.

Site age and size can help your chances. Optimize a site for MSN and leave it alone. If you don't see it start ranking in 6-8 weeks tweak and keep getting the site linked with sites already indexed, expecially portals.

I'll be writing more as time goes on, these are just inital observations I've commented on. Remember, nothing's writ in stone in SEO so do your own research and uncover your own findings for your own sites and efforts - you know what you've done so sort through it to find the tried and true. Build off of that and never stop promoting!

Submit to MSN Free: http://beta.search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WSDD2

Since MSN is not exactly a viable search market place for adult, your typical porn site optimization efforts wont work. We either use a mid level promotional domain to gather and sort mainstream traffic and adult buy using sponsors of both, or just keep on submitting and hope some make it through.

Till next time,
Cyndalie

[fusionx]

About a week before MSN officially launched, I was getting #1 for about 5 keyword pairs containing the word "nudes", and was #1 for the single keyword "nudes" itself.

That lasted until last week. For no obvious reason, I'm nowhere to be seen in the SERPS for those keywords. I'm still listed, and I get some decent traffic for odd searches, but it's nothing like it was.

Cyndalie's article is pretty dead on target. Where I was #1, there are now some bizarre results. Example - using "artistic nudes" returns "Chabaphoto Productions" http://chabaphoto.com which redirects to http://www.bhassa.addr.com/index1024.html. This site has a flash-based index.html, a bunch of javascript at the top that performs a popup of the actual site based on your screen resolution, the meta keywords mentions "artistic" and "nudes" in seperate places, and the meta description doesn't even have "nudes" in it whatsoever. There is no text on the page of any kind - it's all flash.

Google shows 3 backlinks, MSN shows 92.

Several other sites that are getting top ranks (for different keywords) also contain redirects. I'm surprised that MSn is allowing this. Several sites I've seen at #1 appear, from the urls, to be blog sites - actually individual pages within a blog site. Click the link and you end up in the root directory of a plain old porn site.

Try searching on "shemale". The #1 ranked site is http://www.lovebyyoga.com/personals/. Check the page, and "shemale" doesn't show anywhere in that page. Not in the head elements, text, anything. None of the 56 backlinks have anything to do with shemale, porn, etc. They are mostly "advertising" spots on bogus one-page, sub-domained real-estate sites.

I think this is happening because MSN has somehow grunged their indexes. For example, searching on "primanudes.com" shows the root domain (www.primanudes.com) as being cached on Feb. 8th. Another search, "Elden Bleck Uptown Models" shows the cached date for the root domain as Feb. 15th. MSN should not have the same URL cached twice.

I guess time will tell. I want my rankings back :-)

[mojobill]

I am hoping that MSN is still experiencing 'growing pains' and will alter/adjust their algo in time to resolve some of their current deficiencies! ;-)

[Titan]

right now i have a couple test pages on my site with diff variations to try and see how they do in msn purely .. right now im not digging their algo

im sure they will change it - as all se's do to try and get more focused results for the surfers

[fusionx]

Originally posted by Titan@Feb 18 2005, 08:37 AM
right now i have a couple test pages on my site with diff variations to try and see how they do in msn purely .. right now im not digging their algo
Hey Titan,

Any results from those tests yet?

Looks to me like MSN is slow at replacing pages in their index. I can find 3 instances of my root domain now. One from Feb. 8th, and the latest one from Feb 19th - all cached with "full" info (description, etc). Pretty odd.

[Titan]

as of today theres been no changes despite changing things around in the pages - seems likes its not spidering as often or aswell as other engines

[Winetalk.com]

"Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know."
- Lao Tzu
550 B.C.

so..those in the know,
how long does it take to get near the top on Google?
Our site is 2 months young

[fusionx]

Originally posted by Titan@Feb 20 2005, 02:41 PM
as of today theres been no changes despite changing things around in the pages - seems likes its not spidering as often or aswell as other engines
If you have a chance, check MSN results tonight or tomorrow.

Regarding my previous post about my trouble with MSN (this thread), well, all that went away this month.

All my pages are now cached with the date 3/1 or 3/2/2005, and I've got the top spots back for the same keywords as in January.

I think I was right in saying that the index was grunged somehow. The dual cached entries of my root domain must have caused a serious problem. The old entry from Feb 8th is nowhere to be seen.

One other major difference as well - MSN now shows a LOT more backlinks.

Odd though.. including "www" it only shows 56 links. using only "domain.com" shows 593.

I just hope it delivers some traffic now :-)

::edit:: every result that has a cached date in the main listing shows 3/1 or 3/2. Must have been a major purge or a new version of the index. I checked on a search for "cars" and went 10 pages deep.